Transition Resources
The Odyssey Project at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The Odyssey Project offers free University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign courses in the humanities to income-eligible adults in east-central Illinois. Odyssey students can earn up to eight transferable college credits in an environment designed to support non-traditional students, especially those whose education has been interrupted for whatever reason.
The courses include free textbooks and course materials, access to computers, bus fare to and from class and more.
Visit the Odyssey Project website for more details and program fact sheets in Spanish, French and Simplified Chinese.
The Penguin Project provides a supportive environment for children with a wide range of disabilities to explore the performing arts. The program encourages children and young adults ages 10 to 24 to discover their creative talents, build self-confidence and make new friends by rehearsing and performing a modified version of a well-known Broadway musical. The young artists work side-by-side with age-level “peer mentors” through four months of rehearsals and the final performance.
The project has several chapters in Illinois. Visit The Penguin Project website for more details.
Think College provides resources, technical assistance and training related to college options for students with intellectual disabilities. It also manages a national listing of college programs for students with intellectual disabilities in the United States.
See the Think College fact sheet in English or Spanish for more details. Think College resources also include:
- Learning modules for families on exploring college options, how to pay for college and more
- The “Student Corner” and Emerging Advocates Student Group
- A searchable list of colleges nationwide and what they offer
- Recursos para Familias (Family resources in Spanish)
Thunder Adaptive Sports, based in McLean County, is a volunteer-driven, non-profit organization that offers adaptive sports for youth and adults with physical disabilities and/or medical diagnoses. The group strives to help everyone participate in sports, including sled hockey, cycling, and track and field. There is no cost to participate at the recreational level.
The Thunder Adaptive Sports “family” includes:
- The Central Illinois Sled Hockey Association (CISHA) – a volunteer, non-profit organization offering recreational and competitive sled hockey for youth and adult players with physical disabilities throughout the central Illinois region. Families do not pay to participate. CISHA provides sleds, hockey equipment, team jerseys and ice time.
For questions, updates and more information:
- Visit Thunder Adaptive Sports’ Contact Page
- Call Tim Kirk at (309) 261-2250
- Email thunderadaptivesports@gmail.com
Tip Sheets for Self-Advocacy Groups
The Self Advocacy Resource and Technical Assistance Center (SARTAC) provides ten tip sheets written by self-advocates to help people understand self-advocacy and provide self-advocacy groups tips to keep things running smoothly.
The topics for the self-advocacy groups tip sheets include:
- What is self-advocacy?
- Ways of working on issues
- Good leaders and officers
- How do you find an advisor?
Each tip sheet is one-page. Each tip sheet is available in English, Spanish and Mandarin Chinese.
The Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) and the Illinois Deaf and Hard of Hearing Commission (IDHHC) provide a series of videos and preparedness messages in American Sign Language (ASL).
Topics include:
TotalLink2 Community provides individuals living with intellectual and developmental disabilities ages 18 years or older in the north suburbs of Chicago with a wide range of person-centered services to promote employment, independence and strong social connections in the community.
TotalLink provides career and vocational services including job development and placement using Customized Employment, a proven and innovative approach that utilizes skill-based coaching, family coaching, life planning, and educational and recreational opportunities designed to get young adults with disabilities involved in their community and deepen social connections.
Information, support and linkages for all people interested and involved in transition. Free publications available.
Transition Planning Committee for McLean, Dewitt and Logan Counties
The Transition Planning Committee (TPC) for McLean, Dewitt and Logan Counties provides a wide range of resources to support students with disabilities and help their families navigate the transition to adulthood and life after high school. The resources are also helpful for educators and community members who are helping students and young adults build skills and explore their options after high school. The committee’s resources include:
- Education and training programs
- Support and mental health services
- Transportation and employment
- Legal and financial help
- Recreation and social opportunities
- Prioritization of Urgent Need for Services (PUNS)
- Housing and developmental training
Transition QuickGuide: Take Charge of Planning and Managing Your Own Health and Career Goals
The Transition QuickGuide checklist provides information and resources about health insurance coverage, self-care, health care transition, decision-making and career planning and management.