Inside Rehabilitation Counseling
Inside Rehabilitation Counseling
K-12 Transition Services and Community Impact with Crystal Evans, CRC
Since the late 1970s, the Pittsburgh Public School system has hired Certified Rehabilitation Counselors to provide services for students with disabilities, ranging from ensuring accommodations are in place to providing transition services that prepare them for life after high school. The National Center for Education Statistics reports that 7.5 million, or 15% of all public school students, receive special education services. Because these services are so vital, Pittsburgh Public Schools prioritizes ensuring that qualified, highly trained professionals deliver them by hiring Certified Rehabilitation Counselors as part of the interdisciplinary team working in the special education program at their schools. One of those CRCs is our guest for this episode.
Crystal Evans is the Transition Coordinator for Pittsburgh Public Schools and has been with the school system for 18 years. Crystal spoke with me about the impact transition services make on not only students with disabilities and their families, but also the community. You’ll also hear some thoughts on how employer outreach can help destigmatize hiring individuals with disabilities, and a few success stories that point to the importance of ensuring every student has this quality of professionalism and service.
Welcome back to Inside Rehabilitation Counseling. I'm CRCC Director of Communications and Marketing Taylor Bauer, and I'm excited to bring you another conversation exploring the art and science of rehabilitation counseling. Since the late 1970s, the Pittsburgh Public School System has hired certified rehabilitation counselors to provide services for students with disabilities, ranging from ensuring accommodations are in place to transition services, preparing them for life after high school. The National Center of Education Statistics reports that 7.5 million, or 15%, of all public school students receive special education services. Because these services are so vital, ensuring that qualified, highly trained professionals deliver them is a priority for Pittsburgh Public Schools, which hires certified rehabilitation counselors as part of the interdisciplinary team working in the special education program at their schools. One of those CRCs is our guest for this episode. Crystal Evans is the transition coordinator for Pittsburgh Public Schools and has been with the school system for 18 years. Crystal spoke with me about the impact transition services make on not only a student with disabilities and their families, but also a community. You'll also hear some thoughts on how employer outreach can help work to destigmatize hiring an individual with disabilities and a few success stories that point to the importance of every student having this quality of professional and service in their school. Crystal, thank you so much for joining us here on Inside Rehabilitation Counseling. I'm really excited to have someone working in transition services on the show. It's probably the area of work that CRCs can pursue that we get the most questions about, whether it's how do I get into this type of work, why aren't there more CRCs working in transition services and K-12 systems? But before we kind of dive into your current role, I just want to learn a little bit about your path to becoming a certified rehabilitation counselor. When did you first know that this is what you wanted to be doing?
Crystal Evans, CRC:So I would say when I was in high school, I always thought that I would be some type of a counselor. I think more so mental health counseling at that time. When I started college, my undergrad, I majored in psychology and sociology. So that, you know, just kind of continued to spark my interest in the field. I knew I wanted to go on to grad school, but again, just assumed that I would do some type of counseling, mental health counseling, even thought about marriage counseling at one point. When I started, it wasn't until I started going through the list of graduate programs at West Virginia University that I learned what rehab counseling was. And I think what drew me towards that specific program was that the variety of different areas that a rehab counselor could work in, including, you know, mental health agencies, schools. So that that really piqued my interest. And then when I started that program and did an internship, I interned at a mental health facility in Morgantown, West Virginia, and realized that that wasn't something that I wanted to do, which was a good. I mean, it was a great experience. But at the same time, I think at that point I was leaning more towards Voke Rehab, state rehab, or schools. So I ended up doing another internship at the Pennsylvania Office of Vocational Rehabilitation here in Pittsburgh and commuted there every day for my internship from Morgantown to Pittsburgh and really enjoyed that work. So I ended up getting hired there. I worked there for five years prior to coming on to the school district. Um but it was through my work through OVR where I had predominantly a transition age caseload. So I worked with students ages 14 and up at some of the local uh city schools, in addition to some of the schools in the suburbs, um, and then had adults with disabilities on my caseload as well. And I really enjoyed my work with the students, um, the transition age population. And so when a position became available with the schools, um I ended up interviewing and have been here for I think 18 years.
Taylor Bauer, CRCC:And as you mentioned, like with your internship, sometimes it it's helpful to get into a work setting and know, oh, this isn't for me, right? And there's things to learn from that experience. Absolutely. Um and I'm sure, you know, there are parts that even potentially running into parts of that work where you were like, oh, I don't like this as much as I thought, or I might want to be doing this a little differently. That probably carries with you when you're going to a new work setting and you're like, okay, I kind of know what resonates with me professionally. And going back to kind of your um initial reasoning for even pursuing this field, you know, knowing the core of like what you want to do, which it sounds like was very like um action-oriented. You wanted to make a difference. And it's great that you were able to find that kind of path through transition uh services. And you, as you mentioned, you've served as the transition coordinator for uh Pittsburgh Public Schools now for um you said 18 years?
Crystal Evans, CRC:Yeah, 2007.
Taylor Bauer, CRCC:So okay. Tell me a little bit about the work that you do and uh maybe like what a typical week looks like with the work you're doing. And I'm sure right now, new school year, uh the weeks might look a little bit different even than, you know, they do January, February.
Crystal Evans, CRC:Yeah, the beginning of the year and end of the year are always the busiest. December is really the slowest month, and it's really even then not really slow. But part of my job includes um providing support to our our transition counselors. So they used to be called rehabilitation counselors, now they're transition counselors. Um, same requirements, same qualifications, same job duties. Um, they were hired in our district, and just kind of kind of to give a little bit of background on them. We our district started hiring rehabilitation counselors in the late 70s. And the intent back then was to help support our students with IEPs, students that have disabilities who are in our career and tech ed programs, and to help provide them with you know more support, the knowledge of what might be out there as far as work goes in a vocational setting. So we've had CRCs and have been hiring CRCs in our district since the late 70s. Currently, we have 14 transition counselors or rehabilitation counselors in our schools. They provide um they're the direct point of contact for all of our students that have IEPs ages 14 through 21. Students in our district can remain in school until the day before they turn 22. So they have their pace load. Our counselors are providing the direct support for students, they're helping them plan for life after graduation. They're so they're looking at employment, they're looking at post-secondary education or training, and then independent living. So, what are we doing now while the still students are still in high school to help prepare them for life after graduation? So, part of my role in the district is providing support to all of those counselors. Um, in addition, I also do training to our counselors and special education teachers in regards to any uh federal or state secondary transition laws and regulations. So indicator 13 has been a big one. Um, since I started in the district, that's been you know a training that I will go around and do with our staff, um, including our charter schools. And basically that's just making sure that we're providing adequate transition services in a student's individualized education program that will help prepare them for life after graduation. So um that's kind of one aspect of my job. We also have transition programs in our district where we have students that will be working at a real work site in the community for part of the day, um, either supported by our teachers, supported by a job coach, or just natural supports on the work site. So within those programs, I also provide support to our transition programs as well. So anything transition related, you know, I'm here to provide that support. What a typical day might look like, I attend a lot of meetings. Umfortunately, now I'm not running from school to school since we have the capability to do things uh virtually. So it's a lot of teams meetings. Um, it's a lot of just bouncing ideas off of our program coordinators and things. And right now, just planning and preparation for getting our programs up and running. And we have some new staff this year that I'm providing support to. So that's kind of a typical day. And then my training, I will do that training throughout the school year as well on the compliance and IEP writing. Also, one thing I didn't mention is maintaining contact and connections with our local agencies that work with students. Um, that's another big part of my job. We work very closely with our VR where I used to work prior to coming to the district. We have OVR counselors assigned to all of our high school. So just making sure that our students, our staff are aware of different agencies that can provide support to students, um, either while they're still in high school or once they graduate, and just kind of maintaining those connections throughout the years to make sure that we stay up to date on what's out there, who's out there, what are they providing, because a lot has changed since since COVID.
Taylor Bauer, CRCC:So I could imagine, yeah. And I keeping track of all those different cross-departmental um folks who are working in or out of schools or going from one school to another is kind of a uh not not a challenge, but um a unique part of that work as well because it takes a lot of logistics. So when you said meetings, I was imagining I'm like, yeah, I mean, those meetings probably take up a huge chunk of your week, but those are essential to getting those services to the students. So I think sometimes we hear from folks that are like, I really want to be working directly with the students or the clients themselves. And um, I I don't want to be away from that part of the job. And I always try to remind them, I'm like, sometimes the behind the scenes work is just as impactful because without all of that planning and making sure you have the right uh counselors and the right team there to meet the needs of the people you're serving, um, nothing happens. So they're very uh lucky to have you because it sounds like you have a lot on your plate and uh we're we're grateful for the work you're doing. And it's really great also to hear a little bit about the uh the history of the school district hiring rehabilitation counselors. I think we tend to think of vocational rehab as, you know, state agencies or uh veteran services and stuff like that. There's a deep history in this profession within transition services, and we'd love, you know, CRCC would love to see even more CRCs entering those roles. And, you know, for someone who hasn't worked very closely with transition age clients or provided transition services in their career, what are some of the more unique aspects or considerations that you and your team encounter? And in what ways does being a certified rehabilitation counselor equip you to manage these challenges?
Crystal Evans, CRC:Um, I think for us having that background and in not only rehabilitation counseling, clinical mental health counseling, um, but having that CRC is a whole different type of training and certification. So it really sets us apart from a typical guidance counselor because we have that training and background in working with individuals with disabilities. I think for me, having that experience and working for VR prior to coming to the school district was unique because I got to see the adult side of it. Now I know, you know, kind of what our students are working towards whenever they leave us. So that kind of gave me a different perspective on that. But I just think, like I said, having that CRC is just a is is unique in and of itself. But implementing that and and the knowledge and and the qualifications that our counselors have is makes us really unique.
Taylor Bauer, CRCC:Yeah. And we we see um a lot of folks who are providing services to transition-aged youth come from a variety of backgrounds, right? And there are so many essential roles that go into a transition system. And I think, yeah, that disability and uh rehabilitation background and education, and then having to pass the exam really goes a long way in showing that you know you're going to be able to meet those students where they are and figure out a path that's gonna work best for them, which I would imagine is gonna look differently for every single student you work with, just like any, just like any adult client. I was kind of surprised by this. I was doing a little bit of research before our conversation, and you know, we tend to hear a lot of times that just disability in general or students specifically with disabilities are a bit of an outlier, right? According to the National Center of Education Statistics, though, 7.5 million, or the equivalent of about 15% of all public school students, receive some sort of uh special education services in the 2022, uh, 2023 school year. And to me, that's a very significant demographic that's not just like, oh, you know, some students have disabilities. That's a pretty significant portion of the broader public school student population. What are some misconceptions that you work to combat when it comes to students with disabilities, and particularly as they enter that transition age?
Crystal Evans, CRC:I would say, you know, our students can do anything that a student without a disability can do. I mean, they are, you know, they can work, they can go on to further training, college, university, short-term training program, trade or tech schools, and can live independent lives as well. So I think that's a misconception that some people have, maybe not so much in a school district, but we run into that with employers sometimes when they they you know realize that you know some of the kids that we're we're trying to to bring in um might have a disability. So I think and a lot of that I think stems from them just knowing, not understanding disability. So a lot of times that takes us educating employers on, you know, what is autism? And just because you know, one student exhibits you know, these challenges or these behaviors doesn't mean that they all do. And we'll go in and educate them on how to provide accommodations or how to, you know, provide the support that might be necessary for an individual or a student that's on the work site. Um, so I think just kind of um education, I would say, is is one of the biggest things that we do with a lot of the partnerships that we have and just educating them about the different types of disabilities and and getting our students there on the work sites to show them, hey, our our kids can do this, our our students are capable, just as capable of as anybody else. Um and not just working, but like I said, even in a post-secondary uh training program, post-secondary education, um, you know, our students can be just as successful and obtain a degree or or a certificate, just like anybody else that doesn't have a disability.
Taylor Bauer, CRCC:Yeah, absolutely. You know, kind of on the topic of employers and and kind of helping them identifying students exiting that K through 12 transition uh period as potential job candidates, where is the balance between, like you said, kind of just educating employers on how disability isn't some disqualifying factor for someone to get a job? And how much of that also comes with the work you do to help students identify their skills and even be able to articulate those to an employer?
Crystal Evans, CRC:It's a great question. So a lot of times, you know, when we get students of a transition age, that you know, there's a lot of them that don't know they have a disability or they know they have some challenges, they might just say, you know, I'm I'm not good in, I'm not very good in math, or I'm not good at reading. Um, they may not understand that it's a learning disability or they have autism or an intellectual disability. So it's really again us educating them. We strongly encourage our students to attend and not only just attend, but participate in their IEP meetings, you know, so they are part of that planning process. You know, we always say don't let your teachers and and everybody else plan, you know, the next year for you. We want you involved. We want to know what your interests are, we want to know what you want to do when you graduate and what we can do to help you to reach your goals. So I think them coming in, a lot of them may not know that they have a disability. So we're educating them in in that regard, um, and just making sure that they stay connected, they're engaged in their education program through the graduation. Something else I wanted to mention that goes along with that is just um teaching kids self-advocacy. I mean, that's that's huge. So once they do, you know, have an understanding of their disability, what their needs are, what accommodations are, being able to ask for help when needed is extremely important. So again, those are skills that we we start teaching, I mean, as early on as possible, but at a minimum transition age, which in Pennsylvania is 14 through graduation and ask for help. Ask your teachers for help when you need it, ask your parents for help when you need it. And then of course, when they get to the work site, we always encourage that as well. How would you go about if you are struggling on a work site or you don't know what task is next, or you don't know how to do something, or you don't know where something is, um, we want to make sure that our students know how to ask for help when needed. Self-advocacy, self-determination are huge. They can be a b barrier to our students, but we we want to make sure those are those are skills that we teach students before they leave us.
Taylor Bauer, CRCC:Yeah, and those can be tough concepts for anybody to be able to put into practice in the workplace. Um particularly for people with a disability. We know a lot of folks who are disabled might try to not share that with an employer uh for risk of thinking they might get treated differently or they might be seen as less capable, which we know tends to not be the case, right? Folks with disabilities in the workplace tend to overperform because they're looking to compensate for discrimination and things like that. So it's that's kind of one of those reasons why I want to see eventually more certified rehabilitation counselors working with, I mean, anybody with a disability, but students in particular, those skills learned at that, you know, chapter of your life as it begins to head into a new one can be integral to being able to have a career ahead of you that says, no matter where I'm working, I know how to explain to my employer, like you said, what it is that I need to succeed. And also knowing that I can tell them, like, look, I could be great at this work. I just need to be put in the position to do great. And I need to be given these supports, and this is how this is going to work best for everybody involved. And that's, you know, like I said, a challenging thing for anybody to do. But it's great to get that experience and those skills at this age group that you're working with. What sort of experiences in the role uh that you have with Pittsburgh Public Schools have shown you just how crucial it is to have experts like yourself and your team in these transition students' lives? Are there any success stories that stand out to you in your time with the school district that really kind of are those like, aha, this is why I do what I do moments?
Crystal Evans, CRC:Interestingly enough, just two days ago, we we have a uh one of our transition programs, our start on success program, has an open position for a special education teacher. Um, that program, this the teacher teaches classes, career development classes in the morning, in the afternoon, they're out in the community checking on students, seniors who are doing a paid internship. Of all the applicants that we had, we ended up having a former start on success student apply for an interview for the position. So it was a student that graduated from Pittsburgh Public Schools, I believe back in 2009, 2010, did a paid internship with us, I think at Allegheny General Hospital, and then went on to get her bachelor's degree, and then went on to even get her master's degree in special education, um, and then became a special education, a certified special education teacher. So it's really awesome to see someone that it's kind of full circle, it brings it back around. Someone who has a disability who, you know, went through one of our transition programs and then, you know, was able, because of the skills and everything that she learned, was able to earn her bachelor's degree and then a master's degree, and then ended up, you know, interviewing for one of our one of our positions for the program that she was in when she was in high school. So that that's really cool to see.
Taylor Bauer, CRCC:How often does that happen that you kind of get to come across the students who have gone through the services that you provide? Is that a common thing or is that not really happening as much?
Crystal Evans, CRC:I wouldn't say that it's common. Um I've run into some students out of at some places before where I've been shopping or whatever, and and it's it's awesome to see them working or still working in a place maybe the where they were whenever they were with us. We recently, and again, this doesn't happen often, but we've had some some cases recently where um, like I said, that the girl I mentioned before that's now a special education teacher who interviewed. Um, we have another student who just graduated this past year who was interesting and in interested in becoming either a teacher's aide or or something like that in a classroom setting or working with individuals with disabilities. So she again went through one of our transition programs, our Start on Success program, did paid internship, worked with the summer um employment program here called Learn and Earn, where it's also a paid paid position for her over the summer, working with kids. And then she ended up applying for and was recently hired as a personal care aide in our school for a contracted agency that works with kids in our school district. So again, someone who kind of went through the program working with the people with disabilities was an interest for her. And so some of the skills that she learned through the program and our transition services really helped her to get to where she is. So she was hired and is starting, I think, this month in October. So that's exciting. Um so again, the those I wouldn't say that happens often to where we have kids come back and work the dis we definitely would encourage that. I mean, you know, we have various positions where where kids can work, um, either right out of high school or just, you know, with minimal training. But just like I said, those are a couple of things recently that where we've had some kids kind of come back around in full circle where they've been through some of our programs. So it's really awesome to see.
Taylor Bauer, CRCC:Yeah, that's so great. And I really appreciate you sharing that because I think we talk all the time about, you know, CRCs help individuals with disabilities, you know, achieve their professional and personal goals. And those kind of uh individualized journeys are so impactful for people understanding why this work matters and why it's so important. And I think it's kind of a uh it's a relationship that's very important that, you know, you're literally shaping your community by helping these students find their passion and and go out and become, you know, contributing members of the community and do great things and inspire the next generation of students. And um, you know, it's also essential that, you know, like Pittsburgh Public School is buying into that concept of why it's so important to put professionals like yourself in these positions because this is not like a, you know, you work with a student, they graduate, and it's like, okay, that's the end of the story. They have their own story now to go on and write. And that can be, like I said, community altering in such a positive, impactful way. And pointing to those kind of success stories are the best way that we have to be able to show folks who don't know about this work, or maybe they know, like, oh, professionals work with students with disabilities in the classroom. But why is it so crucial that you have those highly trained, highly qualified professionals in that role? It's because they're going to literally shape this person's future to go on and shape other futures. And as a non-CRC and a non-counselor, those are the things that get me really passionate about, you know, the work we do at CRCC where I'm like, okay, cool. Now I'm all fired up because I want to go tell people about this and how how great the work you do is. And um, you know, that's that's I guess why I'm here and why the podcast exists. So I appreciate you sharing both of those stories.
Crystal Evans, CRC:I do want, you know, I have to mention too, it's it's not just us and and our CRCs that we work in the schools, but it's you know, making sure that we stay in communication and have a good relationship, establish a good relationship with our families and our our students' families. I mean, that's you know, terribly important because once we go away, you know, once a student graduates, then we want to make sure that they have another team of support around them. So between the students' families, um, like I said, the various agencies that we work with, um, you know, OVR being one of the bigger ones, um, Office of Developmental Supports, depending on the students' disabilities, making sure students have supports coordinators. So, you know, they all obviously have a hand in helping our students be successful adults as well. And like you said earlier, being contributing members of society. That's that's what we want for all students. So, but it it is great um to see our students kind of come back around and full circle, you know, because we don't always get to see that.
Taylor Bauer, CRCC:Yeah, of course. Yeah, I appreciate you kind of noting that because I feel like maybe it's just the way that I spend my time where I'm constantly telling people about CRCs and the work that you all do, where it starts to almost sound like our master plan is to have CRCs be every single position everywhere. And really it's more the fact that multidisciplinary teams lend themselves to successful outcomes for the people that CRCs, you know, exist to serve, right? So it's it's it's definitely a good call out on your behalf to say, you know, CRCs have this specific skill set that when partnered with the folks who are really great at what they do, and like you said, too, the families at home who can help to foster that self-efficacy and be that support team uh prior or uh after they exit that K through 12 transition system, um, that's where the work continues, right? Like I said, the story doesn't end on graduation day. And it's it's really powerful to see, you know, all these different professionals come together in that school system and then hopefully equip families and friends and support teams to uh continue to advocate for uh their student with a disability who is now heading out into the working world, as well as that individual uh student themselves who's now going to be having to do some of that work themselves to say, you know, here are my skills, um, here's what I know I can bring to the table and kind of build on all the things that they've been exposed to from professionals like yourself and your peers in the school district. So I appreciate you calling that out. Sure. Absolutely. It what we would love to see more is just that into interdisciplinary team. And what we do find from folks is, you know, there are a lot of places that CRCs will say, I think like we have a role on this team or in this work setting, and they potentially don't have CRCs on their team. And that's kind of the goal, right? Is to get them into as many places where they can be working with people with disabilities as possible.
Crystal Evans, CRC:Absolutely.
Taylor Bauer, CRCC:We've featured a number of disability service professionals at the university level on this show, and many of them have told us that students they work with are very clear on what accommodation they know that they need and will help them be successful. There are certain instances where a student might not know all the accommodations that are available to them, but they say a lot of students, especially now, come to them and say, I know I need this, I need a note taker, I need um to be able to record lectures, things like that. They kind of come in ready to say, This is what I'm looking for. Is that kind of a goal for the students that you're working with who are nearing graduation and looking to pursue secondary education? Um, that kind of level of, I know what I need to be successful and here's here's what I want to see.
Crystal Evans, CRC:Absolutely. So again, not only on the work site do we want them to know, you know, be able to ask for help and if they need accommodations to kind of have an understanding of what they might need. But if they're going on to some type of further training and a post-secondary education program, um, again, that's why we stress them attending their IEP meetings because we talk about that. Well, here's how you're doing in these classes, you're getting these supports, you're getting these services, you're getting um, you know, these accommodations. This is what's helping you. Extra time on tests. Um, you know, maybe it's preferential seating, sitting in towards the the front of the classroom, um, having a note taker, for example. So those are things, you know, not we know that um there's different, you know, it moves from entitlement to eligibility once our students leave us. And so there's different things that a college may or may not be able to provide that we provide. However, a lot of those things do overlap. And and just so we want to make sure that our students know there are accommodations out there. It might look a little bit different than what you received when you were in in high school. Um, but if you do go on to further training, then we want to make sure that they know that you know what accommodations work for them and who to seek out for that. You know, that's something, you know, if we have a student that's going on to um our local community college here in Allegheny County, who is the the the contact for disability services? What you know, what could they potentially provide? There are accommodations that you might be eligible for. Make sure you ask for help. And we always tell our students, you know, if if you you're not sure where to go, who to see, what to ask, come back to us. Like our counselors would we would never tell someone, I can't work with you anymore. You've you've already graduated. Of course, we're not going to do that. So we're always more than willing um to help in that aspect or you know, make sure that they're reconnected or connected with the VR system because the the OVR counselors can help with that as well. Um, so yes, definitely, you know, understanding what accommodations might be available to them um whenever they're in the post-secondary education program is is extremely important.
Taylor Bauer, CRCC:Yeah, and that's a great point you made about, you know, the accommodations or the offerings might be a little bit different, but that's kind of where that idea of um articulating your functional limitations is so important, right? They might not be able to go in and get exactly what they had during their K through 12 experience, but they can at least say, I know that I do my best when I am put in this sort of position to succeed, or when I have these supports. And ideally, right, the the um accessibility coordinator at that university or post-secondary school will be able to say, okay, we kind of have a version of that. And it's a it's a lot better than having a student. We've even had CRCs that I've spoken with who maybe didn't receive any sort of accommodation for a disability that they maybe really didn't fully understood they have until they go to college and they get to talk to an accessibility coordinator or ADA you know manager or something like that. And finding those accommodations after the fact are kind of um deflating because they're like, I could have had this in my corner the whole time. And it's that's why to me, highlighting the work that you do in transition services as a CRC is so impactful because getting that exposure to those things early on means that you know how to seek out those accommodations throughout the rest of your life that are going to be the difference between feeling like you're not maybe cut out to do something when we know for the most part a lot of accommodations are fairly straightforward and really you just need to be able to talk to the right people who can provide them and connect you to the people who provide them. And knowing how to do that at that K through 12 age, you know, like you said, 14 and on, um, can really give you that self efficacy, that self advocacy that um is gonna carry a long way as you can continue to go through your life.
Crystal Evans, CRC:I think one thing we're very fortunate within the city of Pittsburgh to have a lot of resources available. We're close to everything. So, you know, being on a bus line is and and and getting bus transportation is typically not an issue for us and our students. So we're able to travel. Um, so one thing that we do really promote is you know, if we have students who are interested in going on for some type of post-secondary training program, or maybe they're just not sure. We we promote a lot of um you know job shadowing and and college tours, whether they're virtual or on site. If we do take them on site, we always make sure that we we take them to see where disability services is, meet with a person there to just just to get them acclimated. Because sometimes that comfort level might be all it takes for them to say, hey, I can do this. Now I feel a little bit more comfortable now, even prior to them graduating, that they know where to go and who to see, um, and that they can get that support if needed whenever they do go on for further training. Something else that um our CRCs do, they're responsible for administering transition assessments for our students starting at age 14. So different career interest inventories and things like that. One thing we try to promote are um um learning styles. So, how do you learn best? So the results of a learning style assessment will tell a student are they more of a visual learner? Are they more an auditory learner? So those that's something else that they can kind of take either to an employer or post-secondary training program and say, I learned best by reading the material. Like I, you know, someone might struggle just hearing a professor, you know, kind of going through, you know, a topic or whatever, but they learn best by having some materials presented to them um, you know, in written format, or vice versa. So that again is just something another tool that um a lot of our students can take with them whenever they leave up, leave us once they have that cadre of assessments.
Taylor Bauer, CRCC:But that's one of the things about the experience of working with the CRC I find so fascinating is that assessment and that kind of step one, let's figure out what sort of limitations are present, not because we are deficits focused, but because that's how we understand what's the best way to proceed toward those goals that we're setting. That's such a powerful thing to be able to start with and then say, I know what resources in the community I can connect the student with, or what methods of learning or exposure to information I know are proven to be most effective for somebody who does better with this instead of that, or vice versa. And I find that that kind of creative thinking in the scope of providing disability services to me is what really seems to set CRCs apart because there's so much of that, you know, first you got to figure out what's going on. And then, you know, the harder part really sometimes is like, okay, well, what do we do to mitigate what this person's experiencing? And sometimes that can be split into multiple professionals. And, you know, like we've mentioned, it's not just one CRC who's in there, you know, what's superman or superwoman doing everything themselves, but having the knowledge of how to systematically go through those steps, starting with assessment, and then have those connections ready to be able to provide to the student is just such a, to me, priceless asset for a school district, a hospital, any sort of employer who's looking to either serve people with disabilities as uh customers or clientele or to be able to hire people with disabilities because you're really getting that breadth and depth of knowledge that comes with the training uh that you have as a CRC that just seems so integral to what you'd want to achieve on behalf of someone with a disability or help to seek them to achieve. And it just it to me, it's one of those things where I'm like, we just need to apparently make every employer listen to this podcast so they hear the work that you do. Um wouldn't hurt our wouldn't hurt our analytics either. So I'd be happy about that too. Um so we'll work on that, right? That's for another episode. Um uh we tend to end these conversations the same way because something that always um draws me in talking to CRCs like yourself is just how passionate about this work that you are. And um, many CRCs have described, you know, pursuing this profession as a calling that they answered, maybe a calling they didn't even know was out there. Um so I I I'm I'm curious to hear from you what brings you the most joy in the work that you do?
Crystal Evans, CRC:Um, I would say for me, just seeing our students success once they once they leave us. I mean, that that's the point is is is what and what I do and what we do as CRCs in our district is to prepare kids for life after graduation. And that's gonna look different for everybody, regardless of the disability. But to see them be successful, whether it's you know working in competitive employment in the community, um, maybe it's just getting the right support, maybe it's getting connected to the appropriate agencies that really help them. Um, independent living, being able to live as independently as possible, um, that is really exciting to see. And and I would say, you know, a lot of times we do see student success once they leave us, but you know, sometimes we don't always kind of hear that, maybe not initially, but maybe later on down the road, just like I the stories I mentioned earlier. Um, or we see them out in the community, you know, like, hey, you used to, you know, you were in one of our programs. It's awesome that you're doing great. So I would say, I mean, that again, that just solidifies, you know, the importance of having CRCs working in the schools and helping to prepare kids, bringing the knowledge that our CRCs have um to the work that we do is is, you know, it's just incredible. And I would say that's that's the that's the thing that makes me the most passionate about what I do is is just, you know, I might not be directly working with each student, but you know, kind of in the in the background and supporting the programs and supporting our CRCs and what they do. But I know that, you know, my work is is helpful and it it's helping students to be successful and and independent whenever they leave.
Taylor Bauer, CRCC:A huge thank you to Crystal Evans for an excellent conversation on this episode of Inside Rehabilitation Counseling. If you have any comments or insights to share on today's topic, email us at contact us at crccertification.com. That is where you can also let us know about topics you would like us to explore on the show. You can find us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn by searching CRC Cert. Like, subscribe, and rate the show on your favorite podcast platform, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you're listening to us today. Thank you as always for listening to Inside Rehabilitation Counseling. I'm CRCC, Director of Communications and Marketing Taylor Bauer. Take care.
