Articles
Services for Health Professionals
Awareness, Education, and Training
As a mental health professional, it is important to understand the needs and strengths of students with invisible differences. You do a wonderful job of providing the necessary support for these young adults to thrive in the future. We would love to assist you and the families you serve through our many programs.
Direct Support
PEERS®
Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS®) is a 14-week, evidence-based, social skills intervention developed at UCLA for teenagers and young adults with neurobehavioral disorders who want to improve their ability to make and keep friends. A parent or another caring adult attends a concurrent, weekly workshop. The program is led by certified professionals. At Center for Companies That Care, we are holding sessions at our office, starting this fall. For more information, visit our PEERS® page.
Research
We value research as a fundamental strategy because we want to to make every adolescent and young adult in our program be employable and employed in a role matching their interests and abilities. The more we learn about students with invisible differences, the more we can help them complete their education and prepare for productive careers. Our research reveals the scope of the issue and the value of the Invisible Differences program. For more information, please visit our Invisible Differences Research page.
Which colleges provide the best learning and social environment for students with Invisible Differences? Take a CONFIDENTIAL survey.
Partnerships and Mobilization
Because the issue is so widespread, we aim to help individuals organize support systems in their own communities.
5K March to College
Center for Companies That Care hosts its annual 5K March to College, dedicated to increasing college graduation rates among minorities and students with disabilities. For more information, visit our March to College page.
Services for Post-Secondary Institutions
Awareness, Education, and Training
We provide educators, caregivers and employers with a greater understanding of the needs and strengths of individuals with invisible differences. As a result, they are more equipped to help these young people thrive.
Direct Support
PEERS®
Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS®) is a 14-week, evidence-based, social skills intervention developed at UCLA for teenagers and young adults with neurobehavioral disorders who want to improve their ability to make and keep friends. A parent or another caring adult attends a concurrent, weekly workshop. The program is led by certified professionals. At Center for Companies That Care, we are holding sessions at our office, starting this fall. For more information, visit our PEERS® page.
Research
We value research as a fundamental strategy because we want to to make every adolescent and young adult in our program be employable and employed in a role matching their interests and abilities. The more we learn about students with invisible differences, the more we can help them complete their education and prepare for productive careers. Our research reveals the scope of the issue and the value of the Invisible Differences program. For more information, please visit our Invisible Differences Research page.
Which colleges provide the best learning and social environment for students with Invisible Differences? Take a CONFIDENTIAL survey.
Partnerships and Mobilization
Because the issue is so widespread, we aim to help individuals organize support systems in their own communities.
5K March to College
Center for Companies That Care hosts its annual 5K March to College, dedicated to increasing college graduation rates among minorities and students with disabilities. For more information, visit our March to College page.
Invisible Differences Research
The Prevalence is Invisible but Large
More than 20% of children today (an exponential increase from a generation ago) have been diagnosed with disorders that interfere with learning and working; these disorders are often invisible to the eye. They don’t, however, limit one’s intellectual abilities. Unfortunately, as a group, they are not finishing college and are underemployed. Consequently, employers are missing out on talented employees and society carries the burden of caring for capable adults who could be supporting themselves.
Which colleges provide the best learning and social environment for students with Invisible Differences? Take a CONFIDENTIAL survey.
Did You Know?
- About 1 in 88 children has been identified with an autism spectrum disorder.
- As of 2007, approximately 9.5% of children 4 to 17 years of age have been diagnosed with ADHD, with rates of diagnosis increasing each year.
- 15%-20% of people in the US have a language-based disability, dyslexia being the most prevalent.
- More than 1 out of 20 Americans 12 years of age and older report current depression.
- A higher proportion of students with disabilities leave college without earning a degree.
On Society
- 20% of children ages 4-17 have been diagnosed with an invisible difference.
- 15% of the disease burden in established market economies; more than the disease burden caused by all cancers (mental disorders).
On Employers
- 9% of working adults are a parent of at least one child with special needs.
- 43% of working caregivers of children with special needs reduce their hours or opt out altogether.
- 13% of people with invisible differences attend college
Services for High Schools
We believe that it is important for schools and the education community to be informed about Invisible Differences, so that students can receive the support they need to grow and thrive. These students must have the confidence and independence to graduate from college, have fulfilling careers, and be a contributing member of society. As an education professional, you play a role in assisting these students to reach their full potential.
Awareness, Education, and Training
As an education facility, it is crucial to understand the needs and strengths of students with invisible differences. By becoming more aware of how you, as an education provider, can more effectively support these students, you can ease their transition to the next step in their lives: higher education. Center for Companies That Care provides a workshop "Taking the Giant Leap" Transition to College Workshops that prepares high school juniors and seniors with invisible differences, their parents, and education providers, for a smooth transition to college. This academic year, we are expanding our program to offer a greater variety of workshops to a larger audiences. For more information, check out our Transition to College Workshops page.
Direct Support
As educators, you do a wonderful job of providing the necessary support for your students to thrive in high school and beyond. We want to assist the education community to provide support to students with Invisible Differences. We offer several programs to further ensure that these young adults reach their full potential.
Transition Services
College-bound students need to be better prepared for college. We assist educators in providing transition services for this under-served population of students by educating special education staff of best practices and best colleges for students with Invisible Differences.
College Simulation
The simulation introduces high school students to real-world college experiences via a fun, competitive, interactive, half-day simulation exercise. The objective is to raise awareness and preparedness for college life, and optimize college graduation outcomes by:
- Presenting students with situation they may face in college.
- Guiding students to seek help from on-campus resources.
- Introducing them to the people and places available in college to assist them.
College Bus Trip
Students will visit various colleges throughout the country, and they will have the chance to visit the disability services and departments, and meet college students with Invisible Differences. This experience provides the students with the knowledge of which schools provide the best accommodations to meet their needs and hear from college students with disabilities.
Camp College
This simulation activity provides students with with an opportunity to explore real-world college experiences such as registering for classes, visiting the disability services office, and dealing with roommate conflicts. The objective is to raise awareness and preparedness for handling college life.
Research
We value research as a fundamental strategy because we want to to make every young adult in our program be employable and employed in a role matching their interests and abilities. The more we learn about students with Invisible Differences, the more we can help them complete their education and prepare for productive careers. Our research reveals the scope of the issue and the value of the Invisible Differences program. For more information about our findings, please visit our Invisible Differences Research page.
Which colleges provide the best learning and social environment for students with Invisible Differences? Take a CONFIDENTIAL survey.
Partnerships and Mobilization
5K March to College
Center for Companies That Care hosts its annual 5K March to College, dedicated to increasing college graduation rates among minorities and students with disabilities. For more information, visit our March to College page.
Parent Networking and Information Sessions
At our monthly meetings (held on the second Tuesday of each month), parents will have the opportunity to interact with other parents who have children with special needs thrugh networking hearing guest speakers. For information about these networking and information sessions, visit our Parent Networking and Information Sessions.
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