Youth in Transition

On March 16, 2006 VCDR celebrated the 32nd annual Disability Awareness Day, attended by 185 Vermonters with disabilities, providers, advocates, and many allies from across our state, including 20 legislators and various AHS staff. The theme was “Youth in Transition: Investing in our Future,” featuring a lunchtime panel of youth with a range of disabilities, each speaking compellingly about their experiences with the transition process from high school to adult life. Deborah Lisi-Baker moderated the panel, which included Ben Wimett, Miranda Bemis Jeremiah (JT) Tetreault, Ryan Whipple, Andrew Sollace, and Spencer Weppler.<br><br>The needs of transitional youth remain a VCDR priority, particularly for young adults with developmental and mental health disabilities, for whom life changes dramatically after high school due to a shortage of appropriate services and supports. Consumers and their families often describe this transition as “falling off the cliff,” “falling into the black hole,” or even “graduating to life in front of the TV.”