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Transition Services
Most
parents and teachers agree that one of the primary goals of school is
to prepare students for their eventual independent living in the community.
The school setting is to provide many of the opportunities needed to
develop the academic and interpersonal skills needed to function as
productive citizens. Students often find themselves choosing a career
in an unplanned and haphazard way. A well-planned transition plan is
a more preferred way to plan for the future.
Transition
is ultimately concerned with the movement of a student from high school
to post secondary training and from home to more independent living.
An Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) document
refers to transition as a "bridge between the security of and structure
offered by school and the opportunities and risks of adult life."
A 1997 revision to the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) mandates
that plans for a student's transition from school to work and community
living must be included in the student's Individualized Education Program
(IEP) by the time the student reaches age 14.
Although
transition planning may have its roots in programs for students with
disabilities it is apparent that all students could benefit from well-defined
programs of transition regardless of the existence of a disability.
As today's job market becomes more competitive and unemployment rates
continue to rise it makes good sense to plan for transition for students
of all ages, not just those with disabilities or approaching graduation.
Ideally the process can begin as soon as students enter school and ideally
the process should incorporate a K-12 career development plan. This
does not mean that early elementary students should be subjected to
in depth assessment batteries. It means that early school years should
encompass career exposure and educational activities geared to a level,
which is developmentally appropriate to younger students. It is important
to emphasize the development of self-awareness, occupational awareness
and good decision making skills.
Parents
and teachers involved in facilitating the student's transition should
consider the developmental maturity of the student as well as the skills
needed to adjust to community living and employment. Skills to be considered
are daily living skills (managing money, preparing food), personal/social
(hygiene, social skills) and occupational/ vocational skills (job seeking
skills and appropriate work habits).
In
developing the transition plan it is important to determine what support
services and agencies are available to the student in the community
and how these agencies can be an integral part of the transition plan.
Who should be involved in the transition plan? Ideally the process should
be on going through the student's school career and include a partnership
of all that have a stake in helping the student succeed. This partnership
may include parents, regular and special education teachers, school
administrators, counselors and vocational specialists, community professionals,
and school psychologists.
Vocational and Transition Planning by Gerald Hann and Edward M. Levinson,
Ed.D Indiana University of Pennsylvania
