What are Transition Services?

Transition services for students in special education are specifically designed to assist students with disabilities in transitioning from the school system into the adult world; whether it be to continue education or find employment. This process includes instruction, community learning experiences, and support services, with the intent to develop skills, knowledge and abilities for post-secondary success. 

Transition components are built into the student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) for special education.  It is a process which requires planning for your student's future. All youth with disabilities, aged 15-21, must have transition services on their IEP. Students with more severe disabilities may need to be considered earlier. The outcomes identified in the annual transition planning process become the framework for the goals and activities in your child's Individualized Education Plan (IEP). Transition services must be a coordinated set of activities oriented toward producing results. 

 Questions for Parents/Guardians to

 Consider Relating to Transitional Services

• What are my short term (high school) and long term (post high school) goals for my child?

• What kind of work situation is realistically attainable for my child?

• What kinds of living arrangements are possible for my child in adult life?

• What kinds of skills will be essential for success in a competitive or supported work experience?

• What kinds of skills will be needed for independent living?

• What kinds of transportation skills will be needed for my child to get to work?

• What agency resources may be necessary? 

What is my role as the parent?

As a parent, your job (along with the other professionals who are working with your child), is to:

•  Find out about these services

•  Determine which ones suit your child’s needs and aspirations 

•  Follow the procedures to secure eligibility for them. 

Your follow through is critical to their success.

  Other Things to Consider as Your Child Turns 18

• Does my child need a driver’s license or non-driver’s identification card?

• Does my child need working papers?

• Do I need to plan for guardianship before my child turns 18 and becomes the legal age of consent?

• Do I need to set up a special needs trust with an attorney?

• Do I need to apply for Medicaid and SSI?

• Does my child need to register for the draft? (males 18 and over)

• Does my child need to register to vote? 

• Will my child need residential or supportive housing? 

Source: https://www.gardencity.k12.ny.us/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx?moduleinstanceid=16425&dataid=13598&FileName=2020%20guide%20to%20transitional%20services.pdf

Click here for a regional contact information sheet. It includes agencies, addresses, phone numbers and website information. 

ADDITIONAL SUFFOLK COUNTY TRANSITION RESOURCES

Please click on the following link to access the Suffolk County Transition Resources Website.

Suffolk County Transition Resources

https://sites.google.com/northport.k12.ny.us/sctransitionresources/home

What are the skills every 18-year-old needs? 

1. An 18-year old must be able to talk to strangers-faculty, deans, advisers, landlords, store clerks, human resource managers, coworkers, bank tellers, health care providers, bus drivers, mechanics-in the real world. 

The crutch: We teach kids not to talk to strangers instead of teaching the more nuanced skill of how to discern the few bad strangers from the mostly good ones. Thus, kids end up not knowing how to approach strangers-respectfully and with eye contact- for the help, and direction they will need out in the real world. 

2. An 18-year-old must be able to find his way around a campus, the town in which her summer internship is located, or the city where he is working or studying abroad. 

The crutch: we drive or accompany our children everywhere, even when a bus , their bicycle, or their own feet could get them there; thus, kids don't know the route for getting from here to there, how to cope with transportation snafus, when and how to fill the car with gas, or how to make and execute transportation plans. 

3. An 18-year old must be able to manage his assignments, workload, and deadlines.  

     The crutch: We remind kids when their homework is due and when to do it-sometimes helping them do it, sometimes doing it for        them; thus, kids don't know how to prioritize tasks, manage workload, or meet deadlines without regular reminders. 

4. An 18-year-old must be able to contribute to the running of a house hold. 

The crutch: We don't ask them to help much around the house because the check-listed childhood leaves little time in the day for anything aside from academic and extracurricular work; thus, kids don't know how to look after their own needs, respect the needs of others, or do their fair share for the good of the whole. 

5. An 18-year-old must be able to handle interpersonal problems.

The crutch: We step in to solve misunderstandings and soothe hurt feelings for them; thus, kids don't know how to cope with and resolve conflicts without our intervention. 

6. An 18-year-old must be able to cope with ups and downs of courses and workloads, college-level work, competition, tough teachers, bosses, and others. 

The crutch: We step in when things get hard, finish the task, extend the deadline, and talk to the adults; thus, kids don't know that in the normal course of life things won't always go their way, and that they'll be okay regardless. 

7. An 18-year-old must be able to earn and manage money.

The crutch: They don't hold part-time jobs; they receive money from us for what ever they want or need; thus, kids don't develop a sense of responsibility for completing job tasks, accountability to a boss who doesn't inherently love them, or an appreciation for the cost of things and how to manage money. 

8. An 18-year-old must be able to take risks.

The crutch: We've laid out their entire path for them and have avoided all pitfalls or prevented all stumbles for them; thus, kids don't develop the wise understanding that success comes only after trying and failing and trying again (a.k.a. GRIT) or the thick skin (a.k.a. RESILIENCE) that comes from coping when things have gone wrong. 

Remember: our kids must be able to do all of these things without resorting to calling a parent of the phone. If they're calling us to ask how, they do not have the life skill. 

{Originally appeared in How to Raise an Adult: Break Free of the Overparenting Trap and Prepare Your Kid for Success by Julie Lythcott-Haims (Henry Holt & Co., 2015}