Leveraging Vocational Rehabilitation

Education is no cakewalk for students with learning and attention issues. Statistics show that students who learn differently drop out of high school at nearly three times the rate of all students. And neurodivergent students who do complete high school attend four-year colleges at half the rate of their peers. While there are various barriers such as week perceived stigma, soft skills, and proving their disabilities to receive accommodations that keep students with learning disabilities from entering the academy, not going to college for many students boils down to something fundamental: cost. That’s where a program called vocational rehabilitation can throw these families a lifeline. Vocational Rehabilitation, or VR, helps individuals with disabilities transition into the workforce. It can support training in any field or career from science to law that requires postsecondary education or a degree. And VR can provide help with planning for college and provide help with some of the costs of attendance. Of course, it helps to understand the nuts and bolts of how vocational rehabilitation can help your student go to college to maximize the benefits. On this episode, we peek in on an education professional who tutors parents in the ABCs of using vocational rehabilitation programs to pay for college for students who learn differently. Next, to help parents best maximize what could be a valuable resource for their college-bound child with learning or attention issues, our expert panel delves deeper into the thorny patch of different jargon, processes and requirements that set apart state vocational rehabilitation programs. Later, you’ll meet our latest “Difference Maker,” Jeremiah Josey, a baker who is a cooking up a multi-layered brand of success as a model, author, and neurodiversity advocate.