DENTON (UNT), Texas – Identifying a career path can be challenging for any young adult, but the process of transitioning into the workforce can be especially daunting for young people with disabilities.
Two different departments at the University of North Texas are helping area students with disabilities explore their career options and develop personalized career paths this summer.
Career Crusin’ Camp
The Department of Rehabilitation, Social Work and Addiction Studies will offer the Career Cruisin’ Camp for high school aged students. The week-long day camp is designed to increase the confidence of participants while helping them identify their strengths, interests and work preferences. Campers will take a number of assessments, learn about the resources available to them and even job shadow selected jobs that are available on the UNT campus.
The program is being sponsored by the Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services and will take place on the UNT campus. Campers should have completed at least their sophomore year of high school and should be under the age of 22. Campers can have any level of physical or mental disability. The camp will be run by graduate students from the College of Public Affairs and Community Service.
The camp will have three sessions during July, and each session will be able to accommodate up to 20 campers. The fourth day of each camp will include a “Walk About” tour of the UNT campus that will allow campers to explore different work environments available on a university campus.
Camp sessions will be:
Session I: July 6-10
Session II: July 13-17
Session III: July 20-24
My Possibilities
Students in the special education program in UNT’s Department of Educational Psychology also will be helping students with disabilities learn how to successfully transition into the workforce.
The special education teacher education candidates from EDSP 4360, Transition Education and Services, an upper-level course, being co-taught by Dr. Bertina Combes and doctoral student Anita Kliewer, will be working with My Possibilities, an organization in Plano that works with adults with development disabilities on a class project called My Possibilities University (MPU).
The UNT students had their first visit to My Possibilities on June 18, and will also visit June 25 (Thursday) and July 2 (Thursday). During their time at My Possibilities, the UNT students are teaching two courses, American Pop Culture and American History. On July 2, there will be a graduation ceremony for the My Possibilities participants.
“The partnership with My Possibilities has allowed our special education teacher education candidates to gain practical experiences planning for adults in transition, while also giving the young adults at My Possibilities the opportunity to interact with same age peers,” said Combes, an associate professor of educational psychology . “We have even simulated a team planning approach with two of the UNT students, Amanda Biggers and Jordan Fry, serving as lead teachers for the courses.”
My Possibilities is a non-profit for adults with disabilities (Autism, Down Syndrome, Aspergers, Prader-Willi, head injuries, etc.). My Possibilities is the FIRST full-day, full-year program in Collin County for adults who have “aged out” of secondary education, where they can build independence and pre-vocational skills in a safe and nurturing environment. Individuals interested in learning more about My Possibilities or volunteering can contact Charmaine Solomon.
For more information:
For more information about the Career Cruisin’ Camp contact Martha Garber at 940-565-4000 or Martha.Garber@unt.edu. More information also is available at http://wise.unt.edu/.
For more information on the My Possibilities program contact Combes at 940-565-2628 or Bertina.Combes@unt.edu. More information about My Possibilities is available at http://www.mypossibilities.org/.