Transition Education in Special Education

¶ … Transition Experiences for Students with Disabilities

Several years ago I was privileged to teach students with cognitive disabilities in Korea. I taught in an after school program for high school students. As I thought about the subjects that were being taught, I realized that no provisions were made to provide opportunities for the students to interact within the community setting.

Even though most of the students were going to work in a sheltered workshop after graduation, a need existed for them to learn "community skills" such as paying for things with their own money, using public transportation, and interacting with various residents of the neighborhood. It was there that my strong belief that cognitively impaired students should have chances to engage in as many "normal" activities as possible as long as the students were not confused or upset by the situation or were subject to negative comments, etc. from others.

My experiences during that short teaching opportunity impressed upon me the need for special needs students to be part of the community as a whole whenever possible.

Introduction to the Educational Proposal presently teach high school age special education students with mild to moderate cognitive impairments in an after-school program at a medium sized high school. Most of these students will never be able to own and drive an automobile, yet some of them are aware of their conditions and feel the disappointment and loss in knowing that they will never be like the "teenagers" they see on T.V. And go to school with.

According to Sitlington, Clark, and Kolstoe (2000), the life skills needed to help integrate students with cognitive disabilities into the community overlap considerably with communication skills, employment skills, self-determination skills, independent living skills, employment skills, and leisure skills.

However, the young people who might not otherwise be able to integrate to some degree into a community setting, are hindered by a lack of training in the use of public means of transportation.

The Importance of Transportation Skills

Transportation skills are very frequently included among the most important IEP objectives for older adolescent learning disabled students. There are many means of transportation available in the Los Angeles area which may be assistive, considerate, and understanding enough to accommodate special education students.

There are three major reasons why learning to use public transportation is so important to these special education students:

Increasing mobility among the different environments has a definite positive influence on a student's self-determination.

Self-determination implies all the decision making skills which we, as normal" members of society take for granted such as choosing what we will wear, where we will go, or what we will do. Each of these is an expression of personal independence by which individuals define themselves. The ability to make choices because it expresses ownership of one's life. However, most special education students, cannot determine where they will to or want to go because they cannot drive and haven't been trained to use public transportation.

Consequences of not being able to use public transportation include not being able to schedule his own leisure time, having to follow the choices of houseparents or caregivers, and not having the opportunity to interact with his peers in a non-school setting.

Enhancing skills to use the public transportation system may provide more opportunities to learn and practice social and communication skills. When "average" students met their friends after school or participate in community or leisure activities, they form relationships with others and practice appropriate social and communication skills.

Using public transportation helps students with disabilities live more independent, fulfilling lives. Even if, at a later date, they get to live in their own apartment, it is not considered independent living because they are supervised by house parents or some other type of overseer. This is not to say that this supervision is not needed, just that there are opportunities which are missed if the individual has no opportunity to make independent choices. These reasons are the basis upon which this proposal is based.

Description of the Proposed Instructional Unit

This course is planned to cover an entire school year with a scope and sequence which will allow adequate time for interactions among students, teachers, and community members. The behavioral objectives are:

After completing the first quarter of instruction and practice in using public transportation, the student will be able to:

describe the various forms of public transportation which are available in his/her community.

A read and explain the meaning of various signs common to the mode of transportation chosen (during 1st quarter - buses).

A explain the meaning of map symbols.

A accurately tell time.

In the second quarter of this instructional unit about public transportation the student will:

demonstrate understanding of the bus schedule and route information by choosing a destination and making a bus plan which will show in detail the changes of buses, if any, and the route to the chosen destination.