ERIC ED392212: The Future Is around the Corner! A Parent Handbook for Successful Transition.

26 Pages·0.78 MB·English

by  ERIC

DOCUMENT RESUME
EC 304 643
ED 392 212
The Future Is around the Corner! A Parent Handbook
TITLE
for Successful Transition.
PUB DATE
[Jan 96]
27p.; In: Services for Children with Deafblindness in
NOTE
Missouri. Final Report, Fiscal Year 1994-1995; see EC
304 642.
Non-Classroom Use (055)
Guides
PUB TYPE
MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage.
EDRS PRICE
*Child Rearing; *Disabilities; *Education Work
DESCRIPTORS
Relationship; Individualized Programs; *Long Range
Planning; Parent Child Relationship; Parent Role;
Parent School Relationship; Secondary Education;
*Transitional Programs
ABSTRACT
This handbook for parents describes the transition
planning process for youth with disabilities. The handbook is divided
into four sections: an overview of the who, what, where, when, why,
and how of transition; consideration and evaluation of future options
for the young person; home, school, and community activities that can
be immediately implemented; and forms to help guide the transition
planning process. The overview focuses on what the child is able to
do now, what the child's goals are, what the child needs to achieve
those goals, and who serves on the transition team. The options
section considers employment options, living arrangements, personal
management, socialization, leisure and community participation,
further education, transportation, self-advocacy, medical, financial,
legal, and insurance issues. Suggestions are offered for home and
school activities that can prepare children for adult life. Forms
include an adult services referral and contact list, and a parent
input form for tran=ition training.
(DB)
********************************************************************
*
Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made
from the original document.
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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Offcs of EdrecaZronot Research IMO Improvement
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION
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A Parent Handbook
for
Successful Transition
ark
CISE
Missouri Deaf/Blind Project
and
Center for Innovations in Special
Education (CISE)
Parka& Center, Suite 152
601 Business Loop 70 West
Columbia, MO 65211
[phone]
(800) 976-CISE (in Missouri
only)
BEST COPY AVAILABLE
Table of Contents
Introduction
2
Transition Overview
3
Dreaming of the Future
11
What Can Be Done Now9
16
Getting Help From Agencies and
Local Resources
21
This handbook is published by the
Center for Innovations in Special Education,
University of
Missouri-Columbia. Funding for this handbook
is through the Missouri Deaf/Blind
Project and
Missouri Department of Elementary
and Secondary Education, Division of
Special Education.
Thanks to Dennis R. Noie for
illustnting this handbook.
_
The Missouri Department of
Elementary and Secondary Education
and the University
of Missouri-Columbia
ensures equal employment/educational
opportunities/affirmative.
action regardless of
race, color, creed, national origin or
sex, in compliance with Title
VI and Title DC, or disability, in
compliance with Section 504 and
the Americans with
Disabilities Act.
If you need this publication in
an alternate format, efforts will be made
to meet your
needs.
For further information
contact the Center for Innovations
in Special
Education (CISE) at (800) 976-CISE.
1
INMODUCTION
What job will Shawn have in the
future? Will Jennifer
go to college? Where will Mary live?
What will Jamal do with his
friends? These are questions
all parents ask themselves
when they
look forward to the future of their
children. Adult life
can seem so far away when
your child
is still in school, yet time
passes quickly and before
you know it, children are young adults and
adult life is a short time
away.
This handbook has been written
to help you explore these
questions, and more, as they relate
to your child and family. By exploring
the future, you,
your child, educators, adult service
providers, and others in
your community can identify activities
that will provide supports and
services after high school.
This handbook is divided into
these sections:
1.
Transition Overview addresses the
who, what, where, when, why,
and how of transition.
2.
Dream of the Future helps
you think about possible future
options for you and
your
daughter or son.
3.
What Can Be Done Now? will
guide home, school, and
community activities that
can
take place now.
4.
The Appendix includes forms
that will help guide
your transition planning with
your
child.
This handbook is written
to describe the transition planning
process all people with disabilities
and their families
can use. It is not written for
any particular group of people who
have specific
disabilities.
Since each child is unique,
the transition planning
team must make plans and
decisions based on the specific
needs of each individual and
his or her family. To gain
the most
from this handbook,
you must think about how this
process will work for your child.
2
TRANSITION OVERVIEW
Transition Defined
The word transition implies
movement and change. We all go through changes
throughout our
lives that have an impact
on our future.
For example, when a person graduates from
high
school, then enters a two-year technical
school, that person is waking
a transition that will have
an effect on other aspects of his or her life. When
a person switches jobs, that person is making
a transition. A person can make many transitions
in a lifetime.
Have you ever taken a vacation
across the country without a map? This trip, like
transition,
requires a plan to help
you successfully end up where you want to be. The
time to develop a
transition plan is while
your son or daughter is still in middle school
or high school. Planning
early helps design an ezlucational
program that will logically prepare your child for the
future.
Public educationis guaranteed by
law for all children, but adult services
are not. Planning for
the services your daughter
or son will need as an adult while he/she is still
in school will help
eliminate gaps in the services needed.
Transition planning is also important
to help "catch"
young adults who are thinldng.of dropping
out of school before graduation.
The federal law called Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act
(IDEA) requires schools to
include transition planning in
a student's Individualized Education Program
(IEP) at least by the
time the student reaches the
age of 16. Transition planning
may take place prior to the age of
16 if it is needed by
an individual student.
Planning for the transition to adult
life has some similarities
to and differences from developing
the II:P. First it is important
to know that in Missouri, transition goals,
objectives, and activities
should be a part of your child's
IEP document if your
son or daughter is age 16 or older.
Second, just as the educational goals
and objectives in your child's IBP
are developed by a team,
so are the transition goals and objectives which
become a part of the IEP. A transition
team
may have participants similar to your child's
IEP team and some
new people may be invited to
the IEP meeting. For example, it
may be appropriate to invite a representative
from_ the Job
Training Partnership Act (JTPA)
who could help your
son or daughter find a summer job
so
important job experience
can be gained. Two other state agencies
that may provide transition
planning assistance
are the Missouri Division of Vocational
Rehabilitation (DVR) and
Rehabilitation Services for the Blind
(RSB). They will work with the
team to set transition goals
and to discuss options available
upon graduation. Finally, planning for
the future must involve
developing a course of action for all
aspects of adult life.
It would not do much good
to plan
for and get a job if your
son or daughter has no way to get
to work. In this example, planning
for transportation is very important
to keeping a job. Planning
must take place for all the adult
roles young people with disabilities
will soon play.
3
The Transition Planning
Process
Transition to adult life is
a complex process.
Following are
some questions the MP team
members can discuss
as they plan for the future for
your son or daughter and a list of
people
who might participate in
your child's IEP meeting.
Transition planning is
part of the MP process.
Schools are required to address
transition during
the IEP meeting
at least by the time
a student is 16 years of
age. At the IEP meeting, the team
members focus on the future
and develop goals and
objectives to help
your child reach those
future goals.
You may have heard the
expression: "If you don't know
where you're going,
any path will take
you there." To reach the future,
the team must know what
path they are taking. To
help the
team select the right
course for your son or daughter,
these questions
can be discussed.
It is
suggested that your child be
asked to respond to these
questions first. After Cc
yvIng adult has
had an opportunity
to contribute, the other
members of the team
can build on the student's
answers to these questions.
What are your child's
dreams after leaving
school? The student should
be asked to respond
to this and other questions
about the future, such
as: Where would you like to live?
What kind
of work would
you like to do? What activities
would you do during free
time? How would
you
get around in the community?
What community
resources would you use? What
support would
you need to work, live, and play
in the community? The
answer to these questions will
help
the team form transition
goals that will be reviewed
annually and adjusted when
necessary.
4
What are you able to do
now? Again, your child should
describe his or her strengths
and
interests to the team. The
team should not focus only
on your child's academic strengths, but
should look at all aspects of
your child's life. You can help by talking
about the chores your
child does at home and the
activities you do as
a family. How is your child involved in the
community? Share with the
rest of the team the strengths
your child shows at those times.
Discuss the strengths
your child shows when interacting with
other kids.
Professionals who
attend the meeting will also provide
information they have gathered.
These may be results of
formal tests, observations,
questionnaires, checklists, and
interviews of people who work with
your child. Discussing the information that
was gathered and the information
you have to offer
will help form the Present Level
of Performance section of
the IEP. The Present Level
of
Performance is a written description
of your child's present skills.
5
What do you need to achieve your transition goals? The child should talk with the
team about
his or her learning needs from all areas of life:
home, work, school, community, and
recreation/leisure. The team should also discuss the support and training needs of
your child
that go along with learning needs. Some questions to answer
are: Does your daughter/son need
more opportunities to interact with students who do not have disabilities? Does your child need
more learning activities in the community? Does your child need more opportunities to actively
explore personal interests? Do you and your child need information about available community
services?
Answers to these questions will help the team decide how to meet your child's
transition needs.
?
WHAT'S MAT
SPELL
1ZFE?
6
What are you going to do this year?
To set annual goals for the IEP, the
team should look
at the dreams and needs that
were shared when answering the questions above. The
annual goals
must be created by the team specifically for
your child. When writing goals, all members of
the team can be creative and make the
"stepping stones" that lead to long-range
transition goals.
Again, the team should look at the
future recreational, vocational, living, and
community dreams
of your child.
LIrg
"MY
7
Who? What? When? Where? How?
What Agencies? These questions help
the team
defme the services your child needs.
These questions help decide who will take
responsibility
for seeing that goals
are achieved. This turns goals into action! This involves asking
questions,
such as: What activities does
your child need to reach these goals? What is the
most relevant
learning environment for
your child for each activity? What are the teaching approaches
to be
used? Who is responsible for each
goal? When is the progress
on each goal reviewed? What
agencies are available to assist
me in developing my transition goals? When
can these agencies
become involved?