Organisers of two expos next Tuesday hope to prepare young people with learning disabilities for their journey into adulthood.
The transition expos will be held at the South Dunedin Community Hall, in King Edward St, from 11am-2pm and Dunedin City Library, in Moray Pl, from 5.30pm-7pm.
The expos will be jointly run by CCS Disability Action, the Community Care Trust and the IHC’s IDEA Services.
Community Care Trust community and employment services coordinator Simon McCosh said a range of disabilityfriendly organisations would be present at the expos, including sports and community groups.
It was important to try first to ‘‘mainstream’’ school leavers with learning disabilities rather than focusing on disabilityspecific organisations, he said.
‘‘If there’s an opportunity just to join a mainstream sports team, we try that first,’’ Mr McCosh said.
Organisers hoped the young people would be accepted into the community, he said.
The transition category typically referred to school pupils who received funding under the Ministry of Education’s Ongoing Resourcing Scheme (ORS) which provided support for pupils with the highest level of need for special education.
Part of the journey to adulthood would include moving into productive work, which was where people with learning disabilities faced barriers, Mr McCosh said.
Barriers to productive work for those with learning disabilities included difficulties commuting, the attitude of employers and health and safety issues.
He wanted family members to know there were agencies which could support a young person with learning disabilities, Mr McCosh said.
An interactive component would be provided by students from Otago Polytechnic, and music would be playing during the expos.
