Helping local young adults with disabilities find meaningful opportunities post-graduation

By Evan Dawson, Sarah Murphy Abbamonte, Megan Mack, Julie Williams

Published May 2, 2025 at 5:10 PM EDT

Five people wearing headphones sit at a table in a radio talk studio: a woman at foreground left has long brown hair and is wearing a navy cardigan, white shirt, jeans and white sneakers; a woman at foreground right has short dark hair and is wearing a beige sweater; a man at center has short dark hair and is wearing a grey button-down shirt, jeans and brown shoes; a young man at background left is wearing a black baseball cap and white t-shirt; a woman at background right has short dark hair and is wearing glasses and a bright blue sweatshirt with red lettering.

1 of 4 — (foreground) Kristen Lopez and Sarah Murphy Abbamonte, (background) Jacob Weishaar and Kelly Weishaar on "Connections"

(foreground) Kristen Lopez and Sarah Murphy Abbamonte, (background) Jacob Weishaar and Kelly Weishaar on "Connections with Evan Dawson" on Friday, May 2, 2025

Megan Mack / WXXI News

A young man wearing a black baseball cap and white t-shirt stands in a radio talk studio holding a display box filled with colorful wooden pens.

2 of 4 — Jacob Weishaar

Jacob Weishaar

Megan Mack / WXXI News

A young woman wearing a black baseball cap, black tank top and black shorts stands outside.

3 of 4 — Maggie McCrumb.jpg

Maggie McCrumb

Provided

A smiling woman with shoulder-length brown hair sits in an orange chair wearing glasses and a black shirt.

4 of 4 — Jean McCrumb 2.jpeg

Jean McCrumb

Provided

A smiling man with short dark hair wearing a blue button-down shirt and a grey blazer. He is holding a pair of eyeglasses. The word "Connections" appears on the left side of the photo in vertical letters.

Many students with disabilities will face challenges after graduating high school.

The term "disability cliff" refers to the loss of resources and support young adults experience after leaving the school system. Finding employment, accessing housing, and achieving self-directed independence can all be difficult.

A local program is working to fill the gap. This hour, Evan and co-host Sarah Murphy Abbamonte welcome guests from Starbridge's Creating a Life After High School program. We explore how the program works and how it has benefited young adults.

Our guests:

Jacob Weishaar, recent graduate of the Creating a Life After High School program at Starbridge
Kelly Weishaar, parent of Jacob Weishaar and school psychologist
Maggie McCrumb, graduate of the Creating a Life After High School program at Starbridge
Jean McCrumb, parent of Maggie McCrumb
Kristen Lopez, director of marketing and communications for Starbridge