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Transition and Employment

 

    • Creating Interfaces, Creating Experiences (YouTube video): TEDx Talk (2013) by Chelsea Cook, a physics major at Virginia tech. She enjoys astronomy, reading, and creative writing. Her ultimate goal is to become an astronaut who writes poetry in space. In her talk Chelsea questions how we handle problems, and how we can solve them, by taking another perspective. Great inspiration for science teachers, 3D modelers, and other students with vision impairments who want to study science. … “What might I discover, that others will miss, because they don’t know how or the right places to look?”…
    • Employment website: List of practical resources  by European Blind Union, including a manual for inexperienced job seekers with a visual impairment, and a survey on Self-employed work of blind and visually impaired people in Europe.
    • Getting young people with disabilities ready for study and work: A guide for parents.:
      Free resource that aims to support parents and carers of young people with disability through the process of transition from high school into post-secondary education, training and work. Developed by Michelle Hayter, Nicole Ison and Katie Hayes, of the NDCO program hosted by the University of Western Sydney.
    • Employment Assistance Fund:
      Ongoing grant from JobAccess for All States and Territories in Australia. Purpose: To improve access to employment, work opportunities and work productivity for people with disability. The fund encourages and supports the employment of eligible people with disability by providing financial assistance to purchase a range of work-related services and modifications. Subject to meeting eligibility and application requirements, and funds being available. Apply online. Freecall: 1800 464 800.
    • Paths to Transition:
      Interactive website with a focus on preparing young people with vision impairment, including those with multiple disabilities or deaf blindness, for adult life. The site offers guidelines, activities, and resources for teachers, families, rehab counsellors and others.
    • Sounds Ambitious: interview with winners of the Holman Prize for Blind Ambition. Podcast and transcript of interview with the three winners of the 2019 Holman Prize. Inspiring stories of people with great aspirations and great achievements, showing the importance of having blind or vision impaired role models to cultivate ambition and create a powerful drive for change, and focusing on ability rather than disability. Source: Be My Eyes Podcast, March 2020.
    • Transition support for students with additional or complex needs and their families (NSW):
      Report released by the NSW Legislative Council Standing Committee on Social Issues 6 March 2012. Webpage where you can download the 192 pp report.
    • What it’s like to be a blind software engineer at Amazon:
      Interview by Lydia Dishman with Michael Forzano, who for the past six years has been working as a software engineer for Amazon in the USA. He explains the job interview, and his use of assistive technology, and some valuable contributions to services that he has made over time.