The Post Secondary Transition Conversation

And we're back for the NEW YEAR! Happy 2024! Hosts Meghan (Smallwood) and Patrick (Cadigan) continue their walk up the transition ladder. This time, the discussion covers digital portfolio's and the information they can share for  students (and their families). The conversation includes information on informal portfolios that students and families can make themselves to some of the more...

Please note that we'll be taking break over this holiday season to be with our families. So Happy Holiday's and well talk with you very soon in the New Year! Hosts Meghan (Smallwood) and Patrick (Cadigan) talk with Amy D'Agati from University of Maryland's TerpsEXCEED program discussing what college can look like for students with intellectual disabilities. The conversation cov...

With the start of the Holidays, hosts Meghan & Patrick ran into scheduling challenges. So, in lieu of a conversation,  they're posting about a new useful resource and look forward to more discussions coming very soon. Enjoy & Sorry for the delay! Episode Keywords: information, links, skills, resource, updates, Maryland, transition, local Well That's Helpful - My Life Learning Cen...

Hosts Meghan (Smallwood) and Patrick (Cadigan) talk with Maria Paiewonsky from the Institute for Community Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts/Boston. Together, they discuss ThinkCollege, a national effort that works to promote inclusive higher education opportunities for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. During the conversation, Maria emphasizes the importance of...

Hosts Meghan (Smallwood) & Patrick (Cadigan) discuss career acadamies (within the school system) and what they can offer students. Their discussion covers career research and development, apprenticeships and how best to use career academies for students who don't think college is right for them. Join the conversation. Episode Keywords:  students, work, county, apprenticeship, career acade...

Bonus: We cut together the two episodes of our deep-dive discussion with Jamie into one; it includes discussion on benefits of self direction versus the traditional Agency model, hiring friends/family, recent challenges around Fiscal Management  Services, budgeting, Patrick saving families from acronym-vomit and lots more! Episode Keywords: families, provider, fiscal management, person centered, s...

Hosts Meghan (Smallwood) & Patrick (Cadigan) return and continue their deep-dive discussion into Self Directed Services with Coordinator of Community Service, Jamie Brodnax. Topics include the  benefits of Agency model, budgeting, tips/advice when starting services and Patrick saving everyone from more acronym vomit.  Join us in the conversation. Episode Keywords: families, provider, fiscal ma...

This week, hosts Meghan (Smallwood) & Patrick (Cadigan) are one again joined by Coordinator of Community Service, Jamie Brodnax. Together they do a deep-dive into talking about Self Directed Services. Topics of discussion include  benefits of self direction (versus the traditional Agency model), the ability to hire friends/family, recent challenges around Fiscal Management  Services and so muc...

This week, host's Meghan and Patrick discuss some of the topics that prove challenging to parents of students with disabilities. They cover moving students from the diploma-bound track to certificate, making long term goals that lead to uncomfortable truths, and some of the mundane transitions that families experience. Episode Keywords: conversations, families, parents, transition, diploma, h...

Host's Meghan and Patrick discuss what parents of students with disabilities can expect from the exit year. They cover some of the milestones to watch out for, tips on communicating/collaborating with your Coodinator of Community Service and discuss a timeline of events throughout the school year. Episode Keywords: coordinator, DDA, parents, young adult, conversation, specialist, waiver, exit...

Host's Meghan and Patrick are excited to shift into their second season; they discuss the roots for their passions and focus their discussion on some of the updates that have populated their Post-Secondary Transition website. They drop hints about some of the new things coming up this season and details about future discussions. Episode Keywords: transition, information, families, guardianshi...

Links Updated 3/05/2026! Hosts Meghan & Patrick ran into a scheduling snafu, so they're posting a "new" collection of useful resources from their website (link found below). Enjoy! Well That's Helpful 1. Certificate Track ( page ) 2. Adult Agency Snapshot ( page ) 3. Health Care Transition ( page )       - Heath Care Timeline ( page ) 4. Guardianship ( page ) Send Us Questi...

Links Updated 3/05/2026! Hosts Meghan & Patrick are still taking off the month in July. Instead, they're posting a second set of resources from episodes 22 - 25 and put them in one place. Enjoy! Well That's Helpful 1. T21Mom.com Podcast ( site ) 2. Shared Support MD ( site ) 3. MD Department of Education- Specially Designed Instruction & Transition Planning ( site ) 4. Disability...

Links Updated 3/05/2026! Just a reminder, hosts Meghan & Patrick are taking off the month in July, so no new content is posting. Instead, they've gathered the resources from episodes 18 - 21 and put them in one place. Enjoy! Well That's Helpful 1. Acronyms & Definitions ( page ), Service Coordination: Glossary of Terms ( site ) 2. The Parents Place of Maryland/Resources ( site )...

Hosts Megan (Smallwood) and Patrick (Cadigan) continue their discussion with Liz Burley, a transition consultant and retired teacher/transition coordinator with 40 years experience. Liz discusses the integration of students with disabilities into the classroom, the importance of peer influence and considering/planning for the future.  Join the conversation! Episode Keywords: parents, young adult,...

Hosts Megan (Smallwood) and Patrick (Cadigan) interview Liz Burley, a transition consultant and retired teacher/transition coordinator with 40 years experience. Liz discusses how she came to work transition, critical points she hopes parents will consider about a child's future, the importance of independence, and so much more. Join the conversation! Episode Keywords: parents, students, trans...

Hosts Megan (Smallwood) and Patrick (Cadigan) take another rung on the ladder; this time the discussion focuses on guardianship. They introduce the two types of guardianship, discuss possible questions families should consider and the how guardianship effects personal decision-making.  DISCLAIMER : This is not designed or intended as legal advice. Guardianship is just one of many tools in the tran...

Hosts Megan (Smallwood) and Patrick (Cadigan) interview Betsy Dooley, a retired teacher/transition coordinator. Betsy discuss her varied career, some of the difficult topics she had to talk about with families, her approach to having students understand their IEPs and so much more! Episode Keywords: students, transition, conversations, IEP, classes, work, family, coordinator, accommodations, high...

Updated links 11/9/2024! Hosts Megan (Smallwood) and Patrick (Cadigan) continue climbing the ladder by discussing the complexities of Supplemental Security Income (SSI). They lay out how adults may receive monthly payments, how eligibility starts at age 18 and includes automatic Medicaid. The conversation also covers preparation for SSI applications, the importance of housing agreements, and the r...

Hosts Megan (Smallwood) and Patrick (Cadigan) interview Britt & Lauren Burr, founders of Barrier-Free, a program that incorporates theater arts to enrich the lives of of adults with disabilities. Lauren & Britt discuss the founding of Barrier-Free, why they do what they do, a few of the challenges and so many of their successes. Join the conversation! Episode Keywords: folks, neurodivergen...

Updated Links 11/2024! Hosts Megan (Smallwood) and Patrick (Cadigan) traverse the ladder; they drill down and do an overview of work programs offered by their school system for both non-diploma and diploma-bound students, the criteria including some of the expectations these programs have for their participants. Please Note : this is by no means intended to be comprehensive, simply just a conversa...

Updated links 9/2025 Hosts Meghan (Smallwood) and Patrick (Cadigan) discuss the Division of Rehabilitation Services (DORS) for Maryland, a state-funded agency that can offer short-term funding for persons with disabilities. They cover how DORS might offer pre-employment transition services (Pre-ETS) like job exploration, workplace readiness training, self-advocacy and work-based learning experienc...

Hosts Megan (Smallwood) and Patrick (Cadigan) interview Sarah Hammond, who works as an Adult Life Planner (under the Autism Waiver) for a private agency.  Sarah shares insights on being a resource for families, person-centered planning, aspects of the job she loves in addition to the things that keep her on her toes. Join in on the conversation! Episode Keywords transition, families, work, support...

Hosts Megan (Smallwood) and Patrick (Cadigan) interview Jamie Brodnax who works as a Coordinator of Community Services. Jamie shares her insights into a world that so many families are focused on right now. We discuss what benefits coordinators offer to families, what self-direction looks like from a coordinators perspective, and tips/tricks that families can use to stay organized & stay ahead...

Due to a scheduling snafu, there will not be a "new" episode, per say. Instead, we've unearthed an artifact from the past; while at Towson, Patrick conducted a project interview with Meghan so as to learn more about transition (please note, Patrick received an A+++ on the project).  Fair warning! the audio...sucks, but it's a decent interview and the information is consistent....