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Schools

Transition Night Gives Parents and Students Tools to Succeed

A workshop to help special needs children get a foothold in the real world.

Parents from all over Long Island gathered at Calhoun High School this week in hopes of making their children’s futures just a little bit brighter.

The Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District hosted their fifth Transition Night on Tuesday, a workshop for parents of children with special needs who will be heading out into the work force after high school graduation.

Transition Night is a way of ensuring these children get the help they need to lead as normal a life as possible, as representatives from more than 25 different organizations were present to both educate and inform.

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John Felicciardi, director of special education for the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District, said that Transition Night is a way of assisting children with disabilities who may be venturing out into an uncertain and frightening job market.

“We feel it’s important to expose both the students and their parents to everything that is out there...all the ancillary services and programs that are out there,” he said.

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“But the mindset that we’re really gearing them towards is a prep for work kind of mindset. We’ve build a program here at Calhoun that we feel is really preparing them for that, and tonight we’re introducing them to the key players of the Long Island area that can help them achieve their goals,” he added.

Felicciardi said that Transition Night isn’t simply limited to those in the Central High School District.

“We have about 30 other school districts here tonight,” he said. “They’re all coming here to hear and understand the message and experience the cutting edge of transition services.”

Mary Addatiello of the Center for Family Support was one of the many transition services representatives present at Calhoun.

“We help families who don’t have Medicaid apply to get it,” she said. “We also help families that already have Medicaid find other support services they might need.”

Lori Gobioff of Community Mainstreaming Associates said that her organization specializes in job placement for young adults with disabilities.

“We offer a vocational program to individuals 18 years of age and older,” she said. “We help them to prepare for employment. We offer a lot of pre-employment services, such as the development of ‘soft skills’ and internships.”

A panel discussion and question and answer session was held for parents and as a great source of inspiration, Calhoun Life Preparation program graduates who have gone on to successfully hold jobs returned to speak about their achievements to underclassmen, proving to them that hard work and determination can make all the difference in achieving your dreams.

Despite parents fearing the hardships their special needs kids may face, Felicciardi said that with hard work, anyone can achieve a measure of pride and independence.

“Not all of us can be college graduates,” he said. “Parents have to accept the fact that their child is different. They learn different, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a job for them out there.”

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