INSTRUCTIONAL EVENTS:

Transitions occur across the lifespan. We know the law requires transition planning to begin at 14, and good planning can start even earlier if needed. We will briefly discuss the transitions from early childhood to elementary, elementary to middle school, middle school to high school and high school and beyond.  Most of our emphasis will be on activities during the high school years.  Each of the transition activities during the school years help lead to the desired post high school outcomes.

I. Transition Across the School-age 

1.  Early Childhood 

Beginning kindergarten is a huge step for many students and their families.  Families go from writing an Individualized Family Support Plan (IFSP) to an Individualized Education Program (IEP).   

Some of the considerations for families are:

a)      Preschool programs are often conducted in small buildings or rooms (e.g., churches) whereas the kindergarten classes are often part of the elementary school with a larger number of classes and students.

b)      Student expectations often focus more on basic academics (learning numbers, letters, writing name, etc.)

c)      Student’s are expected to be more independent (toilet trained, feeding themselves, etc.)

d)      Many kindergarten students ride the bus rather than be transported by family members.

e)      There is a difference between the Individualized Family Service Plan and the  Individualized Education Program (IEP).

Comparison of Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP)
and the Individualized Education Program (IEP) Content

[ http://www.kansped.org/ksde/ph01/apA12.html ]

2.       Elementary   

During the elementary years, most students spend the largest amount of time in a building with familiar teachers and other school personnel. For example, most students spend grades K-6 years in the same school.  The major focus for families is concentrating on learning the basic skills, peers interactions, obtaining the necessary resources and/or supports to ensure students are meeting the academic requirements. 

Some transitions that occur during the elementary years include:

• Reading for content vs learning to read

• Grade expectations

• Difficulty of content

• Degree of support in the classroom

• Level of independence expected in the higher grades

• Size of classes gets larger as students get older

3.      Middle   

Going from elementary school to middle school is a huge step for many students and their families. Issues to consider, however are not exhaustive, include: 

a.      Changing classes.  Students are expected to maneuver hallways to change classes.

b.      Different teachers. Students have different teachers for each content area, therefore students are required to respond to the various expectations and demands of each teacher and their teaching style.

c.      Communication – Students and families will begin dealing with a higher number of teachers and school personnel making communication more essential and sometimes more fragmented.  Using emails, notebooks, regularly scheduled meetings and other means can assist with improving home/school communication.

d.      Lockers –Students must display a variety of skills such as manipulating the locker, organizational skills to carry the appropriate books and materials at the designated time, time management to get to the locker and to the designated room in a timely manner; maneuvering the crowd; working through the distractions (noise, people) etc.

e.       Sporting activities/events – Enrolling in team sports will require students to balance academics and participation in sports.

f.        Extra-curricular activities. Choice of activities will require some level of independence or facilitation from peers as well as social skills.

g.       Peer expectations and pressures – Dealing with the early stages of adolescence and the developmental issues that go with that stage.

4.  High School 

Starting High School brings a great deal of excitement and a great deal of apprehension. Students are in the stage of adolescents while required to begin to think about their future and life as an adult.  The remainder of these modules will focus on the activities that should occur during high school transition years, how to prepare for life after high school, and the essential partners in making transition outcomes happen.  Figure 1 from TransCen is a nice illustration of career development and transition activities across the lifespan.  Visit TransCen at http://www.transcen.org/

 Click here to view the BIG PICTURE

 RESOURCES

•      National Middle School Association http://www.nmsa.org/

•      School Transitions: From Preschool to Kindergarten, Elementary to Middle, and Middle to High School, http://www.pta.org  

•      TransCen, Inc,  http://www.transcen.org/

II. Issues Faced During Transition Planning

There are a number of issues that students, families and school personnel face during the transition process.  Although many local communities have resolved some of these issues, several remain ongoing concerns:

•      Balancing the needs of students to meet the academic standards and passing the Graduate Qualifying Exam and receiving essential career exploration and vocational experiences.

•      Limited educational services students’ receive vs what they actually need

•      Support services available outside of school settings e.g. community organizations versus what they need to be successful. A lot of times kids need more than what is available in the community

•      The constraints of the curriculum, the lack of resources and supports.

•      Research about what teachers know about how to access and understanding resources, interpret research, and how research links to teaching

•      Keeping the connections for students when they leave school so they don’t miss out on social networks and relationships

•      Finding the time and resources to address leisure and recreational activities

•      Lack of knowledge of community resources

III. Effective Transition Planning Practices

Although issues faced during the transition planning process need to be addressed and considered, we must not neglect to continue to implement effective practices. The remainder of this module will touch upon the following effective transition practices.

•          Student involvement

•          Family Involvement

•          Self-determination

•          Transition Component of the IEP

•          Transition Assessment and Career Development

•          Academic vs Community-referenced Curriculum

•          Community-Based Instruction

•          Work experiences
   

RESOURCE:

        Seeds of Success: Growing Transition Services for Young Adults (under products)
 

1.  Student and Family Involvement

a.  Student Involvement

IDEA requires that transition-age students be invited to attend and participate their IEP meeting. Students’ presence at the IEP meeting is not enough.  They must learn their role and how to participate meaningfully. 

ACTIVITY:

 

Go to http://nichcy.org/pubs/stuguide/st1.pdf

Locate “A Student’s Guide to the IEP”

Then go to www.ncset.org

1.      Click on Publications; Then click on Research to Practice Briefs

2.      Choose -  “Self-determination: Supporting Successful Transition”

3.      Read the brief and respond to the following questions

REFLECTIVE QUESTIONS:

">1.      After reading “A Student’s Guide to the IEP”, how can you present this information to students without overwhelming them?  What would you prioritize in your teaching and/or presentation to the students?  What do you feel are the essential components?

">2.      After reading “Self-determination: Supporting Successful Transtion”, how would you infuse each of the self-detemination contructs (e.g., choice-making, self-advocacy, risk-taking, goal-setting and planning, problem-solving, and understanding their disabilities) into your teaching or everyday practice?

RESOURCES:

         Myers, A., & Eisenman, L. Student – Led IEPs: Take the first step. Teaching Exceptional Children, 37 (4), 2005.

         http://www.youthhood.org/youthhood/index.asp - a website for youth and their teachers

         http://www.uncc.edu/sdsp/sd_curricula.asp  - summary of self-determination curricula

b.  Parent Involvement

Parents (family) need to be an active partner in the transition process.  During this stage, the role of the parent is often a fine balance.  Students are adolescents and trying to gain more independence from their families. Here are some suggestions for parents to consider during the transition planning process (adapted from Keller, K., & Holt, R, 1997).

•          Understand what is meant by transition and how your school is addressing this need as required by IDEA
   

•          Be an equal partner in all aspects of the IEP planning, decision-making and implementation.
   

•          Be sure that your child's IEP contains a sufficient number of transition-related objectives, beginning in the elementary years and continuing through high school.
   

•          See transition planning as a family responsibility and work cooperatively and actively with school staff to make your child's transition a success.
   

•          Help identify strengths and interests as well as areas that may need support
   

•          Reinforce the transitional activities that your child is experiencing high school.
   

•          Help your child to develop good work habits and behaviors and the self confidence needed to succeed on the job.
   

•          Be a good role model and reinforce the value of a good education and the responsibilities of the world of work
   

•          Encourage local employers to consider providing training sites for students in vocational programs.
   

•          Promote the hiring of individuals with disabilities by local businesses.
   

•          Set an example yourself by hiring persons with disabilities in your business.
   

•          Become well-versed in legislation and services that affect transition from high school.
   

•          Volunteer time to work with your child's transition program.
   

•          Join a parent support group that discusses transition issues.
   

•          Promote an understanding of the need for students with disabilities to acquire functional and self help skills.
   

•          Nurture and promote connections between your child and family members and your adult friends. Personal connections often provide the best means for young adults with disabilities to find work in the community.

2. Starting with The End in Mind: Backwards Planning

Backward planning is a concept described by Steere his colleagues by using personal postschool goals or the students’ vision (outcomes) for life after high school to drive the development of the transition component of the IEP, that in turn drives the annual goals and benchmarks in the IEP (Steere, Wood, Panscofar, & Butterworth, 1990).

The figure below contains six boxes side-by-side. Arrows between the boxes indicate movement from left to right, from the first through the sixth box. The first box contains the text "Post-school Goals (Vision), the second contains the text "Present Levels of Educational Performance", the third contains the text "Statement of Transition Service Needs", the fourth contains the text "Statement of Needed Transition Services", the fifth box contains the text "Annual Goals", the sixth box contains the text "Short term Objectives/Benchmarks".

Figure 1

Permission from, Ed O'Leary, 1998 copyright

 a.        Possible and Positive Future: The Vision

Asking some basic questions along with identifying the student’s interests, preferences, strengths and needs helps develop a positive and possible vision for postschool life.  Examples of questions that may be asked include: 

•       Will this student go onto college or to work? What are the possible options?

•       If going onto college, what does the student need to be prepared for? What are the expectations?

•       Where will the student work? What is the best job setting? What is the best job match?

•       What are the student’s strengths, preferences, interests and needs?

•       Where will the student live and with whom?

•       Who will the student spend time with?

•       What will the student do with their free time?

•       How will the student get around (e.g., transportation)?

For many students and families, articulating a clear vision is difficult without understanding what the possibilities are and what is needed to help achieve the vision.  Each member of the team must take the responsibility to ensure the information is provided and available to the families.  A good starting point is understanding the expectations and options in the postschool environments. 

3.      Understanding Post-school Environments 

Students and their families leave a school system based on entitlement to a system based on eligibility requirements.  Although in the next module we will talk in depth about eligibility requirements and services offered for community service providers, we will begin with the environments where students will spend the majority of their time after high school and build the high school experiences around them.

PLEASE VIEW THIS POWER POINT PRESENTATION

ACTIVITY: 

Based on the powerpoint, respond to the following questions: 

1. What would be 2 important skills to teach students who are interested in attending a 2 or 4 year college and how would they use it in their current and future environment (give examples)? 
2. What would be 2 important skills to teach students who are interested in entering the workforce after high school and how would they use it in their current and future environment (give examples)? 
3. What one key value emerges from the vision and services of supported living? 

RESOURCES: 

         http://www.heath.gwu.edu/ - national clearinghouse on postsecondary education for individuals with disabilities

         http://www.jan.wvu.edu/ - job accommodation network to increase employability for individuals with disabilities

         http://www.dcdt.org – The Division of Career Development and Transition,

         Http://www.apse.org – APSE: The Network on Employment

4.  Transition Component of the IEP

Now that we understand the future environments, lets continue on to develop a transition component of the IEP and what the high school activities will look like to support students to enter into the future environments. Transition planning focuses on improving student success in all areas of life.  It is future oriented, therefore the transition component of the IEP identifies desired adult outcomes and support needs.   

Remember from module I that IDEA 1997 defines transition as

"the coordinated set of activities shall be based upon the individual student's needs, taking into account the student's preferences and interests." These activities include "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 functional vocational evaluation."  Therefore, the transition component of the IEP must reflect IDEA requirements. 

A.  Guiding Principles For Developing the Transition Component of the IEP 

•       The transition component of the IEP drives the IEP based on the students’ vision and postschool goals.

•       Transition components are broad-scoped goals related to work, living, education, etc.

•       The IEP is a detailed description of educational goals/objectives that support transition goals and activities.

•       By the age of 14 (or earlier if deemed appropriate by the IEP team) and updated annually, a statement of transition service needs of the student that focuses on the student’s course of study (e.g., advanced placement courses or career-tech programs.);

•       By the age of 16 (or younger if determined appropriate by the IEP team), a statement of needed transition services for the student, including, if appropriate, a statement of the interagency responsibilities, necessary linkages, and referrals with other agencies and other programs in the school and community that can affect transition outcomes in the different goal areas.

Mary’s IEP

B. Gathering the Information: Transition Assessment and Person-centered Approaches

IDEA requires that IEP transition goals and activities must be based on student needs, interests, and preferences. After establishing the individual’s vision or goals for postschool outcomes, finding the present level of performance often requires a range of formal and informal assessments. The focus on this area should be identifying the student’s current level of functioning or performance and determining how to move a student from his or her current level to what the student needs to learn and do to reach his or her goals.

Visit http://www.idealindiana.com  for IEP development requirements.

1.  Transition assessments should be:

•          One approach to getting to know more about the student

   

•          Used for planning, instruction, or placement

   

•          Ongoing and continuous

   

•          Individualized with a clear purpose

   

•          Conducted across setting by multiple people

   

•          Summarized in an understandable manner to be included in a transition or vocational profile

   

ACTIVITY

Visit the following 2 websites to get a brief overview of formal and informal transition assessments and methods of gathering information:

http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdesped/download/pdf/TK_TransAssessment.pdf 

http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdesped/download/pdf/TK_MethodGatherInfo.pdf

RESOURCES 

·        IDEA ’97 Section V: Commonly Asked Questions and Answers
 

·        Designing Individualized Education Program (IEP)
Transition Plans
http://ericec.org/digests/e598.html

·        Answers to Commonly Asked Questions about Transition Services and the Individualized Education Program (IEP)
http://www.transitioncoalition.org

2.      Person Centered Planning

The term person centered planning refers to a family of approaches to organizing and guiding community change in alliance with people with disabilities and their families and friends. Person centered planning approaches include: Individual Service Design, Lifestyle planning, Personal Futures Planning, MAPS, PATH, and Essential Lifestyle Planning (John O'Brien and Herbert Lovett).

Person Centered approaches requires:

•   Thinking about a person, the supports and people in their lives that will move them in the direction towards their goals and dreams.

•  Bringing people together in partnership to develop and take the next steps that are significant for the person to move towards the dreams. It is about building allies and taking action. It’s about:

•   Envisioning a desirable lifestyle

•   Designing numerous experiences, mostly integrated

•   Focusing on quality of life and related supports/  experiences

•   Organizing to respond to people

•   Focusing on the person

•   Searching for capacities and gifts, the identifies support needs

•   Spending time getting to know the person

•   Depending on people, families, and direct service workers to build good descriptions
 

The goal is to understand and get to know the student by having the student and team members ask:

a.       What is my life history (experiences)?

b.      What are my gifts and talents?

c.       What are my likes and dislikes?

d.      What are my challenges?

e.       How do I communicate?

f.        My health and wellness?

g.       Where are the places I go?

h.       Who are the people in my life?

i.         What choices do I make?

j.        How do I interact with others?

ACTIVITY

•          Go to www.ncset.org

•          Click on Publications

•          Then click on Research to Practice Briefs

•          Choose -  Person-Centered Planning: A Tool for Transition

•          Read the brief and respond to the following questions

1.      Conducting a “true” person-centered planning process often is difficult to get all the key members together due to time and resource constraints.  Identify at least 3 specific ways that you can implement a person centered approach while not requiring all members to be present at all times or to gather the information without holding an official meeting?

2.      What are at least 2 proactive strategies that you can use to support someone who may have an “unrealistic” goal?

IV.  Balancing the High School Experiences: Academic, Community-Referenced Curriculum and Work Skills

Across the country an increasingly common graduation requirement for secondary schools is a passing score on an exit examination such as the Graduate Qualifying Exam (GQE) in Indiana.  Commonly known as high stakes testing through No Child Left Behind legislation, states are under pressure to improve graduation rates for students with disabilities.  Because of the higher expectations, more students with disabilities are participating in the general education curriculum.  In order to meet these standards, more teachers are using differentiated instructional strategies and a variety of accommodations. However for some students, passing the GQE is difficult resulting in staying in school longer, taking a community-reference curriculum approach or sadly enough, dropping-out. 

The challenge for educators is to balance the academic standards with the post-school goals of the student.  For example, if a student intends to enroll in a 2- or 4-year college upon graduation then it is essential to participate in the rigorous academic standards, pass the GQE while balancing career development activities.  However, if a student intends to obtain their diploma but would like to go right into the workforce after graduation, balancing the academic requirements and receiving career development and work experiences becomes challenging.

For some students, the need to focus on a community-referenced curriculum requires balancing the high school experiences with typical peers with community-based instruction needs.

  ACADEMIC RESOURCES

         http://www.frsd.k12.nj.us/rfmslibrarylab/di/differentiated_instruction.htm - information on differentiated instruction 

www.ncset.org; Click on Publications; Then click on Research to Practice Briefs

         http://www.idealindiana.com – information on the following strategies:

o       6 Strategies for Effective Guided Instruction

o       Collaborative Teaching

o       Functional Behavior Assessment

o       Graphic Organizers

o       Self-monitoring and management

o       Strategies for Active Study Responding 

         http://www.cast.org – information on how to make learning accessible to all learners (universal design)

A.  Best practices in Community-Based instruction and Work Experiences 

Community-based instruction is a reality-based training program in which a student works and learns at selected community businesses and services. The desired outcomes are competitive employment and daily living skills. 

1.  Community-Based Instruction (CBI) IS:

•         Conducted in the community with real equipment, materials, and tools

•         On-going

•         Relevant to student’s post-school goals and included in the IEP transition

•         Integrated in all curricular areas

•         Supervised

•         An integral part of  the school program

2.  Community- Based Instruction (CBI) is NOT:

•         A field trip

•         Staff doing activity/work while students watch

•         A one time event

•         Segregated settings

•         Unsupervised

•         A program “extra”

3.  Characteristics of Successful Work Sites include (Wehman, 2002)

•         Employers should understand that students are there to receive training and experience, not produce large amounts of work.

•         Worksites should offer a variety of tasks, ideally 4-6 different tasks to be performed

•         Worksites should offer maximal opportunities for students to work and interact with coworkers without disabilities

4.  Staffing and Scheduling Considerations

         Consider using volunteers, paraprofessionals, and peer tutors as potential instructors

         A 1:4 or less teacher-student ratio should be developed and students should be grouped heterogeneously, rather than by disability

         Schedules need to be coordinated with other therapies (e.g., occupational, speech) but can be integrated into the community instruction. Use related services staff.

         Staggered implementation as not to overwhelm the site or staff

B.      18-21 Year old Services

While many typical students leave school at 18, many students with moderate to severe disabilities remain in high school until they are 21 or 22 years old. This often means remaining in high school and classroom settings with much younger students. By age 18, high school classes and activities may no longer be considered relevant learning environments, especially for students who learn best in real world settings, and who have difficulty generalizing from one setting to another. 

This period of time will offers schools, adult service providers, and other community services and members the opportunity to collaborate to share resources, blend funding, and coordinate services to ensure a seamless transition. 

Read the Following Article by Pat Rogan
 

RESOURCES:

http://www.iidc.indiana.edu/cclc/ - “Hoosier Orientation Handbook on Supported Employment”

         http://www.ncset.org; Click on Publications; Then click on Information Briefs

Choose-  Work-Based Learning and Future Employment for Youth: A Guide for Parents and Guardians;  Then click on Research Briefs, and choose - Tapping Employment Opportunities for Youth with Disabilities by Engaging Effectively with Employers

(Note) * As of May 2006, the IDEA (2004) regulations have not been released. Some states and local school districts are considering keeping the transition requirement at age 14. Check to see what your own local district has decided.

CULMINATING ACTIVITY WITH SCENARIOS:

After reading each of the scenarios below, respond to the following questions: 

1. How will you get to know the student? What assessment tools will you use?

2.  Write 1 example for each student

o       a vision statement,

o       transition outcome and activities

o       IEP goal and benchmarks

3.  What will you emphasize in your teaching (e.g., what strategies will you use, what do you want the students to learn)?

Carlos's Plan for College

Carlos, a 16-year-old junior in high school with a significant learning disability, plans to attend college upon graduation. Carlos loves working with computers and demonstrates skill and interest in using computers for graphic design. (Carlos's team includes him and his family, guidance counselor, independent living center representative, postsecondary education support services provider, and a student with a learning disability who had graduated two years ago and is currently attending college.)

Since Carlos is interested in pursuing a career involving computers, but is still undecided about what he would like to major in, the guidance counselor provided a list of colleges that offer a variety of computer-related degrees, including graphic design, programming, and management information systems. Carlos agreed to attend the local College Fair, and his family agreed to take him to visit campuses and observe and inquire regarding the support Carlos may need.

The team agreed that, in order to be successful in college, Carlos would need a college that offered small class size, student mentoring services, and note-taking services. The team agreed that Carlos had depended on others to advocate for him. They recommended that Carlos improve his self-advocacy skills. The representative from the Center for Independent Living invited Carlos to participate in their next self-advocacy program as a means of meeting this transition service need, and the school division agreed to pay for the costs of this service.

The postsecondary service provider told Carlos, his family, and the other professionals that a local college was offering an orientation for new students which would give Carlos a flavor for the demands of the college setting. Funding for this was possibly available from the local advocacy group representing individuals with learning disabilities. The special educator reported that the advocacy group was looking for individuals to apply to their program. The guidance counselor set up an appointment with the family, to discuss options for college financial assistance.

Marcia's Employment Path

Marcia, a 20-year-old student with mild cognitive disabilities and a mild hearing impairment, has a transition goal of full-time employment upon graduation this year. Marcia has a one-year-old child. Marcia's transition planning team includes she and her family, the career-technical educator, special educator, vocational rehabilitation counselor, case manager, hearing specialist, social worker, and occupational therapist.

Starting at age 17, Marcia had begun exploring job opportunities through job shadowing and internship experiences. Both Marcia and her parents reported that she likes working with people, that she likes working inside, and that she would prefer an office setting. Marcia's career-technical education teacher observed her in a simulated work experience and reported that Marcia followed instructions when given visual cues from a co-worker. The career-technical and vocational rehabilitation counselor identified a small business that needed office assistance. Marcia, working with the vocational rehabilitation counselor and her special education teacher, set up a job interview at the small business and was successful at obtaining a part-time job as an administrative aide.

The counselor/special educator team observed the work setting and identified the work and social demands of the job. The IEP transition team identified that Marcia would need the following supports to work: visual cues outlining the steps of the job; co-worker to assure safety (for example, in an emergency); monitoring for errors; a flashing light on the telephone; transportation training; and child care for her son. The special educator and rehabilitation counselor provided training to the employer and other employees who, in turn, agreed to provide the natural supports Marcia needed and develop the visual clues for the steps of the job.

The occupational therapist and the family developed a plan for Marcia to learn how to travel using the city buses. The social worker identified a good low-cost child care setting, and the Department of Social Services agreed to cost-share these services with Marcia (who receives SSI) until one year after graduation. The social worker also agreed to coordinate Marcia's participation in a parenting class offered by the Health Department. The IEP Team recommended a consultation with a representative from the Social Security Administration (SSA) to provide guidance on benefits and the use of any work incentives.

The local school agreed to provide a job coach initially, however will need to figure out future supports.