HEELS 2 Transition: Empowering Young Adults with Disabilities at UNC

When Dara Chan first joined the Higher Education, Employment, and Living Success (HEELS) 2 Transition (H2T) project toward building an inclusive post-secondary educational program at UNC in 2017, she did not expect the program to grow as expediently as it did. Beginning with discretionary funding from Oak Foundation in 2016, H2T now offers three programming options for young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, despite obstacles with the COVID pandemic and some initial challenges from UNC leadership.  

According to their website, HEELS 2 Transition offers a range of strengths-based programs supporting young adults with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities toward a self-determined life. The vision of the H2T leaders, such as Chan, was to create much needed programs and services based on supporting individual and community capacities for inclusion through building on the strengths of those with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities. They aim to highlight that people of all abilities have the right to lead lives of dignity, choice, and access to their desired participation in society. It is comprised of three programs: HEELS UP; HEELS Prep; and HEELS Week Away. These programs have been primarily offered during the summer and employed UNC students as part of the coaching staff, where they gain skills in working with the population in the process. 

HEELS UP, led by UNC TEACCH Research Specialist and Assistant Professor Brianne Tomaszewski, provides an inclusive postsecondary education program for young adults with intellectual disabilities. HEELS Prep, which Chan directs, focuses on developing skills and knowledge in six areas of the transition to adulthood: career exploration and development; self-management and goal setting; independent living skills; community safety; mental health; and sexual health education. The last two components were more recently added as the team realized the need for them in the past few years. The Week Away program, which is offered to young adults who have completed HEELS Prep, invites participants to stay in UNC’s Craige North dorm for a week. Now in its third year, this immersive experience allows young adults to put their HEELS Prep skills into practice and develop new abilities such as grocery shopping, navigating public transportation, and planning and attending social events. With team support, they expand and apply their skills in real-life situations. 

Dara Chan, ScD, focuses her research on improving community participation, integration, and inclusion for autistic adults and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). She is an associate professor in the Division of Clinical Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling in UNC’s Department of Health Sciences and often collaborates with colleagues in the UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute (FPG) where she is an FPG faculty fellow. 

“It is important to offer greater visibility of the ongoing needs of adults with autism, developmental disabilities, and intellectual disabilities,” Chan states when asked about the importance of her programs, specifically HEELS 2 Transition. 

For what the future looks like, Chan is currently working to turn the HEELS Prep program into interactive e-learning modules which will allow for the information and skills to be expanded to a wider audience and provide ongoing support for the participants who have come to campus. From there, H2T has gained more support and funding from Oak Foundation in the long-term to expand H2T to offer year-round programming and support, with the main goal of expanding HEELS UP from a summer school only model to students taking classes and living on campus during the academic year. 

In Spring 2025, the HEELS UP program moved forward with this goal, with the first cohort of three students auditing classes and living in student housing on campus. Fall 2025 marks the beginning of the first year of UP students on campus for the full academic year. 

For the future, Chan and Tomaszewski hope to get the program to be a Transition In Post Secondary Program for Students with Intellectual Disabilities (TIPPSID) program, to make it a year-round program for a wider opportunity for a bigger audience, and to gain federal funding for eventual financial aid for students and participants.