Program aids young adults with disabilities

BANGOR – Cindy Tuck, coordinator of the School to Life program that operates under the auspices of the Penquis Regional Transition Board, has an important mission. She reaches out to parents and their children with disabilities who attend high schools in Penobscot and Piscataquis counties. She and the School to Life program provide information and services to parents and students as the young adults make the transition from school to real life.

These young people, Tuck said, are leaving schools where state laws entitle them to an education and going into the real world where such entitlement has come to an end. Planning what to do next is where Tuck and the School to Life program comes in. The program offers information in six areas a person with disabilities needs to think about and plan for as he or she makes the transition into adulthood. Those areas are employment, education, community participation, health services, housing and support and legal services.

One of the crucial questions students with disabilities must ask themselves is, “What do I want my life to be like after high school?” Work sheets on which students may list strengths, needs, opportunities, worries and strategies serve as a tool to help students answer that question. Students are encouraged to factor in their dreams for the future and to develop an action plan to determine what steps to take toward reaching goals for the future. Students put this information into a personal portfolio.

“We work with students who have a wide range of disabilities,” Tuck said, “including those with physical, cognitive and mental disabilities.” She works directly with students and parents, and with area high schools. “The goal is to teach kids how to advocate for themselves,” because when they leave high school to go on to jobs or higher education they will have to self-advocate. There is no system in real life to do that for them.

“Many kids with disabilities don’t know anything about their disability,” Tuck said. “They need to know as much about it as they can before they go on to college, technical school or a job.”

To help parents guide their children as the youngsters make the transition from high school to real life, Tuck conducts monthly forums where parents and youth with disabilities may learn what services are available and where they may discuss the issues that confront them.

The forums are held from 3 to 5 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. the second Wednesday of each month at Alpha One, 1048 Union St., Bangor.

The next forum is set for Oct. 13 and the topic of discussion will be “Employment and Voc Rehab,” with transition counselors Mary Knowlton and Steve Conroy of the Maine Department of Vocational Rehabilitation, and employment specialist Frank Hartnett of Allies Inc.

In future months, the forums will focus on topics that include Social Security benefits, medical and health issues, housing, legal needs and transportation.

To obtain more information about the School to Life program, call Cindy Tuck at 992-2270. Her office is located at 141 North Main St. in Brewer.