Patrick Cadigan: 0:00

Welcome back to the Postsecondary Transition podcast, where we have conversations around the ins and outs and everything in between of the transition process for families of students with disabilities. I am one of the hosts. My name is Patrick Cadigan.

Meghan Smallwood: 0:13

And my name is Meghan Smallwood, and we are both public school transition coordinators.

Patrick Cadigan: 0:18

Meghan and I are back for another discussion, and what we wanted to highlight was that right now, we are in the month of October, and this is the National Disability Employment Awareness Month, and along those lines, both Meghan and I had an opportunity to attend an event that was obviously local for us, but we wanted to kind of talk about that. So, Meghan, you want to do the big reveal?

Meghan Smallwood: 0:46

Yeah, absolutely. So we kind of partnered with the Commission on disabilities for our County this year and went in a different on a different path, and they typically go a lot of times. They'll do presentations to honor the businesses that we have partnerships with for our students and employ our students with disabilities, which I'll talk a little bit more a lot later, but this year, they wanted to try and bring in more for those students with disabilities to help them prepare for these employment opportunities. So we had a great event this past week where not only did they give presentations, but they provided a lot of breakout sessions for our students focused around gearing them ready for employment.

Patrick Cadigan: 1:29

Yeah, that was one of the things that because, of course, as soon as we got there and we got everybody in and they were sitting down, they had started this presentation, and it very quickly became obvious that this was something that would probably benefit either providers or families. I will say that initially that worried me, but then we started to get wind of the activities that I had planned for our students. And did you want to talk about that? Because that was cool.

Meghan Smallwood: 2:05

The thing that really blew me away was the fact that they brought someone in to offer headshots for the individual. So all our students that attended got free professional headshots, which they can use for their portfolio resume moving forward, which is great. And then they also had other activities, such as a career party, where they were able to take additional career interest inventories with some of our workforce counselors, which it was great to build upon that relationship, meeting them there and getting to know the students, because it's so wonderful when we can collaborate and have additional resources come in with their different experiences and and professional opinions to help the students you know, just build on what we've already been doing. And I know you were with students for the VR, right?

Patrick Cadigan: 2:51

Yeah, so that was another activity that they had. So one of the side rooms they had, they had set it up, and they had a meta quest VR headset that was there, and the software that they were using presented different work case scenarios. So like, for example, they had one for construction. They had one that, if you were like, if I remember correctly, I want to say it was like working in a science lab. I did, I have a background in construction, so of course, that was the one that I focused on, but...

Meghan Smallwood: 3:25

Oh, did you actually get to put it on and do it?

Patrick Cadigan: 3:27

Yes, I did.

Meghan Smallwood: 3:27

Because I did not because there was the batteries running low and I didn't want to monopolize it, but I was very interested to see what it'd be like.

Patrick Cadigan: 3:34

Yeah. Now again, one of the things that I found really interesting, I watch our students participate in this activity, and I thought it was really cool, and it they seem to navigate fairly well. I will tell you that for me, I got the headset on, I got it, I understood, and yeah, I was kind of struggling, but, but it was, but it had multiple designations, I guess is the best way. So, like I said, like, construction and science and like, if you were working in retail and things like that, so the students were given the opportunity to pick which one that they wanted to use. But I just thought it was a neat tool to have, and it got the kids excited about what, what it was that they were doing.

Meghan Smallwood: 4:28

Yeah they all were jumping up to go over, and they were bummed when I had to recharge, but they couldn't wait to get back. So that was really cool to see, and it was something that I had never experienced or even knew about as a resource. So I'm excited to try and, you know, continue the conversation about how we can include that in our career exploration with our students.

Patrick Cadigan: 4:50

I will say, though I gave a huge, I give/I gave, a huge shout out to the workforce development team that was there; local to us. Towards the end of the event, I was just asking the students, like, "Hey, what did you guys think? What did you like?" And they all kept referring back to the party, quote, unquote, the party.

Meghan Smallwood: 5:14

Yeah.

Patrick Cadigan: 5:14

And so I went into them, into the team that put that on, and I told them, and they were very excited. But the kids, they loved it, the activity itself, the way that they did it, the kids were up on their feet, they were moving around. They were being asked questions that were relevant to them. And it just, it was, it was a lot of fun to watch.

Meghan Smallwood: 5:37

Yeah, and I was just another opportunity to be able to get these students, you know, out thinking about life in the future for them, outside of the walls of the school, even outside of, like the work site, because there's such limited time I feel on their day and our day with them, to be able to do these kinds of things. So it was just really nice to be able to highlight an event like that, while also, you know, thinking about all the partnerships that we have in our community with businesses who hire these students after they exit.

Patrick Cadigan: 6:08

One of the thing that I thought was really cool, that I was sad that I did not get an opportunity to join in with was that, like we were saying In the beginning, that they were doing presentations, informational presentations, and they were sharing out this, this stuff, and one of them was about SSI, and constant, constant topic of conversation that comes up with us. And from what I had heard, it was a really good presentation, but I was just so busy, you know, running around and doing other stuff that I didn't...

Meghan Smallwood: 6:43

Well don't worry, I got the contact information, so...

Patrick Cadigan: 6:46

Fantastic.

Meghan Smallwood: 6:46

I will make sure to reach out and continue that conversation for us.

Patrick Cadigan: 6:50

Oh, that's cool, yeah, because I did, I heard that that it was really good, it was informative.

Meghan Smallwood: 6:55

And of course, the food that was provided was a hit with the kids. So that's always a plus.

Patrick Cadigan: 6:59

You know, it's one of those things that kind of goes unrecognized, I think sometimes, because, of course, as people like us who have been to events like this, you walk in, "yeah, they have food, you know, no big deal." But I will tell you what, man, the kids are so excited, because they were like, can we go over there? Yeah, go, like, this is, this is for you. And it was just, it was just a lot of fun.

Meghan Smallwood: 7:27

Yeah, definitely was so and I know I mentioned the partnerships earlier that, you know, we prepare our students for with the businesses. I mean, just as we're thinking of National Disability Employment Awareness Month, you know, I was just reflecting on all the great relationships we've built with businesses in our area. We have over at least 40 different businesses that truly support our students, and not only that, when they leave, they hire them on for staff. And I love being able to go out in the community and see these students working, as, you know, older, 20 something year old, 30 something year olds. You know, we had a student who was retiring, you know, from his position at a local grocery store after starting there so many years ago. So it's just great. And I love being able to give shout outs to those businesses. And one thing that we've been trying to do this year that was on our commission transition commission mind last year was really highlighting and really trying to provide some advertising and media recognition of some of these partnerships that have been there for so long. So what we're starting to do is working with film classes in the county and having some of these students who are in the film class use that as like a project. So we're working and collaborating to give them a list of these businesses that have truly valued having our students, and have been so open to working with them, and that, you know, providing that inclusive opportunity. And the film students are creating these videos where they are going to interview the manager and the students and just give video footage of the partnership happening, what the students are doing there, so that we can use it as a tool for our county and for the businesses too. So it's just another way to highlight it, and that we don't always just use one month celebrate this employment awareness of hiring our students.

Patrick Cadigan: 9:35

I think at any other time, if you had brought up those partnerships, I probably would not have understood what it was that you were talking about. But you know, as our longtime listeners will know, this is still only my technically, my second year as a transition coordinator, and the first year where I've really had to dive into some of the work study opportunities that our students have available to them. And so now I am seeing in real time, these partnerships that have been built and have been forged, and, yeah, these places are just really, really impressive. And I just, and so, like, accommodating and so flexible and so kind, and it's just, it's been really, really nice to see.

Meghan Smallwood: 10:18

And it's always exciting to me at the end of the year, when we have to gather the data up, you know, for our county to show where we've been, where the students have been working, who we've been supporting, and the list seems to just grow, and we add new ones and new relationships, but we also keep those, those that we've maintained for years. So I always love looking back on that. And like you were saying with the work sites, you know, every year we start a fresh with some students, but we have those people that are like, Yeah, who can we have? We want more. We want this student. Or, you know, asking for specific ones they've had in the past, or, best case, when they're graduating, hey, fill out a job application. Or, Hey, I know your work ethic because you've been volunteering here. Let's get you a job. So there's so many instances, and that's why I always tell the families, like, don't be afraid if they really are enjoying it, and you they have a really good relationship to follow up with the manager outside of the school, outside of you know what's going on with the school staff? You know you can build upon, especially if it's in their community. And I always encourage the families, if you know your child's volunteering, or have a work study site somewhere, why not go in there and and you know, just frequent it and get to know where they're going, and get to know the people and introduce yourself, just to continue to build that relationship.

Patrick Cadigan: 11:37

I remember back not too long ago, when we had our conversation with The Difference 2-17 and one of the things that they were really big on was sharing out those partnerships that they had created. And when I had to go back and do those show notes, but, but it really did make me appreciate doing shout outs like, you know, showing appreciation when it comes to these work sites that with the partnerships that we have been able to build, I will tell anybody who will listen to me like, oh, well, I have this one student who's going here, and this place is great. And if you ever get an opportunity, make sure to buy from there and just stuff like that. So shouting out to them as well.

Meghan Smallwood: 12:19

And it's always great when you have different businesses that are friends with each other, or, you know, you have a manager or an owner of one place that's friends with somebody else, and they're sharing these experiences. So you get a call or an email from that other person, you know, so and so told me about this. I'm interested in hearing about, you know, how we can partner too. So it's just great when you hear that word of mouth traveling, and I think, like, it doesn't even need to be in their worksite, like we have a number of partnerships with businesses that we are bringing their stuff to the students in the school, you know, so it's a different form of employment, quote, unquote, but we're helping these places. And it's, it's just mutual beneficial, because the students get to work on their work skills, and the business is benefiting from having the work done. So I think about all those too when I'm adding on to the list of partnerships we have, because we have different companies, for example, real estate agencies we used to help with different subscription boxes, where the students will put together the materials for them, you know. And rather than bring the students to them, we brought the materials to us, you know. So there's just so many different ways, and that's why I think it's just so important. As families are venturing, you know, after exit, looking at that transition, thinking about what can be done. You know, I feel like we've talked about this many times before, but what kind of DDA support can you use to continue those kinds of relationships with these businesses and and develop your own on top of it? You know, it doesn't have to be reinventing the wheel. You know, you can go off of what they've done. You can use your supports, whether it be bringing in a job coach or I know, you know, some other options could be within the business, if they have a co worker that works there and has gotten to know the individual, and hey, a little incentive from DDA could provide them a stipend or little extra money, and they're providing those natural supports to your individual. I mean, it's just, I think it's so important to just think outside the box when we look ahead at employment.

Patrick Cadigan: 14:24

Yeah, yes indeed. And I do, I am going to say that that is a great place to bring this conversation to a close. Meghan and I are both really excited, because we have some upcoming conversations. We're still planning. We're still like on in the planning phase of it, you know, getting days and dates and things like that. But we really do have some fun stuff coming up, and we're really looking forward to that.

Meghan Smallwood: 14:52

Yeah, definitely we're going to be busy coming up...

Patrick Cadigan: 14:54

Yeah.

Meghan Smallwood: 14:54

...but it'll be totally worth it.

Patrick Cadigan: 14:56

Yeah, we are definitely going to be busy, but we thank you again for joining with us, and we make sure to come back because we have more to come.

Meghan Smallwood: 15:04

Yep, thank you. So don't forget that you can find our discussions everywhere, Apple, Spotify, YouTube, music and others. So hit that follow button and you won't miss out, please. If you haven't already done so, consider leaving a review, preferably a five star one. It helps you spread the word and helps us, because we know you're listening. Links to the information from our conversations are always in our show notes. Our YouTube channel contains curated videos that revolve around transition, including playlists for guardianship, alternatives to guardianship ABLE accounts and more to come. And then finally, check out our website, www.postsecondarytransition.com, full of information and links to more resources. Thanks again. So much for your time spent with us, and we look forward to talking again with you soon.