Tip 7 - Get support
- We all need support from others, especially when we are planning for what we are going to do after school. Provide support to your young person and encourage them to also seek support from others - friends and people at school including teachers, career advisers and counsellors.
- If your young person has had help at school, they may also need some support in future study or work.
- Disability support is often called adjustments or accommodations in study and work settings.
- There are people who can help young people access adjustments, for example each TAFE and university has a disability service to contact. Now is the time to help your young person check out who to contact and what support will be available. Prospective students can make contact with disability services even before they start at a TAFE or university.
- Your local NDCO can help you make contact with these supports if necessary.
- Help your young person to find out about the supports available in your local area.
- Find out which potential future study or work settings will be able to give your young person the most appropriate support.
- Different adjustments may be available in different environments.
- It is important that young people understand what support they can realistically expect to receive.
- Many young people find having a mentor very helpful. A mentor is usually someone who is older and more experienced, and can offer advice, support, direction, advocacy, encouragement and role modelling.
- Encourage your young person to find a role model or mentor.
- They may find a mentor informally through a school, community, sporting, or family contact.
- There are also formal mentoring programs which your young person may be able to get involved in. An example is the Willing and Able Mentoring program.
- Local services may be able to help young people connect with mentors in their area, or try searching for a mentoring program on the Youth Mentoring Network website.
