Thanks to the collaboration of a group of passionate parents and UNC-Chapel Hill faculty from the TEACCH Autism Program, Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, and School of Education the HEELS 2 Transition program, which is administered through the Department of Health Sciences within the UNC School of Medicine, provides the chance to experience college life and build skills for the transition to adulthood for young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The HEELS (Higher Education, Employment, and Living Success) suite of offerings—HEELS Prep, HEELS UP, and HEELS Week Away—offers these 18- to 26-year-old adults individualized ways to meet their goals and the opportunity to lead a self-determined life.

HEELS Prep

HEELS Prep is led by Dara Chan, ScD, who is a faculty fellow at the UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute (FPG). After launching in 2019 as a weekly skill building workshop in which participants worked on “adulting” skills, HEELS Prep has evolved into its current format of a month-long summer session, in-person and online, every weekday. Participants meet in groups and in one-to-one coaching sessions to focus on building skills in self-management, goal planning, independent living skills, career development and exploration, mental health, and community safety.

The core of the program is about leading a self-determined and interdependent life and empowering the students to shape their adult lives, especially with employment, education, independent living, and leisure activities. Central to the program is teaching participants about their “HEEL powers” that include the power to take steps toward their goals, plan their time, look for clues and find answers, use their voices and speak up for themselves and others, and take care of their responsibilities. Chan notes, “The transition to adulthood is a critical time when significant support through the structure and services of the school system is lost.”

“The transition to adulthood is a critical time when significant support through the structure and services of the school system is lost," says Chan. "The HEELS curriculum is designed to prepare young adults with IDD for community participation in a wide array of activities in adulthood by incorporating concepts of empowerment, self-determination, and informed choice throughout the curriculum.”

“The HEELS curriculum is designed,” Chan continues, “to prepare young adults with IDD for community participation in a wide array of activities in adulthood by incorporating concepts of empowerment, self-determination, and informed choice throughout the curriculum.”

Chan says that parents often say that one of the biggest takeaways from the program is the students being able to use their powers to function more independently, and families realizing their young adults are capable of doing much more than they realized, which at times is bittersweet. One parent noted in the program feedback, “He was empowered with skills to help make him feel confident about trying to do things on his own.”

Students practice life skills such as cooking, cleaning, and doing laundry. They also learn about dealing with difficult situations in the community and at work. Chan, an assistant professor in the division of clinical rehabilitation and mental health counseling in UNC’s department of health sciences, and her counseling students lead the career and mental health classes. Because individuals with disabilities are historically more vulnerable to experience abuse and neglect, participants take two types of safety courses: sexual health education class, which includes information about healthy relationships, and community safety, which is led by community partner Full Power.

One of the strengths of the program is the informal social connections the participants create with one another. They stay in touch, text each other, and get together in a way that evolves organically. Chan remembers driving home after the first year’s weeklong program ended and thinking, “That was amazing, but it was not enough.”

“Seeing what the students were capable of and the improvements that they made—not just in the classrooms, but with social connections—was great,” says Chan. In knowing how big an impact the program had in just one week, she realized the importance of offering more.

HEELS UP

HEELS UP, an immersive and inclusive post-secondary learning opportunity at Carolina for students with IDD, was developed in 2016 out of the national movement for inclusive postsecondary education programs. First piloted during the COVID pandemic, the program shifted gradually to being in person and added a residential option for students last summer. HEELS UP supports a small group of students as they take a summer session class at Carolina, are involved in community and campus activities, and have the option to live on campus.

Program director Brianne Tomaszewski, PhD, who is also an FPG faculty fellow, says that all of this summer’s 11 participants were involved with person-centered planning, a feature of many all-inclusive post-secondary education programs and adult services. Each participant develops the self-determination to lead their lives and choose what they want to work on.

This means that some students take an art class and do all of the assignments while other students may only do adapted assignments depending on their skills and interests. Students  also focus on learning about college, what it's like to be in a class, how to ask questions of the professor, and how to make friends and acquaintances with classmates. During weekly group dinners, participants identify the needed ingredients, make a list of groceries to purchase and then shop for them, prepare the group meal, and eat together.

Tomaszewski, a research assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at TEACCH, extols the diverse benefits of this type of program. “It has been shown that participants may be more likely to get jobs after this,” she says. “More importantly, students who have struggled with anxiety overcome some of it because they have been provided with an opportunity to thrive.”

She received an appreciative note from the mom of one of the participants; it said that her son was happy and excited that he was able to live in an apartment and learn these skills. HEELS UP participants get to have similar experiences as that of their peers, allowing these young adults with IDD to make “adulting mistakes” from which they can learn how to problem solve and build their skills. Tomaszewski also says that the program benefits professors, who are often introduced to a new population. “Our faculty learn new skills and strategies, such as universal design, that are applicable to all students,” she says. “When faculty learn how to accommodate our participants, they are growing the capacity to support all students at UNC.”

“Our faculty learn new skills and strategies, such as universal design, that are applicable to all students,” says Tomaszewski. “When faculty learn how to accommodate our participants, they are growing the capacity to support all students at UNC.”

HEELS UP will launch its first full academic year program in fall 2025. The hope is to establish a four-year comprehensive transition program from which students earn a certificate. The intention is for the program to be a federally registered program so that students can receive federal financial aid and for it to be accredited through a newly established accreditation process for inclusive post-secondary education programs.

HEELS Week Away

Alumni of HEELS Prep and HEELS Up may take part in HEELS Week Away, a week-long intensive practice of life skills. In its third year, Week Away helps participants strengthen adaptive daily living skills. Each of the students reinforce the skills they learned in HEELS Prep and partner with the program team to decide which goals they want to focus on.  All participants have the opportunity to work on the interpersonal skills of living with a roommate.

Divided into three smaller groups, the participants do meal planning, shopping, cooking, and cleaning for two meals per group. This summer, they spent time at Cat Tales Cat Café on Franklin Street, played games at Chapel Hill’s Baxter Arcade, and attended baseball games on campus. Exploring the community in this way teaches skills such as navigating the bus system and making plans. “When we went to the movies, we had a budgeting lesson where we explained fixed costs, such as their ticket, and optional costs, such as snacks,” says program director Linda Varblow, an autism specialist at TEACCH and a clinical instructor in the UNC department of psychiatry.

“These young adults are learning about advocating for yourself and not being afraid to ask for help when you need it,” says Varblow. “We look for opportunities for them to be able to speak up and have choices in their lives and know that they can make those choices.”

Varblow believes that the most important aspect of Week Away is reinforcing the participants’ sense of self-determination. “These young adults are learning about advocating for yourself and not being afraid to ask for help when you need it,” she says. “We look for opportunities for them to be able to speak up and have choices in their lives and know that they can make those choices.”

Chan and Varblow spend every night of the program in the dorm with the students. They are joined by a graduate student and several volunteers, many of whom are Carolina graduate students earning a degree in rehab counseling, occupational therapy, or speech pathology, as well as undergraduate students.

The program offers several “booster sessions” throughout the school year, to reinforce students’ life skills and teach them new skills. Last January, each student received a sewing kit and learned how to attach a button to a garment.

Varblow believes that the program and volunteering have a ripple effect. “In the long run, people will see that people with an intellectual disability or a developmental diagnosis are human, just like the rest of us,” she says. “They have hopes and dreams and we don't need to feel sorry for them. We need to meet them where they are and listen to them. The world just needs to give them a chance.”

Volunteers are welcome

The program’s directors would love more involvement from the community. Organizations and businesses that can provide internships and/or employment are invited to get in touch. In addition, the programs welcome community members and Carolina students, faculty, and staff to volunteer with the programs and/or provide opportunities for participants.

“It is great to be part of helping and seeing people reach their goals, enjoy campus, and become a part of Carolina,” says Tomaszewski. “Watching people become empowered and our community be inclusive is how life should be.”

Tomaszewski says that volunteers enjoy being part of HEELS 2 Transition. “It is great to be part of helping and seeing people reach their goals, enjoy campus, and become a part of Carolina,” she says. “Watching people become empowered and our community be inclusive is how life should be.”