From the moment their children are born, parents begin to hope and dream about their children’s futures. Will they be healthy and happy? Where and how will they live as adults? Will they go to college and be successful? What kind of career will they have? In today’s world, these questions need to be asked early and often as our children move through their young lives. These questions begin to drive the process called “transition.” For students who have challenges in their learning styles, social skills, behavior management and so forth, it is particularly crucial that these questions be considered deeply and thoroughly to support their movement toward the world of work and adult living. Where does one begin with this planning process? A quality plan is developed through interactions, conversations, and discussions informally held by the family and IEP team members PRIOR to the meeting. Who should participate in developing the transition section of the IEP?
• The child
• Family members
• Educators
Depending on the child’s future plans and needs:
• Related service providers
• Agency personnel
• Community service providers
• Post-Secondary staff
Start by problem solving with the student and family:
• What does your child plan to do this upcoming school year and after graduation?
• What interests, strengths and needs does your child have?
• How can these interests, strengths, and needs be supported and incorporated into
your child’s educational program?
• What skills does your child possess?
• What does your child want to do after high school in terms of working, living,
and learning?
• What do you, as the parents, want your child to do after high school?
• Imagine not only the here and now, but think ahead to the future: Ask the parents
where and how their child will continue to learn after they graduate. Where will
they work? Where will they live?
• What will they do for recreation and leisure? How will they be involved
in the community? What supports and courses will they need to be transition ready?
Based upon direction provided by the student and family, and considering information in the student’s profile, ETR and other data you have collected, develop a student-centered statement about immediate in-school and post-school plans. This is your Future Planning Statement which will be written in Section 1 of the IEP.
The next step in the Transition Process is to determine if the student is on the right track toward their future plans. School district representatives will guide the student and parents utilizing annually updated Age-Appropriate Transition Assessments in the areas of Education and Training, Employment and Independent Living.
These assessments may be formal:
• Career assessment
• Learning style inventories
• Academic achievement tests
• Adaptive behavior scales
• Personality assessment
• Interest inventories
• Testing from ETR
• Progress in classes
Or the assessments may be informal, such as:
• Observations by family, colleagues, employer
• Meetings with child
• Surveys and questionnaires
• Interviews
• Task analysis
• Self-determination assessments
Some ideas for you: Quickbook of Assessments and NSTTAC Transition Assessment Toolkit
These assessments will reveal a student’s preferences, interests, strengths and needs. The preferences, interests and strengths provide data which support that the student is on the right track toward their future plans. If this is the case, Post-Secondary Transition Goals are developed for the student in the areas of Education/ Training and Employment. If the team feels it is appropriate, a post-secondary goal in Independent Living will be developed as well. The Age Appropriate Transition Assessments will be documented in Section 4 of the IEP.
The Case Manager/Intervention Specialist will need to document the kind of assessments used (survey, conversation, formal assessment, observation, and so forth), and provide a date or time frame they were completed. These assessments should be focused on the student’s individual future plans, and not simply generic tests that every other student takes. Consider the following: How is this information relevant for this student's transition planning? How does it support this student’s post-secondary plans? Link the results to post-secondary environments: e.g.This information supports Pat’s goal of becoming a teacher…….or of his working in supported employment or of his attending college, etc. Do not simply write the scores!
Age Appropriate Transition Assessment is:
• An ongoing process
• Informing the development of measurable post-secondary goals
• The basis for decisions regarding transition services
• The basis for identifying annual IEP goals to support movement to post-secondary
goals
IF the Age Appropriate Transition Assessments reveal a large gap in preferences, interests and strengths regarding the student’s future plans, and the student needs are vast, this would indicate an opportunity to open up a discussion with the student, family and IEP team members. Future Plans may need to be revisited before creating the post-secondary goals. Parents want and need as much information as they can get to make informed decisions for and with their children. A parent knows their child better than anyone else. Understand that as the team works together to create the most appropriate transition plan for this child, school district personnel should not be judgmental. Give parents the best information you can. One way to help would be to provide families with predictors for success:
Do you need more ideas to help families? Connect them with:
ONet
Ohio Means Jobs
Ohio Career Information System at OCIS.org (get the password from you school’s guidance department)
U.S. Department of Labor
-Career exploration
-Ability profiler
-Work importance locator
Guidance and Career Counselors' Toolkit
At this point in the Transition Process, the case manager or Intervention Specialist will work with the student and family to develop Measurable Post-Secondary Transition Goals. These goals will be listed in Section 5 of the IEP.
Post-Secondary Goals must be results-oriented, occur AFTER the child graduates or leaves high school, written in the affirmative and reviewed or updated at least annually in the areas of:
Education and Training
- What field of study or type of training? (e.g., full-time four-year college, on- the- job training in a clerical setting)
Employment
- Full or part-time?
- What type of work is desired? (e.g., full-time work as an auto mechanic)
Independent living (if appropriate)
- What type or residence and/or activities in the community? (e.g., living in an apartment with agency supports, enrollment in the YMCA)
NSTTAC (National Secondary Transition Technical Assistance Center) provides a formula for writing a post-secondary goal:
________ _____ will _____ ___________
(After high school) (child) (behavior) (where and how)
(After graduation)
(Upon completion of high school)
The IEP team will then create activities and services based on any needs that are revealed in this process. The activities and services provided by the school district will help to close the gap between the student’s present levels and their future plans.
These services can fall into categories such as:
• Instruction
• Related services
• Community experiences
• Development of employment and other adult living objectives
• Acquisition of daily living skills if appropriate
• Functional vocational evaluation if appropriate
• Linkages with adult services if appropriate
Courses of Study such as College Prep or Career-Tech are considered activities and services, and should be carefully considered as part of this process. Courses of Study should be designed to reasonably enable the child to meet post-secondary goals. Specific courses may be listed and these may be modified and updated as needed. The Courses of Study need to address the Ohio CORE requirement and the child’s pathway to graduation. For more information:
Transition is considered a results-oriented process. This means that all persons or agencies work together to plan and deliver the services and activities that will assist the child in achieving the measurable post-secondary goals. Check out Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities and Department of Developmental Disabilities for information on adult service agencies in your area. These services should be considered from a multi-year perspective and include all the child's high school years, eventually leading to the immediate postsecondary goals.
How will the transition plan help our students with disabilities? A rich plan will help:
• Prepare students to lead productive and independent adult lives.
• Provide students with effective transition services in order to promote post-secondary
employment and education/training.
• Meet the unique needs of students with disabilities by preparing them for further
education, employment, and independent living (if appropriate).