Transition Academy for Paraeducators (TAP) - Transition Academy for Paraeducators (TAP) responds to NIDILRR’s employment outcome domain and WIOW (2014) through the goal of developing an innovative online training package to provide high-school paraeducators with the knowledge and skills to better support vocational-skill building aligned with Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS) for youth experiencing Intellectual and developmental disability (IDD). The two primary objectives include: 1) Two years of development work in partnership with paraeducators, special education teachers, vocational rehabilitation (VR) professionals, an auditing team of adults with IDD, and a neuro-diverse media team to develop, iteratively refine, and finalize a multimedia training package comprised of five modules. Activities to reach this objective includes developing instructional materials, applied practice activities, and communication and coaching protocols for school-based teams. The final objective will be to conduct a small study of the fully functioning system across five high school special education settings that reflect the racial, ethnic and economic diversity of the population intended to serve. Anticipated outcomes include benefits for both paraeducators and youth with IDD. After engaging in TAP, paraeducators will have greater content knowledge about the Pre-ETS, increased feelings of self-efficacy and social support, and reduced occupational stress. These changes should be associated with improved quality to provide vocational-skill building aligned with individual needs of youth with IDD which should translate to youth having greater opportunities for competitive integrated employment, independence, and a self-determined life. The anticipated product is a fully functioning web-based training system that can be delivered on-demand to any paraeducator, in any U.S. school, at any time.
