Secondary Transition

• Timelines
• What the Law Says
• Self determination/advocacy
• Resources
• Web sites

Transition Timelines

Transition is the change from one stage of a person’s life to another stage (such as moving from the school world to the adult world). It is a gradual process and a plan is important to make the process go smoothly. The process is called “transition planning” and is one of the most misunderstood parts of the IEP (Individual Education Program) process. Successful transitions begin as family, school and the community think about the future, plan ahead and work together. See below the transition timelines that explains the work and activities that need to happen at different ages during the transition process.

AGE 14:

• Statement of transition needs that focuses on your child’s course of study (college or vocational training)

AGE 16:

• Transition planning (focus on interagency responsibility or needed linkages including Butler County Developmental Disabilities (BCDD), Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation (BVR), Social Security Administration (SSA) etc.
• Identify when student will leave school (can attend through age 21)
• Identify job interest and abilities
• Include activities such as career exploration, job sampling and some job training
• Begin to identify community services that provide job training and placement
• Begin application to adult service agencies
• Consider summer employment or volunteer experience
• If college bound, take PSAT and plan for test accommodations if needed
• Consider AP classes and review class schedule with guidance counselor
• Develop an understanding of own disability and learning style
• Practice self advocacy skills, co-lead IEP meeting if appropriate

AGE 16 -18

• Contact Adult Services Programs:
• Colleges, vocational or technical schools
• Social Security Administration
• Residential or independent living services
• Recreation/Leisure groups
• Medical Services
• Identify graduation date (may remain in school through age 21)
• Begin formalized vocational assessments

AGE 17-18

• Begin to consider and research guardianship (if appropriate)
• Continue to review and update transition plan
• Take ACT, SAT tests
• Visit colleges and disability services office
• Register with Disability Service Office of your preferred college by the end of Senior year
• Pursue college scholarships, grants. etc.
• Review eligibility of medical insurance due to age
• Age of Majority, notified age 17, assumes age 18

AGE 18-21

• Establish health benefits if needed
• At age 18, males will need to register for Selective Service (mandatory registration, forms available at your local post office/library)
• Check local taxation code for any yearly filings that will need to be done (ex. Middletown income tax is filed by each individual)
• Continue to update and review Transition Plan
• Develop long term financial support plan (ex. SSI) if needed
• If long term support (i.e. supported living) is needed, check into possibilities
• If working with adult service agencies, identify support coordinator, vocational counselor, etc.for student. Develop plans or necessary agreements (i.e. individual work plan with BVR, etc.)
• Gather all appropriate documentation before leaving school (Evaluation Team Report, Summary of Performance, recommendation letters, transcripts, etc.).

  

What Does Federal and State Law Say About Transition?

The following is a list of essential elements from the state and federal rules governing secondary transition for Students with Disabilities (taken from Ohio's edresources web page). These elements must be addressed in the secondary transition component of the IEP.

In the Federal Rules, Secondary Transition is described as "designed to be within a results oriented process, that is focused on improving the academic and functional achievement of the child with a disability to facilitate the child's movement from school to post-school activities, including post secondary education, vocational education, integrated employment (including supported employment), continuing and adult education, adult services, independent living, or community participation.."

Specific elements of the Federal Rules include:

1. A coordinated set of activities
2. Designed to be within a results-oriented process
3. Focused on improving the academic and functional achievement
4. To facilitate the child's movement from school to post-school activities
5. Including (if needed)
   • post secondary education (i.e. college),
   • vocational education,
   • integrated employment (including supported employment),
   • continuing and adult education,
   • adult services.
   • independent living, or community participation
6. Based on the individual child's preferences, interests, strengths and needs (called PINS) and may include the following activities
   
• Instruction;
• Related services;
• Community experiences;
• The development of employment and other post-school adult living objectives; and
• if appropriate, acquisition of daily living skills and provision of a functional vocational evaluation
7. Transition services for children with disabilities may be special education, if provided as specially designed instruction, or a related service, if required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education
8. Beginning not later than the first IEP to be in effect when the child turns 16, or younger if determined appropriate by the IEP Team, and updated annually, thereafter, the IEP must include:
   • Appropriate measurable post secondary goals based upon age appropriate transition assessments related to training, education, employment, and, where appropriate, independent living skills; and
   • The transition services (including courses of study) needed to assist the child in reaching those goals.

From Ohio's Operating Standards for Educational Agencies Serving Children with Disabilities:

1. For each student with a disability, beginning at age 14 (or younger, if determined appropriate by the IEP team)
2. The IEP shall include a statement, updated annually, of the transition service needs of the student
3. That focuses on the student's courses of study (such as participation in advanced-placement courses or a vocational education program)
4. For each student beginning at age 16 (or younger, if determined appropriate by the IEP team), the IEP shall include a statement of needed transition services for the student, including, if appropriate, a statement of the interagency responsibilities or any needed linkages.
5. If a participating agency (meaning a State or local agency other than the school district responsible for a student's education, that is financially and legally responsible for providing transition services to the student) fails to provide the transition services described in the IEP, the school district shall reconvene the IEP team to identify alternative strategies to meet the transition objectives for the child set out in the IEP

   

Self Determination and Self Advocacy

Two of the most important skills for transition planning is self determination and self advocacy. Self determination is knowing and accepting who you are, where you want to go in life and developing a plan to get there. Self advocacy means the ability to understand and explain your disability, strengths, challenges and to ask for help when you need it. It is really about individual choice and being able to speak up for oneself. Good transition planning is an individual focused plan that allows for choices!

Building self determination and advocacy skills on behalf of the student/child will take time and should begin long before the transition process. Hopefully, we have allowed our children/students to make choices, suffer consequences, speak up for themselves, etc. As we build a transition plan we are asking students to listen and take-in information, sort through it and see what makes sense to them. It is about self exploration (who am I?) and learning to take that information and share it with others (such as advocating for accommodations on the job or at college). Learning about our preferences, interests, needs and strengths all help to identify who we are. Please see below for some activities and further information to develop these skills.

Promoting Self Determination In Youth with Disabilities: Tips For Families and Professionals (taken from NCSET brief)

Promote Choice Making
• Identify strengths, interests, and learning styles;
• Provide choices about clothing, social activities, family events, and methods of learning new information;
• Hold high expectations for youth;
• Teach youth about their disability;
• Involve children and youth in self-determination/self advocacy; opportunities in school, home, and community;
• Prepare children and youth for school meetings;
• Speak directly to children and youth;
• Involve children and youth in educational, medical, and family decisions;
• Allow for mistakes and natural consequences;
• Listen often to children and youth.

Encourage Exploration of Possibilities
• Promote exploration of the world every day;
• Use personal, tactile, visual, and auditory methods for exploration;
• Identify young adult mentors with similar disabilities;
• Talk about future jobs, hobbies, and family lifestyles;
• Develop personal collages/scrap books based on interests and goals;
• Involve children and youth in service learning (4H, Ameri­Corps, local volunteering).

Promote Reasonable Risk Taking
• Make choice maps listing risks, benefits, and consequences of choice;
• Build safety nets through family members, friends, schools, and others;
• Develop skills in problem solving;
• Develop skills in evaluating consequences.

Encourage Problem Solving
• Teach problem solving skills;
• Allow ownership of challenges and problems;
• Accept problems as part of healthy development;
• Hold family meetings to identify problems at home and in the community;
• Hold class meetings to identify problems in school;
• Allow children and youth to develop a list of self-identified consequences.

Promote Self Advocacy
• Encourage communication and self-representation;
• Praise all efforts of assertiveness and problem solving;
• Develop opportunities at home and in school for self-advocacy;
• Provide opportunities for leadership roles at home and in school;
• Encourage self-advocates to speak in class;
• Teach about appropriate accommodation needs;
• Practice ways to disclose disability and accommodation needs;
• Create opportunities to speak about the disability in school, home, church, business and community.

Facilitate Development of Self-Esteem
• Create a sense of belonging within schools and communities;
• Provide experiences for children and youth to use their talents;
• Provide opportunities to youth for contributing to their families, schools, and communities;
• Provide opportunities for individuality and independence;
• Identify caring adult mentors at home, school, church, or in the community;
• Model a sense of self-esteem and self-confidence.

Develop Goal Setting and Planning
• Teach children and youth family values, priorities, and goals;
• Make posters that reflect values and are age-appropriate;
• Define what a goal is and demonstrate the steps to reach a goal;
• Make a road map to mark the short-term identifiers as they work toward a goal;
• Support children and youth in developing values and goals;
• Discuss family history and culture—make a family tree;
• Be flexible in supporting youth to reach their goals; some days they may need much motivation and help; other days they may want to try alone.

Help Youth Understand Their Disabilities
• Develop a process that is directed by youth for self-identity: Who are you? What do you want? What are your challenges and barriers? What supports do you need?
• Direct children and youth to write an autobiography;
• Talk about the youth’s disability;
• Talk about the youth’s abilities;
• Involve children and youth in their IEP;
• Use good learning style inventories and transition assessments;
• Identify and utilize support systems for all people.

As parents and teachers our job is to ask questions (which are sometimes difficult) and allow time for our children/student to process through the information. It is not about what we want but what the child/student wants. We need to gently guide and question as we step back to let our young adults assume responsibility for their life.

Transition Resources

General Transition Information Age 14-21 (documents may take a couple of minutes to download)

Transition Record keeping and Resource Binder is a system for parents and students to use to organize documents and resources that will be needed as a student leave high school and moves into the adult world. Files can be downloaded and inserted into a 4 or 5 inch binder to create your personal record keeping and reference system. Directions, forms, etc. are provided. Please download all three sections below (Section ABC, Section DEF, Section GHI):

Section A,B,C includes Personal and Family History, Medical and Related Services Information, and Educational Information.

Section D, E, F includes Agency Information, Employment and Work Information and College Information.

Section G, H, I includes Community/Independent Living Information, Legal and Financial Information and References and Resources.

Moving On: A Guide for Parents and Students on Transition, Moving From the School World to the Adult World. To assembly the booklet you will need to print booklet front and back (double sided). Fold in half (folder page to the outside of the book) and insert pages into one another following the page numbers on the bottom of the page. Place 2 staples on the folded edge of the booklet.

Transition Timelines

Transition Contact Information for Middletown Families

Transition Agencies That Can Help

Questions To Ask Before Graduation

Transition to Adult Guidelines for Individuals with ASD-- by OCALI (excellent resources for all young adults in the transition process)

Transition Services Flow Chart

Important Records to Keep

Local Social Activities for Young Adults with Disabilities

Information on Self Determination and Self Advocacy

AIR Self Determination Scale for Students

AIR Self Determination Scale for Parents

Career Cluster Interest Survey

Spanish version Career Cluster Interest Survey

Self Determination

NCSET Research Brief on Self Determination

http://education.ou.edu/zarrow/ is The Zarrow Center For Learning Enrichment which has multiple resources for teaching self determination skills. Please check out "Whose Life Is It Anyway?" which includes 36 lessons in 6 sections that help students prepare for their transition meetings and gain self determination skills. Excellent resource!

www.ldpride.net/selfadvocacy.htm is an online manual that teaches self discovery, self awareness and self advocacy.

www.ldpride.net/learningstyles.MI.htm explains the different learning styles, has an online test to determine yours and strategies to make your style work for you

Taking Charge: Stories of Success

Disability Disclosure Manual

Post-Itt Guidance Activities: College Planning for Students with Disabilities

The following worksheets will help students define their preferences, interests, needs and strengths.

Job interest and preference sheet

Things that are difficult

This is How I See Myself

Values inventory

Work personality profile

Self determination and self advocacy checklist

Self determination questionnaire

What's my bag

Satisfactions you need

Information on College and Post secondary Education and Training (documents may take a couple of minutes to download):

How is High School Different Than College

College Preparation Checklist

College Services and Programs

College Interview Form

Ways That College Students Can Help Themselves

www.going-to-college.org contains information about selecting and living college life with a disability. It contains modules which include video's and activities for students, parents and professionals.

Other booklets that may be requested free through the Parent Mentor office include:

Planning Your Future: Why Choose College
Auxiliary Aids and Services for Post secondary Student's with Disabilities
Students With Disabilities Preparing for Post secondary Education: Know Your Rights and Responsibilities
An Instruction Booklet for the Parents of College Bound Students
Planning for College
Planning for College: A Senior Year Calendar

Information on Employment and Independent Living Skills (documents may take a couple of minutes to download)

Am I Ready To Live On My Own (a checklist of skills)

It's Your Life (checklist of skills)

Employability & Life Skills Assessment

Planning for Living Independently

Other booklets that may be requested free through the Parent Mentor office include:

On Living On Your Own
On Your Career
Choosing A Career Path
How To Keep A Job Once Your Hired
Interviewing Skills
Career Choices and Educational Options

An Idea Book for Employability Skill Development in the Home

Click here for additional resources listed on parent mentor site

Transition web sites that maybe helpful:

www.khake.com is a vocational web information center containing a huge database of information, assessments and curriculum.

www.heath.gwu.edu is an online clearinghouse on postsecondary education for individuals. Check out the modules section.

www.careerzone.org is an online carrer exploration activities site for grade 6 - 12.

www.alife4me.org is a cyber community of transiton activities.

www.driveofyourlife.org has online career exploration games.

www.vaview.org has career search database, booklets, games and assessments that can be printed or saved to a file.

www.nsttac.org is the National Secondary Transition Technical Assistance Center.

www.edresourcesohio.org/transition is Ohio's Department of Educations transition information page.

www.ourfactsyourfuture.org has career resources for middle schools (click on career resources, then students). Check out MCIS junior.

www.acinet.org has career video's (also available in Spanish).

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