Program Offers Students With Intellectual Disabilities Bridge To Adulthood by Maddie Aiken, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette/TNS
A new Indiana University of Pennsylvania program for those with intellectual disabilities will aim to fill a “real need” in Indiana and Armstrong counties.
The Crimson Hawks Bridge program designed to help dozens of individuals gain skills and credentials to live independently and transition to the workforce is kicking off this year, with backing from a $1.34 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education.
“When students graduate from high school and age out of programs, there are not a lot of opportunities for academic support to help these individuals gain meaningful employment,” Kappel said in a news release. “The Crimson Hawks Bridge program is meant to be that literal bridge, focusing on work-based and life-based skills.”
Over the next five years, 80 high school students and graduates with autism or other related disabilities will enroll in the two-year certificate program.
Although community services in the region support residents with intellectual disabilities, this new program will fill a need for a post-K-12 educational program, said Ali Kappel, a professor in the Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s Department of School Psychology, Special Education and Sociology.
