Transition From One School, Phase

Transition from one school, phase of education to another, or institution of education to another is complex and challenging for the best of students during all times. For learning disabled or challenged students, these changes are compounded, and the step requires extra planning and goal setting.

Since transition planning in this essay deals with transition from high school to young adulthood, factors that have to be considered include helping the student independently deal with the next chapter of life, post-secondary education, development of career and vocational skills, as well as ability to live independently. The first step along the way is a customized and personalized Individualized education Plan (IEP). This essay talks about the need for transition planning in regards to special education and how we will go about it.

Transition Plan The transition plan itself is a review and analysis of the high school students' talents, abilities, needs, skills, strengths, interests and hobbies -- in short anything that may point to his/her future direction in life and help him/her succeed.

This will serve as guidance to the high school counselor and teachers as well as anyone else academically involved in the student's life in order to identify goals and methods that will help the student reach his or her maximum potential and meet those goals of independence during the high school year.

For the special education teachers, this personalized plan is compounded by the fact that the student also has to be taught the ability to live independently and that amplified assistance must be put into helping him / her with getting into and finding resources of secondary education. The challenges and rigors of the IEP are doubled in the case of special education. All students need a transition plan to help them with the next step of life, but for the special needs child, this need is doubled.

Consider the fact that over 30% of children with learning disabilities drop out of high school aside from statistics that show that whilst 53% of students in the general population attend a 4-year post-secondary school program two years after leaving high-school, only 13% of students with learning disabilities do so.

Students with learning disabilities, therefore, need the special encouragement, guidance, help with what lies ahead of them in the future, generation of higher self-esteem, and assistance in all manners of nuance of their future life in order to help them compete with those of the general population Timeline of Transition Planning The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 04) requires that teachers and pertinent others sit down o craft the IEP when the student turns 16. Some states require the process to start even earlier.

The annual IEP discusses his transition needs in all its details as well as future goals.

These include the following: Academic preparation -- school preparation for helping him meet his needs in both learning and extra-learning activities Community experience -- the student's experience outside the school and home in his/her community Development of vocational and independent living objectives -- seeing that all factors of independent life in terms of the student are mentioned and all possible vocational and independent living needs predicted Functional vocational evaluation -- where vocational possibilities are aligned with student's skills, strengths and capabilities.

These are documented in the IEP plan together with -- according to law -- a statement of the student's transition goals and services. The IEP is conducted yearly and all involved in outlining this statement provide parents with an annul report on the student's progress. Implementation of the transition plan One of the first steps is to gather together the various resources and, at he high school level, this would involve the following: 1. Special education staff who would be available to provide counseling with students who have these special needs 2.

Staff members to help identify student's vocational interests, 3. Staff members who would provide the educational and vocational planning, 4. Faculty to help with goal-setting in all aspects of student's life, 5. Faculty to assist with pre-vocational skills training 6. Linkages to specific programs and services 7. General support for student and parents in all aspects of the student's progress Of course, the tasks delineated above can double amongst faculty, meaning that there need not be a special and specific staff member set aside to deal with each specific duty.

Staff-members rather can and do multitask and whole programs may be set up that deal with addressing goal-setting and vocational needs where the different tasks may be delegated amongst the pool of counselors and personnel. The following programs are available to all high-schools students, and, depending on need, I can introduce them to the special needs student too. These include: Guidance counseling Career center services Work experience education Academy programs Career education / vocational courses.

Implementation of the IEP The IEP starts with a meeting where all individuals connected with the student's progress are invited. This includes student, family members, school staff, and teachers, as well as (according to IDEA) anyone else involved in the student's transition plan. Supplementary members may be representatives from school-to-work transition programs, local social service agencies, counseling programs, advocates, and medical care providers. Directors of session should ascertain that the student himself is actively involved in the meeting actively advocating his own needs and desires.

All community resources will be pointed out to the parents and student will be given a series of steps (printed for him and parents on a leaflet so that they can tackle it with them) that will help prepare and guide the student in his transition.

These include: Accessing school's career center to identify his interests and plot out the educational training that are needed Completing interest inventories that will help him identify his direction in terms of vocational employment Doing volunteer work or being directed to entry level jobs in field of interest Interviewing and observing adults who do the kind of work that the may be interested in Visiting and inquiring into training institutions and colleges in order to learn about their entrance requirements and in order to decide which institution to choose in relation to his skills and interests.

Parents will also be recommended to help students with independence and responsibility by introducing these duties at home such as helping student open.