Preparing Youth with IDD for Life After High School

In October, we celebrated National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM). The transition to adulthood is a critical time for youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), where emphasis is placed on learning skills that can promote independence, employment, and community inclusion after high school. 

At the Baylor Center for Developmental Disabilities, transition is a signature area of our research, training, and outreach. We recently launched a new program within our Baylor Clinic for Assessment, Research, and Education (Baylor CARE) focused developing skills that help youth find and maintain employment. Graduate students in the Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) program work with young people to identify individualized goals such as completing job applications, writing resumes, conducting interviews, or training for specific job skills. The program emphasizes individualized instruction, with additional opportunities for small-group learning experiences that foster social skills, peer interaction, and friendships.  Josh, a current client in the program and young adult with IDD said, “[Students] are nice to me. I like that they let me do hands-on stuff instead of lecturing me. I learn valuable skills such as answering interview questions.”

Although this new program has a great impact on youth with IDD, it also benefits Baylor graduate students. Most ABA programs across the nation offer an abundance of opportunities to work with children. Clinical training opportunities that involve working with teenagers and young adults are quite rare. At Baylor, graduate students are able to put what they learn in their coursework into practice for this particular population. The students help young people identify their strengths and interests and then design programs that foster independence, job-seeking skills, and long-term employment. Emily Van Beek, master’s student specializing in ABA, said, “Working in the transition program has been an invaluable experience. I’m super grateful for the opportunity to widen my scope of competence before finishing my degree while working with some amazing adults. Graduate students are supervised Baylor University faculty and postdoctoral research associates, all of whom are Board-Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA) or Board-Certified Behavior Analysts-Doctoral Level (BCBA-D). Dr. MacKenzie Wicker, BCBA-D and Postdoctoral Research Associate at the BCDD, developed the program and expresses her enthusiasm. “This new program created valuable opportunities for pre-service professionals, like Board Certified Behavior Analysts, to gain hands-on experience in fostering successful post-secondary outcomes for adolescents and adults with IDD. By equipping more and more professionals with the skills to meet the diverse needs of adolescents and adults with IDD, we can increase the services and support provided to this population to empower these individuals to live fulfilling, independent lives while fostering a more inclusive society for all."