(article originally appeared in the March 29, 2006, edition of the Opelika-Auburn News, www.oanow.com,  Beverly Harvey, staff writer)

Every high school graduate has goals and dreams.

Every high school graduate also has the right to achieve those goals and dreams - including the more than 5,000 students in Alabama with disabilities.

Last year, Gov. Bob Riley proclaimed March as Transition Awareness Month for Individuals with Disabilities to recognize the rights of individuals with disabilities, and the agencies, businesses and residents who support them.

Among the support programs mentioned in the governor's proclamation was the Auburn Transition Leadership Institute (ATLI) in the Department of Rehabilitation and Special Education with the College of Education at Auburn University.

Federal legislation passed during the mid-1970s opened the doors for disabled students rights and programs in public schools across the nation, said Dr. Karen Rabren, ATLI co-director and assistant professor of rehabilitation and special education. That law was amended in 2004 as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act.

The Transition Leadership Institute, established in 2000, provides research, outreach and instruction in the area of transition, a term used by the federal government that describes the stage of life when disabled students make the move from secondary school to active members of society.

All students take that all-important step in life between high school and adulthood, said Dr. Philip Browning, co-director of ATLI and head of the Department of Rehabilitation and Special Education at AU, but there are additional considerations for individuals with disabilities as compared to other students.

"The question is, what are those opportunities for them? Do they have the same kind of opportunities?" Browning said. "What are the responsibilities of school systems providing curriculum, learning opportunities, developmental experiences to enrich their lives and prepare them for crossing the bridge into young adulthood?"

As part of its research programs, the Transition Leadership Institute conducts academic studies that include two annual contracts worth a total of $150,000 with the state Department of Education.

"We see that as our service to the state," said Browning.

One statewide study tracks how well high school students with disabilities are doing one year before and one year after graduation. Students provide feedback about their in-school special education programs in grade 11 and their successes and challenges after leaving high school.

So far, the institute has received such data on more than 14,000 students in Alabama, said Rabren.

The other state DOE-funded annual study surveys parents of disabled students in all grades in public school regarding their satisfaction with their children's special education programs. The information is then forwarded to the state DOE and the U.S. Department of Education, Rabren said.

For the past 16 years, the institute has sponsored an annual Alabama Transition Conference that brings the nation's and state's leaders in rehabilitation and education together in Lee County. More than 700 people attended this year's conference, held at the Marriott at Grand National.

The institute works with undergraduate and graduate students in three programs within the department - vocational rehabilitation counselors, vocational evaluators, special education teachers - to provide firsthand experience and instruction in the area of transition.

Once they leave secondary school, disabled students require one of three levels of assistance, Rabren said - ongoing support, time-limited assistance and no assistance.

The goal is to give disabled individuals opportunities through employment or volunteer positions to contribute to their communities, build self-esteem and become a part of the mainstream workforce.

"Instead of students with disabilities continuously being seen as someone who needs help, they also provide services as well," Rabren said.

The Transition Leadership Institute, one of only a handful of its kind in the country, has been recognized nationally for its accomplishments and contributions in area of transition.

"We're fortunate in this area because of the university," said Rabren. "Other states have looked on in terms of what we've accomplished to see how the state has worked well with the university to continue and develop transition in our own state."