The ‘Making Links’ Expo is aimed not just at people with disabilities, but at anyone who requires a little help making the daunting leap from high school to life beyond.

Suzanne Hoeg Staun, relieving disabilities program consultant for the Department of Education and Training and one of the organisers for the event, said that the turnout, both of exhibitors and visitors, was better than she had expected.

“Making links, it’s not just for people with disabilities,” she said.

“It’s for people with disabilities and or additional needs.

“So, really, what we’re saying is that for any student who is leaving school who will require some extra support to either get into work, or into the community or into further education this expo will be really helpful.”

Mrs Hoeg Staun believes that the event would benefit a range of people.

“We have a lot of students who have a mild form of autism and they are perfectly capable of working but they do require some extra support in that initial transition period into the workforce and that’s true of a number of kids. Some have literacy issues, learning difficulties, kids with behavioural issues.”

A range of services were represented at the expo including Centrelink, TAFE, job networks, integrated living, special transport, UNE and recreational support.

The expo came at a good time, riding on the tail end of the Paralympics.

“I think the Paralympics has been a fantastic boost in terms of community awareness,” Mrs Hoeg Staun said.

“They show how able people with disabilities are. It’s been very inspirational for a lot of the kids that we deal with to see such positive advertising of their capacity.

“I think there was a lack of awareness of the capacity and the breadth of range of ability that people with disabilities actually have.

“Now, there is a lot more awareness in our society. There’s active involvement from industry. They’re actually taking on people with disabilities, having become aware that they can be a boost or as good as anybody else in their work.”