Resources to be offered at Transition Fair for families of individuals with disabilities

Access Lynwood will host a Transition Fair on Saturday, Sept. 30, at Lynwood Baptist Church in Cape Girardeau to connect students and families with resources to help them build successful lives after high school graduation.

There will be representatives from organizations that offer information and services to support various levels of independent living for individuals with disabilities and their families.

The fair will run from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and lunch will be provided at the church located at 2935 Lynwood Hills Drive. There is no cost to attend the fair, but families must register online at lynwood.church/access by Friday, Sept. 22.

Andrea Roseman, Access Ministry director at Lynwood Baptist Church, said there will be 17 booths hosted by organizations such as Sikeston Regional Center and Catholic Charities of Southern Missouri.

She said speakers will include an attorney, who will outline steps for parents considering guardianship and conservatorship for their child, and also a parent of a child with disabilities, who will share their experience and give guidance on what to expect.

Roseman said parents can talk to a job specialist about possible occupations for their children who can help them understand what that process looks like for those able to be employed and how entering the workforce could affect their disability benefits.

"These families, when their child was in school, they had people on their team helping design a daily structure for their children," Roseman said. "Then their child suddenly turns 18 and they're done with school, and everything changes, and they just feel like they're on an island all alone trying to figure this out."

She said that after graduation, students lose a big part of their support network.

"Not only the teachers at the school but they're not getting to be with their friends anymore," Roseman said. "They're suddenly isolated as well, so the fair gives them a chance to come together with other families who are in the same season, and maybe form a network."

Roseman said the public schools in Cape Girardeau and Jackson as well as other organizations and ministries all have their own programs and resources to help individuals with disabilities after high school graduation. She said Access Lynwood started the Transition Fair to bring them all together as partners in one event.

Other organizations that will be present at the fair include Special Olympics Missouri, the Mississippi Valley Therapeutic Horsemanship and Barnabas Prep in Branson, Missouri, as well as Grace Coffee & Cafe, Taylor Institute and the University Autism Center at SEMO.