Transitioning from High School to College for Students with Disabilities: Student Evolvement and Changes in the Parental Role

When a child is diagnosed with a disability, seen or unseen, parents take on a new role. They become a fierce advocate as they work through the medical system, the educational system, and the community, pushing and sometimes fighting for the needs of their child to be met. The systems that people with disabilities have to work through are labor intensive, and this can feel like a full-time job.  As children grow into young adults, the law requires that they advocate for themselves, and the change is immediate in college. This presentation will discuss the growth of the child into this role of independence and how they can prepare, the growth of the parent as they learn to support their grown children in different ways, and how to navigate the college process in high school and once you are there.

Presenter: Michelle Ritter-Santana, Ed.S., LPC, Certified School Psychologist