Resource Directory /

Transition Resources

  • The Arc’s Virtual Program Library

    The Arc’s Virtual Program Library is a free hub full of on-demand activities that people with disabilities, and their families and service providers can do at home.

    Topics include arts, community and life skills, health and wellness, virtual clubs, and more. Service providers can also find and share resources to facilitate or deliver live, remote programming for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

  • The Basics on PUNS

    PUNS is the name for the list of the people in Illinois with developmental disabilities who want or need services but do not yet have funding. Individuals who need help from the government to pay for needed Division of Developmental Disabilities Waiver services now, or in the future, should register for PUNS.

    The Arc of Illinois’ Life Span Program provides an overview of how to get on the PUNS list and how to check the approximate date when you may be selected.

    Get the Basics on PUNS handout in English

    Get the Basics on PUNS handout in Spanish

  • The Center for Chronic Illness

    The Center for Chronic Illness (CCI) is a nonprofit organization offering support and education to promote well-being and decrease isolation for people affected by chronic illness. CCI offers adults and teens living with chronic illness a variety of support groups and programs focusing on emotional well-being, health education and community. ​CCI provides:

  • The Center for Enriched Living

    The Center for Enriched Living (CEL) provides a wide range of services to enrich the lives of teens, adults and seniors with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). CEL programs include social, recreational and employment programs, events, adult day programs, and mental health and wellness support to people with IDD, their families and caregivers.

    CEL is independently funded and partners with the community for donations, regular volunteers, advocacy and collaborations that support people with IDD.

    For questions, please contact (847) 948-7001 or info@CenterForEnrichedLiving.org.

  • The Center on Youth Voice, Youth Choice

    The Center on Youth Voice, Youth Choice is a national resource center for youth with disabilities. Youth Voice, Youth Choice provides self-advocates, their families and supporters with advocacy, teaching tools for alternatives to guardianship, plain language resources and more. It offers:

    • Videos and youth stories
    • Alternatives to guardianship tools with stories and resources to help make tough decisions
    • A plain language series featuring a wide variety of important topics
    • The Youth Ambassador Curriculum for building leadership and advocacy skills

  • The Odyssey Project at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

    The Odyssey Project offers free University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign courses in the humanities to income-eligible adults in east-central Illinois. Odyssey students can earn up to eight transferable college credits in an environment designed to support non-traditional students, especially those whose education has been interrupted for whatever reason.

    The courses include free textbooks and course materials, access to computers, bus fare to and from class and more.

    Visit the Odyssey Project website for more details and program fact sheets in Spanish, French and Simplified Chinese.

  • The Penguin Project

    The Penguin Project provides a supportive environment for children with a wide range of disabilities to explore the performing arts. The program encourages children and young adults ages 10 to 24 to discover their creative talents, build self-confidence and make new friends by rehearsing and performing a modified version of a well-known Broadway musical. The young artists work side-by-side with age-level “peer mentors” through four months of rehearsals and the final performance.

    The project has several chapters in Illinois. Visit The Penguin Project website for more details.

  • Think College

    Think College provides resources, technical assistance and training related to college options for students with intellectual disabilities. It also manages a national listing of college programs for students with intellectual disabilities in the United States.

    See the Think College fact sheet in English or Spanish for more details. Think College resources also include:

    • Learning modules for families on exploring college options, how to pay for college and more
    • The “Student Corner” and Emerging Advocates Student Group
    • A searchable list of colleges nationwide and what they offer
    • Recursos para Familias (Family resources in Spanish)

  • Thunder Adaptive Sports

    Thunder Adaptive Sports, based in McLean County, is a volunteer-driven, non-profit organization that offers adaptive sports for youth and adults with physical disabilities and/or medical diagnoses. The group strives to help everyone participate in sports, including sled hockey, cycling, and track and field. There is no cost to participate at the recreational level.

    The Thunder Adaptive Sports “family” includes:

    • The Central Illinois Sled Hockey Association (CISHA) – a volunteer, non-profit organization offering recreational and competitive sled hockey for youth and adult players with physical disabilities throughout the central Illinois region. Families do not pay to participate. CISHA provides sleds, hockey equipment, team jerseys and ice time.

    For questions, updates and more information:

  • Tip Sheets for Self-Advocacy Groups

    The Self Advocacy Resource and Technical Assistance Center (SARTAC) provides ten tip sheets written by self-advocates to help people understand self-advocacy and provide self-advocacy groups tips to keep things running smoothly.

    The topics for the self-advocacy groups tip sheets include:

    • What is self-advocacy?
    • Ways of working on issues
    • Good leaders and officers
    • How do you find an advisor?

    Each tip sheet is one-page. Each tip sheet is available in English, Spanish and Mandarin Chinese.