Over the past decade, professionals who work with students with disabilities have paid special attention to the 16- to 21-year age group, those in the so-called Transition from high school to adult life.

	Bob Donaldson, Post-Gazette Josie Badger and her service dog, Vito. Click image for larger version.

Although students with disabilities are graduating from high school at a higher rate than ever, far too many "graduate to the couch" rather than to meaningful employment and adult lives.

In 1999, Pennsylvania launched a major initiative on Transition-age youth, linking professionals, policy makers and youths to ensure best practices and innovative programs. Each summer, a statewide "Community on Transition" conference provides a forum for the sharing of ideas, as well as a place for youths to chart their own courses in life. The 2007 conference was held last week in State College.

One of those bringing a youth perspective to the conference was 23-year-old Josie Badger of Wampum, Lawrence County, who led several sessions as president of the National Youth Leadership Network and co-founder of the group's Pennsylvania chapter.

Ms. Badger, who has muscular dystrophy, is by any measure a successful young women -- valedictorian of the 2003 Ellwood City High School graduating class, 2007 summa cum laude graduate of Geneva College, and this fall, a new graduate student at the University of Pittsburgh.

As a person with a physical disability, Ms. Badger's path from high school to adulthood has required hard work and resilience, yet she has little interest in the validation that society bestows on young people who overcome a disability or achieve their goals in spite of it.

	Resources for transition-age youth For students with disabilities, the period from age 16 to 21 is called "Transition to Adulthood." All students with disabilities who have an Individualized Education Plan are entitled to a Transition Plan. Although an official plan is not mandated until age 16, students, families and educational teams can engage in Transition planning as early as they desire. Here are a few of many available resources: Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network, 412-826-2336; www.pattan.net. Transition Health Care Checklist, published by the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Copies available by calling 1-877-PA-HEALTH (1-877-724-3258) or they can be downloaded at www.health.state.pa.us/ transitionchecklist. National Youth Leadership Network, 1-866-480-6565, ext. 2 or www.nyln.org.

She's more concerned with what's going on inside the minds the young people she mentors.

In a soft-spoken but compelling manner, Ms. Badger suggests that true maturity and personal identity come with full acceptance of one's disability, not in denying it.

She frequently speaks about the personal epiphany five years ago that led her to this understanding. As an 18-year-old college-bound student, Ms. Badger traveled to Washington, D.C. to attend a meeting of the National Youth Leadership Network, a 500-member group dedicated to advancing the leadership skills of youth with disabilities.

She didn't expect the meeting to turn her college plans -- and view of herself -- upside down.

"For the first time in my life, I met people who accepted their disability," she said. "They embraced it and were strong because of it. It made me realize that everything I had done up to that point in my life was to mask my disability."

Growing up on a farm, she had found numerous ways to work around her physical disability. She did 4-H, developed expertise in raising dogs and planned to become a veterinarian.

"Ninety-five percent of what I did was able-bodied stuff, just adapted," she said. The same held true at school, where she worked hard, got good grades and earned honors.

"But I was always uncomfortable about my disability," she said. "Like, 'it's wrong.' I regarded disability as having a charity focus, and I never wanted to be the person who was pitied."

For example, she avoided using the ventilator she needed because she thought it made her seem "weak."

But after meeting the youth leaders in Washington, she began to understand her disability "not just as a limitation, but as a part of who I am. I left with a completely different view of myself and my purpose in life."

She returned home with a change in plans. Rather than pursuing pre-veterinary studies, she embarked on a self-designed major in disability law and advocacy at Geneva College, with the goal of teaching teens what it means to move forward in life with a disability.

Today, she is carrying out that plan. At last week's Transition conference, Ms. Badger led sessions for youth about the disability rights movement and other topics.

As always, she emphasized the importance of youths taking more control of their lives. Although parents are often more involved in the day-to-day lives of teens with disabilities than is the case with most teens, there comes a time when the young person must do things for himself, said Ms. Badger.

"The adults must step aside and let them take risks and make mistakes," she said. "Sometimes the young person has a very different idea of what they want for themselves than their parents have for them."

Perhaps most importantly, Ms. Badger encourages young people with disabilities to take the risk of being themselves.

"Whenever you find your voice, it's a powerful moment."