Resources

• "Do-It-Yourself Accommodations" JAN Blog

  In this blog, Matthew McCord, JAN Consultant, presents several ideas for accommodations that can be created by an individual without having to purchase any equipment or technology.

• Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation

  A website that offers tips on reasonable accommodations for persons with psychiatric disabilities.

• Institute for Community Inclusion: Bridging the Digital Divide

  This website is a report of a project undertaken by the Institute for Community Inclusion to encourage more people to use the internet.

• SOAR (Searchable Online Accommodation Resource) widget

  This website is a widget developed by JAN (the Job Accommodation Network) designed to let users explore various accommodation options for persons with disabilities.  This link allows user to embed the SOAR widget into their website.

• VCU-RRTC

  Virginia Commonwelth University Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Employment of People with Physical Disabilities

Disability Rights

• 2010 Kessler Foundation Survey

  This website leads to a 2010 survey designed to explore the quality of life and employment opportunities of people with disabilities.

• Americans with Disabilities Act

  The home page of the Americans with Disabilities Act. On this page, the provisions of the act are included in their entirety.

• Disability History: An Important Part of America's Heritage

  This website is an article that describes the history of disability rights and legislation.

• Entering the World of Work: What Youth with Mental Health Needs Should Know About Accommodations

  This website is an article angled toward youth with mental disabilities who are planning to enter the workforce.

• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

  The official website for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which seeks to eliminate employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability.

• Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP)

  Official website of the Office of Disability Employment Policy, which seeks to ensure that people with disabilities are fully integrated into the workforce.

Assistive Technology

• AbleNet

  A website that offers a variety of assistive technology devices.

• Arkansas ICAN
  This website is a statewide program designed to provide assistive technology to Arkansas residents.
  
• CATEA

  A website that leads to the Center for Assistive Technology and Environmental Access. An organization dedicated to the improved mobility, activity, and health of people with disabilities.

• Center on Technology and Disability
  This website includes a variety of resources pertaining to assistive technology.
• Don Johnston

  A website that specializes in assistive technology directed at helping people learn to read and write.

• Google Chrome Assisting Extensions

  This article lists several useful extensions that can be added to the Google Chrome browser to improve accessibility for special needs individuals. 

• HIMS, Inc.

  This website offers assistive technology for people who are blind or have vision loss, including hand-held magnifiers and Braille notetakers.

• HITEC

  This website leads to a company that provides amplified phones.

• LATAN
  This website leads to the Louisiana Assistive Technology Action Network
• NMTAP
  This website leads to the New Mexico Technology Assistance Program
• PEAT

  Partnership on Employment & Accessible Technology (PEAT) http://peatworks.org/about

• Picture Scheduler
  The Picture Scheduler app is helpful for people who rely on visual and auditory supports to complete common tasks.
• Pointing Magnifier Download

  Follow this link to download a cursor which will magnify selected portions of a computer screen.

• Rehab Tool
  A website that offers a variety of assistive technology devices.
• RESNA

  This website leads to the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America.

• Section 508

  A website devoted to Section 508, a government enactment which concerns the development of assistive technologies.  

• Technology Solutions for Work Support Webinar

  The Technology Solutions for Work Support webinar reviews the use of handheld devices, as demonstrated on an Apple iPad, to support workers with disabilities to negotiate and complete job tasks, schedules and other demands of the workplace.  

• Texas Technology Access Program
  This website goes to a statewide program to provide assistive technology for Texans who are disabled.

Certification

• About CRC Certification

  A webpage that describes the basics of obtaining and holding CRC certification.

• Certification of Disability Management Specialists (CDMS)

  The website for the CDMS, the only independent, nationally accredited organization that certifies disability management specialists.

• Commission for Case Manager Certification (CCMC)

  The website for the CCMC, an organization that certifies case managers.   

Accessibility

• Accessibility demos in Microsoft Office 2010

  This website is catalogue of videos pertaining to the creation of accessible documents for Microsoft Office 2010.

• Accessibility demos in Microsoft Office 2010

  Accessible documents for Microsoft Office 2010

• Adding alternative text to Microsoft Office documents

  This website is a tutorial about how to add alternative text to Microsoft Office documents.

• Appropriate Use of Alternative Text

  This website is an article that explores the basics of using alternative text in digital documents.

• Checking for Accessibility issues in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint

  This website has step-by-step instructions on how to check for accessibility problems in Microsoft 2010 documents.

• Creating Accessible Documents

  This website includes a number of learning tools about how to create accessible documents.

• Essential Components of Web Accessibility

  This website outlines the essential attributes of a website accessible to those with disabilities.

• Federal Social Media Accessibility Toolkit Hackpad

  The Federal Social Media Accessibility Toolkit Hackpad is intended to help agencies evaluate the accessibility of their social media programs for persons with disabilities, identify areas that need improving, and share their own ideas and recommendations for helping ensuring our modernization programs are easily accessed by all who need them.

• Microsoft Office accessibility guide by impairment

  This website is guide that lists accessibility tips for Microsoft Office, arranged by the impairment to which they apply.

• NCRTM Accessibility Resources

  This page includes helpful resources from the NCRTM, federal agencies and leading accessibility experts.

• Olympic Failure: A Case for Making the Web Accessible

  A webpage that describes a ground-breaking web accessibility court case out of Sydney, Australia. Through the discussion of this case, the webpage provides helpful tips about accessibility laws and how to create accessible websites.

• Online Accessibility

  UNT DAR Graduate Michelle Boyd Discusses Online Accessability in this video.

• Using The Save as Daisy Add-In for Microsoft Word 2010

  Daisy files are audio substitutes for print material. This webpage is a tutorial that teaches how to save Microsoft Word 2010 documents as Daisy MXL files.

Accommodations, Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

• Accommodations for Persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Webinar

  The Accommodations for Persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Webinar provides information on accommodations for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities at the workplace.
  

ADA

• ADA National Network

  This page contains information, guidance, and training on the Americans with Disabilities Act

• Criminal Justice guidance

  This document issued by the US Justice Department titled “Examples and Resources to Support Criminal Justice Entities in Compliance with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)” is intended to facilitate criminal justice entities' compliance with the ADA during interactions with individuals with mental health disabilities or intellectual or developmental disabilities (I/DD).

• Who is Covered Under the ADA?

  The Who is Covered Under the ADA? webinar, provides information as to who is covered under the ADA, recent changes in law and how to apply knowledge to consumers served by Employment Service Providers.

   

ADHD Factsheets

• ADHD Factsheet

  The ADHD Factsheet comes from the Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD).

Autism

• Advancing Futures for Adults with Autism

  AFAA is a national consortium of organizations working together, led by the vision of individuals with autism and their families, to promote a collaborative spirit and develop both public and private sector support that improve the lives of adults living with autism.

• AMC Movie Theaters

  Certain AMC Movie Theaters offer Autism Accommodated viewings to offer improved social inclusion, “Movie Showings for Guests & Families Living with Autism or Other Special Needs.” https://www.amctheatres.com/programs/sensory-friendly-films

• Autism Apps

  This website is a comprehensive, searchable list of apps pertaining to autism.

• Autism Fact Sheet
  This website has some facts about Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

• Autism Research Institute: Newletters
  This website is an archive of newsletters composed by the Autism Research Institute, an organization that performs research and provides information for those affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder.

• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Sleep

• Autism Spectrum Disorder Programs
• DiGeorge Syndrome

  In-depth information from the Mayo Clinic about DiGeorge Syndrome.

• Independent Living Experience

  Independent Living Experience (ILE) is a customized support service for adults desiring a life of independence. Our team of dedicated professionals works directly with each adult to help them become their own self-determined advocate with the necessary skills to be successful within their living, working, and social environments.

• Kristin Farmer Autism Center

  This website leads to the autism center of the University of North Texas. The center uses applied, behavior-based techniques to positively impact individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

• My Job Chart

  My job chart is a unique system that provides opportunities for kids to work, manage time and money, while practicing accountability, responsibility and problem solving. My Job Chart also provides parents a perfect environment to have meaningful conversations about how to make smart money decisions and setting priorities.

• National Association of Residential Providers for Adults with Autism

  The mission of NARPAA is to assure the availability of residential services and other supports for adults with autism throughout their lives.

• Organization for Autism Research (OAR)

  This website leads to an organization which focuses on applied research pertaining to Autism Spectrum Disorder.

• Royal Caribbean Cruises

  Royal Caribbean Cruises offers an Autism Certified Cruise to help ASD Families assistance with social integration skills:  http://www.royalcaribbean.com/customersupport/faq/details.do?pagename=frequently_asked_questions&pnav=5&pnav=2&faqType=faq&faqSubjectId=334&faqSubjectName=Life+Onboard&faqId=5942

• Supporting Adults on the Autism Spectrum to Achieve Employment Webinar

  The Supporting Adults on the Autism Spectrum to Achieve Employment Webinar presents an overview of employment from the point of view of the individual adult, their family, the service provider and potential employers with emphasis of the targeting job skills that are community (rather than facility) based.

• Texas Autism Research & Resource Center

  The Texas Autism Research & Resource Center (TARRC) website, or "virtual" resource center, was developed with the needs of several audiences, especially families affected by autism, in mind.

• The Austin Asperger's Support Group

  The Austin Asperger's Support Group is a Meetup support group.

• Training for first Responders

  “Autism First Responder Training Video” developed by the Autism Society of Central Texas (this video can be seen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNBV66MLGXc). The video had interviews with parents of children with autism (including the Whittingtons) describing their concerns about unknowing first responders dealing with their children. Narration pointed out that the very behavior which ordinarily indicates guilty conduct, such not looking at the officer in the eye, seemingly ignoring the questions and even walking or running away, could be very normal for an autistic person.

• VCU ASD Career Links

  VCU ASD Career Links is one of many grants housed at the VCU RRTC (Rehabilitation Research and Training Center). The purpose of the project is to conduct evidence-based research on vocational rehabilitation (VR) service models for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD).

• What Tomorrow May Hold: Asperger's from a Teen's View

  Book titled:   What Tomorrow May Hold: Asperger's from a Teen's View. Available on  Amazon .

• WrongPlanet

  This website leads to a web community designed for persons with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Asperger's Syndrome, and other neurological differences.

Disclosure

• Advising Youth with Disabilities on Disclosure

  This website has tips for professional services providers on how to inform young people with disabilities about disclosure.

• The 411 on Disability Disclosure

  This website leads a workbook designed to help young people with disabilities understand disclosure.

Inspiration

• Aimee Mullins: The Opportunity of Adversity

  The thesaurus might equate "disabled" with synonyms like "useless" and "mutilated," but ground-breaking runner Aimee Mullins is out to redefine the word. Defying these associations, she shows how adversity — in her case, being born without shinbones — actually opens the door for human potential.

• Diana Nyad: Never, ever give up

  In the pitch-black night, stung by jellyfish, choking on salt water, singing to herself, hallucinating … Diana Nyad just kept on swimming. And that's how she finally achieved her lifetime goal as an athlete: an extreme 100-mile swim from Cuba to Florida — at age 64. Hear her story.

• Maysoon Zayid: I Got 99 Problems... Palsy is Just One

  "I have cerebral palsy. I shake all the time," Maysoon Zayid announces at the beginning of this exhilarating, hilarious talk. (Really, it's hilarious.) "I'm like Shakira meets Muhammad Ali." With grace and wit, the Arab-American comedian takes us on a whistle-stop tour of her adventures as an actress, stand-up comic, philanthropist and advocate for the disabled.

• Sue Austin: Deep Sea Diving ... In a Wheelchair

  When Sue Austin got a power chair 16 years ago, she felt a tremendous sense of freedom — yet others looked at her as though she had lost something. In her art, she aims to convey the spirit of wonder she feels wheeling through the world. Includes thrilling footage of an underwater wheelchair that lets her explore ocean beds, drifting through schools of fish, floating free in 360 degrees. (Filmed at TEDxWomen.)

Blindness/Low Vision

• American Foundation for the Blind

  This website leads to an organization focused on expanding possibilities for people who are blind or have low vision.

• If You Are Blind or Have Low Vision: Social Security Administration

  This website leads to an article that describes what services the Social Security Administration offers to people who are blind or have low vision.

• Increasing Placement through Professional Networking

  This website is an article published by the Institute for Community Inclusion that details the importance of professional networking.

• National Federation of the Blind

  The largest membership organization of people who are blind in the United States.

• Social Security Administration: Special Rules for People Who Are Blind

  This website leads to an article that further explains what services the Social Security Administration offers to people who are blind or have low vision.

• Transition Coalition: Models of Success

  This website has a list of successful transition-centered projects that employed collaboration between agencies.

• VisionAware

  VisionAware provides resources to help adults who are losing their sight.

Assessment

• Appreciative Coaching: A Positive Process for Change

  This website is a presentation that details the process of appreciative coaching.

• More Than Just a Job: Person-Centered Career Planning

  This website is an article distributed by the Institute for Community Inclusion that discusses the importance of centering career planning services on the consumer.

Autism, Transition

• Aspergers 101

  A website with information on Aspergers Syndrome as well as High-Functioning Autism.

Employment, Jobs

• Association of People Supporting EmploymentFirst (APSE)

  This website leads to a national organization that focuses entirely on integrated employment and career advancement for people with disabilities.

• GettingHired.com

  This is a website that lists employers who are committed to hiring applicants who have disabilities.

Veterans

• Benefits.gov

  A website designed to help people determine which government benefits they should apply for.

• Know Your Employment Rights Under the ADA: A Guide for Veterans

  This website leads to a guide that explains ADA law and rights as they pertain to veterans who have disabilities.

• Mesothelioma + Asbestos Awareness Center

  This website offers free mesothelioma resources and support to veterans and their families who have been affected by a mesothelioma diagnosis. The prevalence of asbestos use in the military in the past is the major reason why 1/3 of all mesothelioma patients are veterans. 

• Military.com - Benefits

  This website is an article on vocational rehabilitation and employment for veterans who are disabled.

• Mobile App: PTSD Coach

  This website leads to a mobile app released by the US Department of Veterans Affairs. It is designed to help the user understand and manage symptoms that commonly occur after trauma.

• Navigating Government Benefits and Employment: A Guidebook for Veterans with Disabilities

  This website is a a document that guides veterans who are disabled on how to secure government benefits and employment.

• Paralyzed Veterans of America

  The official website of the Paralyzed Veterans of America, an advocacy organization for veterans who have been paralyzed during service.

• Supporting the Workplace Success of Wounded and Injured Service Members

  This website is a guide designed to educate people on how to support veterans who are injured or disabled as they return to the workplace.

• Texas Veteran's Commission

  This website leads to an organization designed to serve as a state-appointed advocate of Texas veterans as they attempt to obtain government benefits.

• United States Department of Veteran's Affairs

  This website leads to the homepage for the US Department of Veteran's Affairs.

UNTWISE

• Blackboard Learn Instructions

  If this is your first time using Blackboard Learn, our instruction page will teach you how to:

  • Access Blackboard Learn
  • Log-in
  • Modify your Blackboard main menu
  • Access the course
• Changing User Password

  The following document provides instructions in changing the user password.

• Completing Checkout Registration

  When checking out of the store on the UNTWISE website, user will navigate through three to four screens.

  1. Shopping Cart
  2. Checkout
  3. Review Order
  4. Credit Card Info.

  The following document will review each screen.

• View Registration Orders

  The following document provides instructions on how to view previous registration orders.

• Website User Account

  The UNT WISE website requires users to log-in to register for events and to access certificates for previously completed events. If you have taken online classes with us, try logging in with your EUID/Credential ID and password. Use the document below to help with creating an account.

• Website User Portal

  The below document helps explain about the user portal page.

Employment

• Building an Employment Portfolio Webinar

  The Building an Employment Portfolio webinar provides a basic overview of information and demonstrates different technology to highlight the job seeker.  

• Disability.gov Guide to Employment

  Do you have questions about other issues such as where to get help with your job search, how working may affect your Social Security disability benefits, employment programs for Veterans or where to get help writing your resume? Read Disability.gov's Guide to Employment for information on these and many other employment-related topics.

• Employment First - Texas

  The 83^rd Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 1226 which established Employment-First Policy for the State of Texas.  This legislation set Texas on a new path designed to establish a statewide priority to support people with a disabilities to obtain work in a typical community job setting or in a small business of their own.

  Link to video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcEXk7Eh2zU

• Employment First National Trends

  This webinar provides an overview of the Employment First initiative to include people with disabilities as contributing members of the workforce and examines national trends associated with the implementation of the initiative. 

  View Video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0A2I_Cy8HvE

• Workplace Flexibility Toolkit

  This website offers a variety of resources to help the user maintain a strong balance of work and life.

Academic Planning

• CampusTours.com

  This website offers virtual campus tours of many colleges and universities.

• Pennsylvania State University: The Mentor

  This website leads to an academic, peer-reviewed journal about academic advising in higher education.

• University of North Texas: Office of Disability Access

  This website is the homepage for UNT's Office of Disability Access where you can learn more and apply for services. http://disability.unt.edu

• We Connect Now

  A website that offers information and support for college students who have disabilities.

Career Development, Transition

• Career Development Strategies for Youth in Transition

  The Career Development Strategies for Youth in Transition webinar provides strategies and tools for families and professionals to engage youth in career development.
  

Career Development

• Career One Stop

  This website has a a job exploration tool that includes descriptions of occupations, as well as training and certification resources.

• Discovery, Themes and Successful Job Development

  The Discovery, Themes and Successful Job Development webinars provide an overview of the steps in Discovering Personal Genius as an assessment process. Additionally, information on how to take themes, conditions of employment, skills and interests and use them to uncover a myriad of businesses and the unlimited ways people make a living is discussed.

• Guide to Self Employment

  Disability.gov's Guide to Self-Employment & Starting a Small Business

  Many people choose self-employment and entrepreneurship as a way to make money and become financially independent. Starting a home-based business, for example, can be a great opportunity for people with disabilities to increase their income, while avoiding transportation barriers or a lengthy commute to a job. 

• National Center on Elder Abuse

  Free webinar! 

  When: January 25, 2023 @ 1 pm - 2 pm EST.

  Register here: NCEA

• O-Net Online

  This website leads to a job exploration tool that includes descriptions of a wide variety of occupations.

• Texas Career Check

  Texas Career Check is an easy to use tool which allows users to collect career information and job data by researching occupation titles, career clusters, Foundation High School Program endorsement areas, or keywords. They can also research any college or university in the U.S. by searching institution names, states or programs of study.

Transition

• Career-Focused Mentoring for Youth: The What, Why, and How

  This website is an article focused on career counseling for young people with disabilities.

• Disability Starter Kits

  This website is a resource offered by the Social Security Administration that provides information for people with disabilities who are applying for benefits for the first time.

• Elements of a WIA Youth Program

  This module of Focused Futures: Youth Development System Builder provides information and tools on each of the 10 required WIA youth program elements to help local youth councils, administrators, and service providers.

• First Step: A Youth Practitioner's Resource Guide to Supportive Services

  First Step: A Youth Practitioner's Resource Guide to Supportive Services:  Provides quick and easy access to a wide range of programs and services at the state or local level and helps program staff identify potential partnerships that can maximize services to youth.

• Going to College

  This website is a resource for teenagers with disabilities. It includes information on how to select the proper college, as well as how to plan for the transition.

• Kids as Self Advocates (KASA)

  This website leads to an organization that encourages the practice of self-advocacy among youth with disabilities.

• National Collaboration on Workforce and Disability: Professional Development

  A website that provides information, resources, and online training modules to enable staff to better coach young people with disabilities on the transition into adulthood.

• National Collaboration on Workforce and Disability: Transition

  A website that provides a number of informative resources on the topic of the transition of persons who are disabled from youth to adulthood.

• NCWD Youth

  This website leads to the branch of the National Collaboration on Workforce and Disability devoted to youth. Provides information about employment and youth with disabilities.

• Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) Year of College and Career for Youth with Disabilities

  A website published by the U.S. Department of Education that provides a variety of information pertaining to youth who are transitioning from high school to college, or from college to career.

• Soft Skills to Pay the Bills: Mastering Soft Skills for Workplace Success

  Soft Skills to Pay the Bills: Mastering Soft Skills for Workplace Success: Offers youth development professionals a curriculum for workplace interpersonal and professional skills that targets youth ages 14 to 21 in both in-school and out-of-school environments. Created by USDOL's Office of Disability Employment Policy.

• Start Early: Transition and the Importance of Preparation

  The Start Early: Transition and the Importance of Preparation explores some of the skills and abilities needed to successfully transition from high school to work or higher education. Additionally, supports needed for students entering the world of work and higher education and challenges students face in both areas are discussed.

• Start Early: Transition and the Importance of Preparation Webinar

  The Start Early: Transition and the Importance of Preparation webinar explores some of the skills and abilities needed to successfully transition from high school to work or higher education. Additionally, supports needed for students entering the world of work and higher education and challenges students face in both areas are discussed.

• Texas Parent to Parent

  Texas Parent to Parent (TxP2P) is committed to improving the lives of Texas children who have disabilities, chronic illness, and/or special health care needs. TxP2P empowers families to be strong advocates through parent-to-parent support, resource referral, and education.

• The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Youth Program Reference Tool

  The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Youth Program Reference Tool provides a quick "one-stop" reference for youth workforce system staff covering all the basics on the WIA Youth Program.  Developed by the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL), it is also a resource to assist in training new staff and workforce investment board members on the WIA youth program.        

• Transition of Students with Disabilities to Postsecondary Education

  This website leads to a guide that prepares high school educators to answer questions that students who are disabled may ask about their transition from high school to postsecondary education.

• U.S. Dept. of Labor Division of Youth Services

  ETA's Division of Youth Services is primarily responsible for coordinating all youth-related workforce activities, providing leadership, policy direction, program administration, technical assistance and guidance, and support activities for youth programs authorized under the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998.

• Understanding the New Vision for Career Development: The Role of Family

  The National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth (NCWD/Youth), the Office of Disability Employment Policy's youth technical assistance center, recently published a new InfoBrief entitled Understanding the New Vision for Career Development: The Role of Family. This InfoBrief introduces families, including families of youth with disabilities, to a new way of looking at career development for youth. This brief discusses the three phases of career development, highlights Individualized Learning Plans (ILPs) as a tool for facilitating the career development process, and offers strategies on how families can support the young people in their lives as they pursue lifelong learning and skill-building in preparation for entering the world of work.

• What's My Next Move Guide

  What's My Next Move Guide: USDOL developed this resource to connect young people to its online career exploration resources.  The guide encourages students to think about and make decisions about their future and to engage with career counselors, workforce professionals, teachers, and parents/guardians.

• Youth Council Resource Guide

  This is a compilation of best practices providing a snapshot of cooperative youth service strategies  underway in Minnesota's 16 workforce service areas.

• Youth on the Move

  This website is a resource that provides transition guidance for people who provide transition services to youth with disabilities.

• Youth Pathways to Post-Secondary Employment

  This site brings together five different National Youth-Focused Training and Technical Assistance Centers. These five centers are working together to provide technical assistance and training to state/local agencies and programs to build successful pathways to postsecondary education and employment opportunities for youth and students with disabilities. 

Mental Illness

• Caregiver.com

  A website designed for caregivers of persons with mental or physical disabilities.

• Cognitive Remediation and Spotlight on the Thinking Skills for Work Program

  This report from the Boston University Center for Psychiatic Rehabilitation spotlights Cognitive Remediation programs, exploring what they are and how they can be useful.

• Dual Diagnosos Skills Training Manual

  This manual is designed to guide the reader in their development of skills appropriate toworking with clients with Dual diagnosis (coexisting mental health and substance use issues).

• Each Mind Matters film: Ending the Stigma of Mental Illness

  This website leads to a film that explores the stigma of mental illness through the eyes of a few of the millions of Californians who have mental illnesses.

• Mental Health: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

  A website that explores mental illness as it relates to American veterans.

• National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)

  This website leads to the nation's largest mental health organization, dedicated to improving the lives of Americans who are mentally ill.

• National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

  This website leads to an organization that seeks to prevent and cure mental illness by the use of research-based practices.

• National Research and Training Center (NRTC)

  This website provides a series of tools to assist in the growth and self-determination of people with psychiatric disabilities.

• Using Medicaid to Support Working-Age Adults with Serious Mental Illness in the Community

  This website is a handbook that explains how Medicaid can be used to support working-age people with mental disabilities.

• Vocational Voice

  This website is an institute dedicated to the integration of persons with mental and psychiatric disabilities into the workforce.

Jobs

• Communication for Effective Marketing Webinar

  Communication for Effective Marketing is a two-part webinar designed to assist Employment Specialists to identify and engage their primary customers, both internal and external, through effective marketing strategies.

Communication

• Communication for Effective Marketing Webinar

  The Communication for Effective Marketing webinar guides you to understand how to craft a consistent message about your service, benefits and value to all your customers for success.

• Disability Etiquette 101 Webinar

  The Disability Etiquette 101 webinar discusses person first language, disability terminology including do's and don'ts for courtesy behavior. 

• Guidelines: How to Write about People with Disabilities

  Review this pamphlet to learn more about how to write and communicate about people with disabilities. 

• iOS, Work and Wellness Webinar

  The iOS, Work and Wellness webinar covers the “soft skills” of the workplace, such as communication and behavioral supports as well as stories of individuals incorporating technology into their workplace and essentials for success.

Employers

• Computer/Electronic Training Program

  This website is an online training module for hiring managers on how to recruit, hire, and retain employees with disabilities.

• Employer Practices

  The Rehabilitation and Research & Training Center on Employer Practices Related to Employment Outcomes among Individuals with Disabilities (Employer Practices -RRTC) provides information summarizing the research that was presented at the October 2013 State of the Science Conference; along with research briefs, links to papers, and links to online tools and resources.

• Employers Assistance and Research Network (EARN)

  This website leads to an organization that provides resources to help employers recruit and retain persons who are disabled.

• Employment Status of People with Disabilities

  This website is a Bureau of Labor Statistics report on the employment status of people who are disabled.

• Talent Scout

  TalentScout is a valuable resource for government agencies that are working to implement President Obama's initiative (EO 13548) to hire 100,000 people with disabilities into the federal government workforce, and for federal government contractors who need to bring their companies in compliance with the new 503 regulations on employment of people with disabilities. 

   

Vocational Adjustment Training

• Cue Cards PDF
• Disability and Disclosure PDF
• Emergency Card PDF
• Entering the World of Work PDF
• Exploring the "You" in Work PDF
• Financial Information PDF
• Instructional Considerations for VAT in Texas PDF
• Preparing for the Job Search PDF
• Soft Skills for Work Success PDF
• Soft Skills to Pay the Bills - Mastering Soft Skills for Workplace Success PDF
• Transportation PDF
• VAT in Texas PDF

Forms

• DARS provider forms

  This website contains all the forms for DARS CRP Providers.

Accessibility, Diversity, Education, Higher Education

• Deaf Network of Texas

  The Deaf Network of Texas is the largest Deaf Community Resources & Newsletter in Texas & surrounding states.

Disability News Sources

• DiGeorge Syndrome

  DiGeorge syndrome, also called 22q11.2 deletion syndrome, is a disorder caused by a defect in chromosome 22. It results in the poor development of several body systems.

• Disability Scoop

  This website is a news source for developmental disability news.

• Disability.gov

  A government website that includes a variety of information on disability news, disability programs, and disability services.

• IDEAs Information Briefs

  These OSERS documents provide information on interventions to address academic and behavioral challenges in infants, toddlers, children, and youth impacted by fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), lead exposure, and opioids.

• People-First Language Style Guide

  This Journalist-Oriented style guide contains recommendation for using language related to people with disabilities

Discrimination

• Disability Discrimination

  This website has a description of what constitutes disability discrimination.

• Disability Discrimination Information

  This website has a description of disability discrimination which includes examples of discrimination, laws pertaining to discrimination, and accommodations an employer can make to avoid discrimination.

• Disability Nondiscrimination Law Advisor

  This website is a tool designed to assist employers in determining which disability nondiscrimination laws apply to their business and their responsibilities under those laws.

Benefits

• Disability Planner: Social Security Protection if you Become Disabled

  This webiste leads to a tool provided by the Social Security Administration which details the process of applying for, receiving, and understanding your social security benefits.

• HCBS Toolkit

  This new toolkit provides advocates with detailed information about the HCBS Settings Rule and provides action steps for advocates to impact implementation of the new rules in their states.  The toolkit contains three documents:  (1) The Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services Settings Rules: What You Should Know; (2) Home and Community-Based Services Regulations Q&A: Settings Presumed to be Institution & the Heightened Scrutiny Process, and (3) The Home and Community-Based Settings Rules: How to Advocate for Truly Integrated Community Settings (unabridged and abridged).

• Medicaid Fact Sheets: Basics for Consumers

  To help support outreach and enrollment efforts, the Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services (CMCS) is offering a set of Medicaid Fact Sheets that are aimed at helping consumers understand the basics:  

  • Who is eligible for Medicaid and CHIP? 
  • What benefits do the programs provide?  
  • How can individuals enroll?
• Social Security Online

  This website is the official website of the U.S. Social Security Administration.

• Work Incentives for SSI and SSDI recipients

  This website provides a general overview of work incentives for those who receive Social Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSI).

• Work Incentives Planning and Assistance Act (WIPA) Factsheet

  This website leads to a factsheet on the WIPA Act.

Career Development, Employment, Workplace, Jobs, Job Development

• Do2Learn: Job Tips

  JobTIPS  is an online student program, offers real world examples and assistance to teens and adults transitioning to the workplace. It provides learning resources, guided exercises, graphic organizers, role-playing scenario cards, prescreening tests, video tutorials, and visual prompts to help individuals with any learning style get and keep a job.

Criminal Histories, Employment, Job Development

• Employment and Justice Involvement Webinar

  During the Employment and Justice Involvement webinar, participants are provided with different perspectives on how to assist individuals who have been involved in the justice system with obtaining employment.
  

Employment, Mental Illness

• Employment for People with Psychiatric Disabilities

  The Employment for People with Psychiatric Disabilities webinars share ideas, strategies and solutions that to help promote successful employment. This presentation and materials further will discuss important considerations for individuals with psychiatric disabilities and employment.

• NAMI: Road to Recovery - Employment and Mental Illness
  
  National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Report on Employment and Mental Illness

Entrepreneurship

• Encore Entrepreneurs: An Introduction to Starting Your Own Business

  This website leads to a free training geared toward entrepreneurs who are near retirement age.

• Entrepreneurship: A Flexible Route to Economic Independence for People with Disabilities

  This website is an article that explains the facets of entrepreneurship and self-employment for people with disabilities.

• Small Business Readiness Assessment and Guide

  This website leads to a questionnaire designed to determine a person's readiness to start a small business. It also includes a guide to help you better understand the readiness factors used in the questionnaire.

• The Abilities Fund

  This website leads to an organization devoted to the entrepreneurship and economic advancement of persons with disabilities.

Ethics

• Ethics and Money

  The Ethics and Money webinar explores the variety of issues that may confront the employment service professional that involve money and considerations for resolution.  

• Ethics: Applying a Decision-Making Model to Ethical Dilemmas

  The Ethics: Applying a Decision-Making Model to Ethical Dilemmas two-part series focuses on guiding principles to use when making decisions when ethical dilemmas occur. Additionally, a demonstration of how to use a decision-making model to tease out possible solutions to ethical dilemmas is provided.

• Ethics: Boundaries and Relationships

  In the Ethics: Boundaries and Relationships webinar, Dr. Jerry Fischer leads us in a discussion of ethical issues related to boundaries and relationships.  

• ETHICS: Leadership in the Counseling Relationship

  The Ethics: Leadership in the Counseling Relationship webinar session reviews the ethical guidelines and decision making for the welfare of those served by rehabilitation counselors. 

• Ethics: The Counseling Relationship

   The Ethics: The Counseling Relationship webinar session will review the ethical guidelines and decision making for the welfare of those served by rehabilitation counselors. 
  

• Ethics: The Impact of Personal Values

  In the Ethics: The Impact of Personal Values webinar, Dr. Linda Holloway focuses our attention on our own personal values and how these values impact the application of the code of ethics. 

• The Ethics of Documentation Webinar

  The Ethics of Documentation webinar will reinforce the role that documentation has in providing quality services to your consumers.

• The Ethics of Informed Choice

  In the Ethics of Informed Choice webinar, Rachita Sharma, MS, LPC, will guide the audience through the ethical decision making process pertaining to informed choice.

• Why Maintaining Your Own Wellness is an Ethical Issue in Rehabilitation Counseling Webinar

  During the Why Maintaining Your Own Wellness is an Ethical Issue in Rehabilitation Counseling webinar, attendees are introduced to the accumulating evidence on how “counselor burnout” impacts a counselor's quality of life, job performance, and potentially compromises the counselor's ability to uphold their ethical responsibility of demonstrating professional competence (Code of Professional Ethics for Rehabilitation Counselors, Section D: Professional Responsibility, D.1.d; D.3.a; and Section A: The Counseling Relationship, A.4.a, A.4.b). 

Ethics, Workplace

• Ethics and Workplace Inclusion

  The Ethics and Workplace Inclusion two part series examines the guiding principles for workplace inclusion and uncovers some of the ethical dilemmas that challenges employment staff when seeking and supporting individuals to find, get and keep a job.
  

Disclosure, Ethics

• Ethics: To Disclose or Not to Disclose

  The Ethics: To Disclose or Not to Disclose webinar shares information to guide a person through the decision-making process, the pros and cons, and employer concerns.  
  

Autism, Employment

• Extraordinary Ventures (EV)

  Based in the university town of Chapel Hill, NC, Extraordinary Ventures, Inc. (EV) is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization that creates and nurtures self-sustaining small businesses designed around the skills of the young adults with autism and developmental disabilities that serve as its workforce.

Assistive Technology, Career Development, Certification, UNTWISE

• Free CEUs

There are plenty of resouces available for obtaining even more CEUs, some of them free, if you know where to look! 

Technical Assistance Center for Quality Employment

National Rehabilitation Training Center on Blindness & Low Vision

• Paid CEUs

 *Please contact untwise@unt.edu to verify the training meets UNT WISE CEU requirements (prior to paying).

For general CEUs visit Relias Academy.

For ethics CEUs, the following have generally been approved: 

1. 1. 1. Ethics for Counselors
      2. Ethical Decision Making

Academic Planning, Education, Higher Education

• Going to College

  This Web site contains information about living college life with a disability. It's designed for high school students and provides video clips, activities and additional resources that can help you get a head start in planning for college.

Education, Higher Education

• How to Study
   http://howtostudy.org/
  

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, Opioids

• IDEAS Informational Brief

  This brief by OSERS provides information on interventions to address academic and behavioral challenges in infants, toddlers, children, and youth impacted by opioids.

Substance Use

• IDEAS Informational Brief

  This brief by OSERS provides information on interventions to address academic and behavioral challenges in infants, toddlers, children, and youth impacted by fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD).

Lead Exposure

• IDEAS Informational Brief

  This brief by OSERS provides information on interventions to address academic and behavioral challenges in infants, toddlers, children, and youth impacted by lead exposure.

Person-Centered Practices

• Independent Living Experience (ILE)

  Independent Living Experience (ILE) is a customized support service for adults desiring a life of independence. Our team of dedicated professionals works directly with each adult to help them become their own self-determined advocate with the necessary skills to be successful within their living, working, and social environments.

• Person Centered Planning

  "A person centered plan can help those involved with the focus person see the total person, recognize his or her desires and interests, and discover completely new ways of thinking about the future of the person."

• Person Centered planning using PATH and MAPs

  Person Centered planning using PATH and MAPs

  Give your team the opportunity to pause and reflect on what matters most to them about the work they do. The act of listening to each other creates relationship and strengthens trust and inclusion within the team - in creating a shared vision, groups of people build a sense of commitment together.

• Person-Centered Transition to Work Webinar

  In the Person-Centered Transition to Work webinar, Debbie Wilkes discusses strategies for transition with an employment outcome.  

• The Basic Skills of Supported Decision-Making for Employment Webinar

  The Basic Skills of Supported Decision-Making for Employment webinar identifies and builds basic skills to support people with the most significant disabilities in the decision-making process, including the concept of “supported decision-making”, as defined by the Texas Legislature.

Employment, Ethics

• Informed Choice: It's a Matter of Ethics

  In the Informed Choice: It's a Matter of Ethics webinars, Dr. Chandra Carey leads participants to explore our ethical obligation to support consumer involvement that is meaningful.
  

Diversity

• Integrated Employment Toolkit

  This website is a tool devised by the Office of Disability Employment Policy to increase the understanding and highlight the potential of integrated employment.

Forms, Invoices

• Invoice Examples

  These are example Word invoices and Excel invoices that meet the standards for TWS-VRS billing as of 09/26/2018.  You may use these examples to model your billing statements after or create your own. Please always check with TWC and other billing entities to ensure your invoice meets minimum standards.

Assistive Technology, Accommodations

• Job Accommodation Network (JAN)

  This website leads to an organization that provides free guidance on workplace accommodation for persons who are disabled.

• Microsoft Guide for Individuals with Language and Communication Impairments

  This website leads to a guide that informs Microsoft Users with language and communication impairments how to create accessible documents.

Independent Living

• Life On the Road With Visual Impairments

  This is a great resource for individuals with Visual Impairments: Life on the Road With Visual Impairments

• Overcoming Financial Obstacles for Individuals With Visual Impairments

  This site is a great resource for individuals with Visual Impairments that need assistance with financial planning. 

Accessibility, Assistive Technology

• Microsoft Accessibility Tutorials

  The following website provides accessibility tutorials for Microsoft products.

Motivational Interviewing

• Motivational Interviewing: Enhancing Motivation for Change Webinar

  The Motivational Interviewing: Enhancing Motivation for Change webinar provides information on MI principles, techniques and tools to use in working with consumers. Special emphasis is placed on vocational planning and job search phases of the vocational rehabilitation process.

Accessibility, Independent Living

• NADTC Launches New Website!

  www.nadtc.org

Career Development, Employment

• On-line Applications and Job Screening - Tips for Employment Specialists Webinar

  The On-line Applications and Job Screening - Tips for Employment Specialists webinar reveals how on-line applications are used by the employer and reveal tips that to assist an Employment Specialist to support the consumer through this process. 

• Resumes that Yield Results Webinar

  In the Resumes that Yield Results webinar, Martha Garber provides information about various types of resumes and guidelines to use in choosing the correct resume type for the situation.

• Tips for an Impressive Interview Webinar

  The Tips for an Impressive Interview webinar identifies critical areas where a little coaching and support from the Employment Specialist can help the job seeker prepare for difficult circumstances and complete the interview to get the job. 
  

Employment, Person-Centered Practices, Transition

• Parent and Family Support of Young Adults for Success in Employment

  The Parent and Family Support of Young Adults for Success in Employment webinar provides an insight into the various aspects of engaging and building family support in the process of employment for youth in transition. 

Accessibility, Employment

• Partnership on Employment & Accessible Technology (PEAT)

  The Partnership on Employment & Accessible Technology (PEAT) is a multi-faceted initiative promoting the employment, retention, and career advancement of people with disabilities through the development, adoption, and promotion of accessible technology.

Inspiration, Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

• Real People, Real Jobs: Stories from the Front Line

  This site highlights the employment successes of people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) who are working in paid jobs in their communities.

Disclosure, Forms

• Release Authorization

Example of a Release Authorization form

Sample Policy, UNTWISE

• Sample Policy

  This is a sample policy handout used in the director course.

Communication, Disability Rights, Employment

• Social Media, Disability & Employment Protections Webinar

  The Social Media, Disability & Employment Protections webinar explores the interaction between the rights of people with disabilities in the workplace and the growing influence of social media. 

• Social Media, Disability & Employment Protections Webinar

  The Social Media, Disability & Employment Protections webinar explores the interaction between the rights of people with disabilities in the workplace and the growing influence of social media. 

• Social Media, Disability & Employment Protections Webinar

  The Social Media, Disability & Employment Protections webinar explores the interaction between the rights of people with disabilities in the workplace and the growing influence of social media. 

Social Security

• Social Security Disability Benefits and Impact of Work Webinar

  In the Social Security Disability Benefits and Impact of Work webinar, Sandy Smith and Stacey Levrets offer an update of the Social Security Administration SSI and SSDI benefits, work incentives, and the much coveted health insurances.

• Social Security Disability Benefits and Impact of Work Webinar

  In a two-part series, the Social Security Disability Benefits and Impact of Work Webinar offers an overview of the Social Security Administration SSI and SSDI benefits, work incentives, and the much coveted health insurances. 

• The Red Book 2016

  The Red Book serves as a general reference source about the employment-related provisions of Social Security Disability Insurance and the Supplemental Security Income Programs for educators, advocates, rehabilitation professionals, and counselors who serve people with disabilities.

  https://ssa.gov/redbook/

  • (Español)
  • 2016 English PDF Version
  • 2016 English HTML Version
  • To Order the Red Book in Alternative Format

   

Social Security, Transition

• Student Earned Income Exclusion Webinar

  The Student Earned Income Exclusion Webinar provides details on Social Security rules and work incentive that support the student to successfully learn work skills, earn money and build toward sustainable employment.

• Student Earned Income Exclusion Webinar

  The Student Earned Income Exclusion Webinar provides details on Social Security rules and work incentive that support the student to successfully learn work skills, earn money and build toward sustainable employment.

Career Development, Workplace

• Supported Employment and Olmstead

• Supported Employment Saves Money!

• Supported Employment Works!

Employment, Workplace, Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, Person-Centered Practices

• Supported Employment Evidence-Based Practices (EBP) KIT

  SAMHSA provides practice principles about supported employment, an approach to vocational rehabilitation for people with serious mental illnesses. Promotes the belief that everyone with a serious mental illness is capable of working competitively in the community.

Forms, Workplace, UNTWISE

• Task Analysis

Blank Task Analysis

Task Analysis form instructions

Task Analysis

• Task Analysis and Data Driven Results Webinar

  The Task Analysis and Data Driven Results Webinar provides participants with the methods to creating a Task Analysis, how to utilize a Task Analysis to teach specific job skills and behaviors, and to collect and analyze data to accommodate or modify a person's participation.

Employment, Workplace

• Technology for Successful Employment Webinar

  The Technology for Successful Employment webinar provides an overview for employment professionals to learn the basics of equipment as well as the features, and how to use these with individuals served.

• Technology for Successful Employment Webinar

  The Technology for Successful Employment webinar provides an overview for employment professionals to learn the basics of equipment as well as the features, and how to use these with individuals served.

ADA, Career Development

• Texas Effective Communications Tool Kit

Disability News Sources, Employment

• The Campaign for Disability Employment

  And... ACTION! Last week was an exciting one for the Campaign for Disability Employment (CDE), as shooting got underway for its new public service announcement (PSA) to be released in the fall. The CDE's previous two PSAs, "I Can" and "Because," both received tremendous response for their positive portrayal of the skills and talents of people with disabilities of all ages. The CDE is funded by ODEP and supported by several leading disability and business organizations.

• The Campaign for Disability Employment

  And... ACTION! Last week was an exciting one for the Campaign for Disability Employment (CDE), as shooting got underway for its new public service announcement (PSA) to be released in the fall. The CDE's previous two PSAs, "I Can" and "Because," both received tremendous response for their positive portrayal of the skills and talents of people with disabilities of all ages. The CDE is funded by ODEP and supported by several leading disability and business organizations.

Ethics, Person-Centered Practices

• The Ethics of Supported Decision Making Webinar

  During the The Ethics of Supported Decision Making webinar, participants will be introcued to the CRC Code of Ethics, which guides us to “seek the assent of clients and include clients in decision-making.” The supported decision-making process and model provides means to ensure the consumer is included in the decision process and provided their right to make choices.  

• The Ethics of Supported Decision Making Webinar

  During the The Ethics of Supported Decision Making webinar, participants will be introcued to the CRC Code of Ethics, which guides us to “seek the assent of clients and include clients in decision-making.” The supported decision-making process and model provides means to ensure the consumer is included in the decision process and provided their right to make choices.  

Workplace

• Workplace Flexibility Fact Sheet

  The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) has released the "Workplace Flexibility: A Strategic Business Approach for an Inclusive Workplace" fact sheet. This new resource provides many private-sector business examples on the benefits of workplace flexibility as well as how the federal government is using this business approach. The fact sheet addresses how workplace flexibility strategies can directly or indirectly help employers meet the goals of many federal regulations.