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What are Transition Services?
What are Transition Services?
Transition services are a coordinated set of activities that promote movement from school to such post-school activities as post-secondary education, vocational training, employment, adult services, independent living and community participation. They must be based on the individual student's needs, taking into account his or her preferences and interests. Transition services must include instruction, community experiences, and development of employment and other post school adult living objectives. If appropriate, daily living skills and functional vocational evaluation may also be included.
Transition Planning Overview
PACER advocate Carolyn Anderson discusses the concept of “transition in the IEP" and the secondary transition planning process for a student with a disability on an IEP. She highlights that this time of discovery is based on the student's strengths, interests, and long-range goals for life after high school.
What can I expect to see in the IEP?
What can I expect to see in the IEP?
Transition planning begins with a transition assessment, which should be completed before developing the IEP. The end goal of a transition assessment is to determine what a student will need in order to be successful in achieving post secondary goals. Assessments might include interest inventories, vocational assessments and career planning tests, as well as opportunities for students to participate in job shadowing or mentoring to assess their interests, aptitudes and abilities.
Transition related assessment information, as well as the student’s present levels of academic achievement should be described in the Present Levels of Educational Performance section of the student’s IEP.
The transition section of the IEP, like all other IEP sections, is written for one year. The transition section of the IEP must be updated annually.
Post secondary goals are based on age-appropriate transition assessment and describe the student’s goals AFTER they graduate from high school. There are three areas that post secondary goals must address: post secondary education/training, employment and independent living.
Transition planning involves the student, the family, educational staff, personnel from outside agencies, and other relevant community members who engage in developing a purposeful transition plan.
Transition services and activities are part of the coordinated set of services that move the student toward his/her post secondary goals. Listed within the transition grid of the IEP, services and activities represent action steps that are to be completed during the current year on behalf of the student.
Are There IEPs & 504 Plans in College?
Are There IEPs & 504 Plans in College?
The short answer is there are NO IEPs or 504 plans in college. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the law that provides students with IEPs, no longer applies to them once they graduate from high school.
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 still protects students from discrimination when they get to college. However, they won’t get a 504 plan like they had in high school. In other words, a student’s 504 plan doesn’t “travel” with her to college.
Students can still receive accommodations in college, though. Colleges have to provide accommodations under Section 504. You aren’t likely to hear many colleges use the phrase “504 plan,” though.
The disability service model at college is very different from the one high-schoolers (and their parents) are used to. Colleges tend to offer different types of support. That’s why it’s important to learn as much as you can about disability services in college.
For example, the process of requesting and receiving accommodations in college is not the same as in high school.
How can I help my child plan for Post Secondary Education/ Employment?
How can I help my child plan for Post Secondary Education/ Employment?
Your child should have a specific plan for postsecondary education or training in place when he/she exits school. This is a part of the special education transition process so your child’s IEP team will help. Many factors play a part in deciding the right postsecondary program for your child.
Possibilities include full- or part-time vocational programs, two-year colleges, four-year universities or colleges, certificate programs, or specific job training experiences. A school’s location or size may not fit your son or daughter, even if the program is perfect in other ways.
Whether the school will provide the specific accommodations your child will need is another consideration. Not all programs provide the same accommodations, and colleges are not required to make modifications to alter academic requirements.
In addition to choosing a postsecondary education or training option, your child will also need to develop specific skills to prepare for this journey after high school. For example: If your child decides to attend college and live away from home, organization and time management may be a challenge. Your child will need to learn to understand his/her disability, know the accommodations needed to address the disability in a postsecondary setting, and have the self-advocacy skills needed to request and obtain those accommodations.
"As you become your own advocate and your own stewart, your life will beautifully transform..!"
The Importance of Self Advocacy
The Importance of Self Advocacy
Self-advocacy gives students with learning disabilities the confidence to ask for the tools they need to be successful in the real world. The strategy not only benefits children at school, but in explaining their learning disability to friends and family members.
According to the Center for Parent Information and Resources, self advocacy is “learning how to speak up for yourself, making your own decisions about your own life, learning how to get information so that you can understand things that are of interest to you, finding out who will support you in your journey, knowing your rights and responsibilities, problem solving, listening and learning, reaching out to others when you need help and friendship, and learning about self determination.”
Self-advocacy can be useful in many different ways, and in many different situations. It is important to draw on self-advocacy skills whenever it is important for the individual’s voice to be heard – this includes situations in which medical/care plans are being reviewed or put in place, during assessments, or whenever an individual feels that he or she is being treated unfairly. Self-advocacy is an essential skill for all individuals, and can help individuals with disability build successful, happy lives.
How to Advocate
How to Advocate
Take a deep breath. Deep breathing gives your body lots of oxygen, and oxygen helps you feel calmer and think more clearly.
Think about what just happened. Before you react to something someone said or did, think about it a bit. Ask yourself questions such as: “Did that person really mean to bump into me, or was it just an accident?” or “Is the clerk really ignoring me or is she just very busy? Maybe I need to be more patient.”
Think about what you want to be different. Before you talk to the other person, make sure you know what you want to happen. Do you want to be treated differently? Do you want that person to stop doing something?
Speak clearly and slowly. Start by saying something like, “I would like to talk with you about…” and then calmly describe how you see the situation.
Let the other person speak. Being a self-advocate doesn’t mean that only you talk. The other person needs a chance to respond to what you are saying. If that person becomes impatient, try to stay calm and take a deep breath.
Don’t expect immediate results. Change is not always instant or lasting. Sometimes it takes many conversations with the other person before anything changes. You may even have to remind the person more than once.
Ask someone to help. There may be times when you and the other person cannot agree or the other person becomes unreasonable. One of the best parts of being your own advocate is that you don’t have to solve all the problems on your own. You can and should ask for help. Asking for help is also advocating for yourself.
Understand your disability. In many situations, you may need to take the responsibility for explaining your needs based on your disability to others. Practice speaking openly about your needs and strengths with your family and friends. This will make it easier in new situations and with people who don’t know you.
What is the role of a high school student in Transition Planning?
What is the role of a high school student in Transition Planning?
A student needs to begin thinking about what he wants to do as an adult before his first transition planning meeting takes place. This is his chance to take an active role in planning his education and make school relevant to his future. This is the time for the student to propose dreams and set goals for reaching them. It is an avenue to prove what he can accomplish, to identify things he enjoys and feels competent doing, and to set himself on a path of his choosing. At the same time, he should be realistic about how he’ll need to accommodate for his learning difficulties while pursuing his education and vocation. In general, the transition plan can emphasize a student’s abilities rather than his areas of difficulty.
Some steps a high school student can take to prepare for the transition planning process include:
Using CCSA's supports to identify his interests and find out what education and training are required.
Complete interest inventories with his/her case manager to identify his/her interests, skills, abilities, and aptitudes as they relate to employment.
Doing volunteer work or entry-level jobs in his field(s) of interest, internships/ work study.
Observing and interviewing adults who perform the type of work that interests him/her.
Visiting training institutes and colleges to learn about entrance requirements; this will help your teenager choose the necessary classes in high school. For example, students interested in forestry need to take science; engineers need advanced math courses; actors need drama courses, and graphic artists need art as well as computer design classes.
Transition Planning Activities at Home & in the Community
Transition Planning Activities at Home & in the Community
Many transition planning activities and objectives are carried out at school. However, unlike traditional IEP objectives, many objectives stated in the transition plan take place outside of school – at home and in the community. These activities may include:
At Home:
Giving your teen chores and responsibilities will encourage his independence and responsibility. As you do this, think ahead to the skills he’ll need as an independent adult. For example:
He should open his own checking or savings account(s) and learn how to manage his/her money.
When he’s learning to drive and studying to pass his driver’s license test, he/she should also learn about automobile insurance and routine vehicle maintenance.
It’s never too early to teach your child self-advocacy skills; these skills will continue to help him/her move toward independent adulthood.
In the Community:
Look within your own community for opportunities to expose your teenager to future possibilities. Consider:
Taking your teenager to work.
Networking with friends and relatives about their jobs. Consider having your child take a workplace tour and conduct informational interviews.
Researching and visiting local colleges and training schools your teenager is interested in attending.
What Is the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR)?
What Is the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR)?
The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry explains what OVR is and the services they provide.
The Pennsylvania Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, provides vocational rehabilitation services to help persons with disabilities prepare for, obtain, or maintain employment. An Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE) is developed, outlining a vocational objective, services, providers and responsibilities.
Learn more of Pennsylvania Office of Vocational Rehabilitation on Facebook and from their handbook below.
College Transitions
College Transitions
Just about every parent experiences some degree of angst as they begin to navigate the college admissions process. Even the mom or dad of an academic superstar will inevitably experience stress and anxiety as they attempt to tackle college visits, testing requirements, FAFSA forms, and the thousand other challenging and time-consuming tasks that comprise the search and admissions process.
Understandably, parents of teens with learning disabilities or ADD/ADHD often experience an additional layer of stress.
Visit this page (link below) to get tips and tricks to help parents and students navigate the college transition.
30 Colleges that Specialize in Supporting Students with Disabilities
30 Colleges that Specialize in Supporting Students with Disabilities
There are many ways to achieve a successful college education with a learning disability. In fact, these often “invisible disabilities” are more prominent on college campuses than you may think. A new statistic suggests that 1 out of every 5 college students has some kind of learning disability.
In fact, many of these schools celebrate the ways that students learn differently, and offer tools that bring out the best aspects of learning differences. Each program has its own flair, but many have in common access to a one-on-one coach or mentor. This individual support will keep students on track with their goals and personal trajectory of success.
Learn more about these schools below.
The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), of the U.S. Department of Education (Department), is pleased to publish, A Transition Guide to Postsecondary Education and Employment for Students and Youth with Disabilities to assist students and youth with disabilities to achieve their post-school and career goals.
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