Transition Planning 101

A comprehensive transition planning evaluation will gather information to identify a student’s present level of performance in the transition planning areas. When a student has a disability that impacts the ability to make progress academically, we identify an appropriate course of instruction by determining that student’s present level of performance in the area of difficulty. For a student who is struggling in math, we don’t simply say, “well let’s teach him/her place value” likewise, when a student is not progressing in reading we don’t just arbitrarily decide to teach phonemic awareness. Rather, we assess what skills the student has and identify the skills that need to be taught for the student to reach a specified outcome. It is the skills that a student already has that determines the present level of performance. These skills must be identified in each of the transition planning areas in order to develop a student’s IEP and provide a free appropriate public education.

There are a number of ways that skills can be assessed in the transition planning areas. Essentially we need to determine the student’s knowledge of and exposure to the transition planning areas. What do they know about the world of work? Have they ever had a job? What are the skills that they already have that will serve them successfully in postsecondary education? Can they follow a schedule, manage time, take notes? What are the skills that they have to support independent living? Can they be left alone safely? Do they understand money, cost, value? What do they know about the community? Can they access it independently? Do they know what is available and when it should be accessed?

It is not until present levels of performance in the transition areas are determined that an appropriate IEP can be developed. There are a number of standardized and criterion referenced assessments that can be used to establish a present level of performance. Sources of information include the student, parents and members of the educational team who know the student well enough to speak to his/her strengths and needs. It is a process that takes time and expertise on the part of the evaluator to analyze and integrate the findings to produce a plan offering measurable outcomes. Planning the transition to adulthood is not a “one-size-fits-all” event.

Every comprehensive transition evaluation should include direct input from both the student and the family (as well as the school team). Parents, in many cases, will serve as the exclusive “agency” for students with disabilities who do not qualify for adult service funding and support. Therefore, it is very important to discuss with the parents what they see as the trajectory for their child. In over 25 years of working in special education I have never once had a parent state that the vision for their child was to have him/her at home, sitting on the couch, playing video games, eating junk food and endlessly trolling social media platforms. Yet, unfortunately some variation of the above worst case scenario comes to pass all too often.

From the beginning of my foray into the black forest of transition planning, I have always started off with a parent interview. For many years, this was done in person, since the alternative back then was a phone conversation. One of the life altering changes of the pandemic was that we became both knowledgeable and comfortable with engaging face-to-face over the internet. For the most part, this switch to meeting virtually has made things easier in terms of scheduling and coordinating parents/guardians to be available at the same time. To make the best use of everyone’s time, I use a semi-structured interview to gather the most important information and to help keep everyone on track. Prior to this meeting, I initiate a phone conversation to explain the evaluation process so that parents know what to expect; often parents assume that they will bring their child to my office for some sort of testing, which is not the case at all (I don’t even have an official office).

So here’s what’s important to learn when meeting with parents. Essentially, what is the end goal as they see it? This gives me insight into what parents are thinking and offers the opportunity to assess what track they think the train is on. Next I ask parents to describe their child’s strengths; often this leads to a pregnant pause followed by a recitation of a number of character attributes. This is usually the shortest part of the conversation. I follow that by asking for concerns, although at this point I have probably heard the headliners. When I get the sense that the end game is just a tad short of a total transformation (e.g. cure) I ask the parent to identify the two most important areas to be addressed going forward. This helps to put things into perspective for myself and often for the parents. At some point in the discussion (sooner rather than later) it’s important to ask the parents what they hope to learn from the evaluation, this way you can clear up any notions that you are not able to address.

In addition to the parent interview I also send parents a number of assessments to complete. Some of my “go-tos” are:

The Parent Transition Survey offers a structured format for parents/guardians to provide general information about their thoughts/preferences for their child’s future. Available in both English and Spanish . This is a free resource from The Transition Coalition It is suggested that the parent complete this and return it prior to the interview to help guide the discussion.

Enderle-Severson Transition Rating Scale yields information on the student’s knowledge of and exposure to the transition planning areas. There are several different versions available for various levels of disability from mild to significant. Some forms are suitable for self-assessment. See website for specifics and pricing.

I also include adaptive rating scales such as the Vineland Adaptive Rating Scales or the Adaptive Behaviors Assessment System however, these instruments require training and have restrictions on the level of clinical training necessary to access them.

To sum up, parent input is important and should not be overlooked. To do so can cause problems down the road when it comes time to make programming recommendations and decisions.

A record review is one of the building blocks of a comprehensive transition evaluation. Since transition planning begins (in most cases) around the time a student is moving into high school or is already there, it is reasonable to expect that a small forest of trees has already been expended in documenting the student’s escapades in special education. I am a firm believer in “less is more” so I start with the most recent info and work my way back as necessary. For the student who is now a senior, I don’t need to see the pre-school report card. I start with collecting the current IEP and any progress reports to date associated with that IEP, followed by the same (IEP and final progress reports) for the previous two school years. Next I request the most recent round of triennial testing as well as any interim evaluation/reports (e.g.FBAs, BIPs, AT, health, etc.), along with IEEs or private evaluations completed within the past 5 years. And most importantly I ask for the current contact info for parent(s) and guardians. I have had too many experiences where the info on the IEP is not accurate and I end up having to track parents down.

I start with reading the evaluations cover to cover, from oldest to most recent. I watch for recurring themes of strengths, abilities, preferences, etc. as well as potential barriers to success in the adult world. Additionally, one can sometimes gain additional information about the student’s educational history which may be chronicled in a record review done by other evaluators. I go back a second time and highlight key points and look to see what/how recommendations have been implemented.

I am not one for rewriting history, so I tend to either briefly summarize key points that are pertinent to the substance of the evaluation, or I skip a summary all together and include a list of records reviewed as an appendix with a notation that key points that are relevant to the evaluation and subsequent recommendations will be referenced as appropriate.

After the reports I tackle the IEPs, focusing most intently on the transition areas. For me, one of the most important parts of the IEP are the postschool outcome goal statements (PSOGS). These are intended to be measured after the student exits public education, providing the data for longitudinal monitoring of the transition planning process at the state and national level. At a minimum each student must have a PSOGS for postsecondary education/training and one for postsecondary employment. When deemed necessary, a student may have a third PSOGS in the area of independent living. PSOGS are often overlooked and misunderstood, but I’ll save that for another post. One thing to remember is that the PSOGS are the horses and the annual goals/objectives are the cart. Annual IEP goals/objectives must relate to the attainment of the PSOGS; however all to often the cart gets put before or sometimes miles away from the horses.

So here is my pet peeve as a “consumer” of evaluations, progress reports, or any other document crafted by an individual that will remain part of a student record. Let’s call it Report Writing 101: What Goes on Page 1! Here goes: The title of the evaluation, student’s name, DOB, date of the evaluation, date of the report, YOUR NAME. Yes it may sound elementary, but I cannot tell you how often this info is not there and I have to go looking to see if (please god) there is a signature page with a date! Additionally, it is very helpful if you number the pages in the format of page number/total number of pages.

One last thing, if you don’t understand something or you want more info, get releases from the parent to speak with any outside evaluators. Often you can get more up-to-date info that way and have your questions answered.

Identifying student needs in the transition planning areas is really no different from identifying student needs in academic areas. If a student is below grade level in any core academic area, reading for example, an evaluation will be done to determine a baseline, aka “present level of performance.” This evaluation is done according to what has been determined to be best practice and the end result produces a measurement of knowledge and skill in the “Big 5” areas of reading. As required by IDEA a student will be evaluated in all areas believed to be impacted by the disability. We would never automatically ascertain that a student who was two grade levels behind in reading would also be two grade levels behind in math. Likewise, when following best practices, we will take that measurement into consideration along with other information that may be obtained through other methods.

Information on best practices in evaluating students for their academic learning needs is readily available and school districts have established protocols for doing so. However, this is not the case for students who will remain in special education beyond the age of 12th grade.

In general a transition planning evaluation should identify a student’s knowledge of and exposure to the transition planning areas. In other words, what does the student know about postsecondary education, employment and independent living, and what have they had experience with? If a student is headed toward postsecondary education at the college level, do they have the skills necessary to be successful in a college class? If the student is headed toward employment at the entry level, has he/she ever had a job or any type of job experience? In looking at independent living skills, is the student able to take care of him/herself at a level that is commensurate with age? Additionally, a comprehensive transition planning evaluation will generate information on behavioral characteristics that can serve as both strengths and barriers to success in the adult world. For some students it is necessary to dig a little deeper and to formally assess areas such as problem solving and personal safety.

Regardless of a student’s level of disability, a comprehensive transition planning evaluation will gather information from a number of sources. An evaluation should start with a thorough review of student records. Another source of information will be from third party providers, usually school personnel who know the student well enough to identify strengths and needs; additionally information will come from parents; and last but certainly not least, information will come from the student. It is critical to gain information from all of the stakeholders. As this blog continues, each one of these components will be examined in depth. Stay tuned!

Okay, you have reached the day in which mandated “transition planning” is required under IDEA. This process usually commences at the annual review when the student is 15 years old, and the IEP being developed will be in effect when that student turns 16. Depending on certain factors, transition planning may take place earlier as states can opt to start transition planning prior to this time, or IEP teams can elect to do so before the the student turns 16. In my state, transition planning for students identified with autism must begin when the student turns 14. The IEP developed for the period of time in which the student will turn 16 must contain postsecondary outcome goals identifying what a student will do after graduation, along with annual goals/objectives leading to the attainment of those postsecondary goals. At a minimum, the transition planning areas that must be included in the IEP are postsecondary education and postsecondary employment. This aligns with the goal of general education which prepares non-disabled students to be college or career ready by the time they graduate. IDEA also requires schools to prepare students with disabilities for independent living if deemed appropriate to do so.

At some point you may begin to hear about “Indicator 13” which is an IDEA compliance indicator designed to ensure that states are indeed taking transition planning seriously. Specifically, Indicator 13 focuses on the long-term side of transition planning and requires states “to provide students aged 16 and above with an IEP that includes appropriate measurable postsecondary goals that are annually updated and based upon an age appropriate transition assessment, transition services, including courses of study, that will reasonably enable the student to meet those postsecondary goals, and annual IEP goals related to the student’s transition service needs.”  Indicator 13 contains additional requirements including the provision of evidence that a student was invited to the IEP meeting (for a full description of Indicator 13 please see ( 20 U.S.C. 1416(a)(3)(B)). Indicator 13 puts the spotlight on postschool outcome goals, clearly identifying them as the ultimate objective of transition planning.

Keeping this in mind, it becomes clear that to provide a student of transition planning age with a free, appropriate public education teams must start with the end in sight. More importantly, the student becomes central to this process and must be given a part in determining his/her own fate.

So how to go about ensuring that the student along with his/her family is included in this person-centered process? With Person Centered Planning (PCP) of course! While there is no single definition of PCP, there are common characteristics that resonate in defining it. For starters, it is a process for creating a shared vision by identifying the hopes/dreams that a person has. This step can be considered articulating what may be possible (e.g. going to college, having a career, marriage, family, living independently). This information can be used to guide the development of postschool outcome goals. From there the process moves to establishing what is probable; in other words, extracting the reality from the dream. More specifically, what will have to be accomplished for the person to attain the desired outcome? Additionally, PCP will move on to identify the persons strengths/skills (what we have to work with) as well as the persons challenges/barriers (what needs remediation, what needs accommodation, what are the long and short-term supports that will be needed?) This information can be used to guide the development of annual goals/objectives. Lastly, an action plan of next steps is developed and identifies the person/agencies responsible for ensuring that the action plan gets implemented.

There are a number of formal processes for conducting a PCP session. At this stage of the game, I prefer to use a method that starts out by identifying the desired outcome (start with the end in sight). There is no shortage of information available on the internet on the topic of PCP; a preferred resource of mine is listed below. What ever method you choose to use, remember that the goal of PCP is not to have a stellar plan, but to have a stellar life.

https://www.pacer.org/transition/learning-center/independent-community-living/person-centered.asp

I had the best intentions of getting this blog off the ground quite a while ago. But as the saying goes, “life is what happens when you’re busy making plans.” So after many changes in my life during the past few years, I am rededicating myself to sharing my thoughts, ideas, knowledge, whims, hopes, dreams, etc. on the topic of transition planning. My goal is to put up a weekly post, but I’ll be satisfied with a biweekly accomplishment to start. I plan to cover as many topics as I can think of, and I am hoping that in time this endeavor will grow to become a resource to assist in meeting the needs of students, families, and professionals alike. So feel free to suggest topics going forward.

So where to start?? Ah yes, we had a pandemic that sent the entire world into a tailspin and took a toll on transition services as well as every other aspect of public education. What we knew in our hearts all along to be true was proven; “virtual learning” for most students with disabilities was the working definition of the term oxymoron. Preparation for adulthood came to all halt in every way except for the passing of time. Countless students “aged out” of public education and many now sit at home unemployed, isolated, and unable to move forward. I have read accounts of parents who have had to leave or change jobs to provide care for their now adult child because he/she does not qualify for adult services; others report that the adult day program that they were counting on to provide support no longer exists.

As with most situations in life, the lesson learned has come at a price. The take-away from the pandemic pandemonium (for me anyway) is that preparation for adulthood is an educational outcome that is essential for every student. It’s not the “3Rs” that matter anymore, it’s 4 “reading, ‘riting, ‘rithmetic and reality.” We need to begin the process of preparation for adulthood earlier and approach it with the same level of intensity and commitment that we do when advocating for all other aspects of a student’s education. It’s just that important.

It’s good to be back.

Okay, the day is here. You know, that day that you thought you were going to be completely ready for when you started out this school year way back when. But you’re not…what happened? You now realize that there are about 5 months left before the year ends and there is no plan for your child to cross that “bridge” and enter “adulthood!” What to do, what to do??

Don’t despair. You still have some time, but it’s short and it must be used wisely. Over the next few discussions I will be sharing info, thoughts, and ideas on a number of topics related to getting the ducks into a row, starting with what I call “The Fork In The Road.” The fork in the road is the place where it’s time to get realistic about what the future can possibly look like for your child and ultimately for yourself. It’s an emotional place, and the spot where there may be disagreement between people regarding what next steps should truly be for a student. It’s a critical juncture and one that should be made a priority. So I end with the “Yogiism” “When you come to the fork in the road, take it.”

Hi There! If you have come to this site you are most likely panic stricken, terrified, puzzled, overwhelmed, apprehensive, wondering how did this come up so fast, now what???? You get the picture-your child, who was just four-years-old last week (I swear) is getting ready to make the “transition to adulthood” and leave public school behind. Well, you have come to the right place to find out all you need to know.

My name is Muncie Kardos and I first became interested in transition planning almost 20 years ago when my own child turned 14. I sat in her IEP meeting and someone mentioned the need to start transition planning. I was clueless. At the time I was working in public schools (I’m an OT) and I went home and searched “transition planning” on the web and downloaded a boatload of info, stuffed it into a file folder and threw it in my bag figuring I would read it on a cross country plane ride.

As I sifted through the pages I thought to myself OMG this is a Cinderella shoe that fits the field of OT perfectly. How can it possibly be addressed by public schools? And so my journey began. I was in an advanced masters program in OT at the time and I knew I had my thesis topic. While I continued to work as a school based OT I found myself at times a guest in someone else’s home, but not necessarily part of the family. So I once again returned to school (“really Ma?” Said the family) and obtained my Ph.D.  in special education. Needless to say the dissertation topic was from the fertile ground of transition planning.

There continues to be limited knowledge and expertise in this muddy river, particularly when it comes to educating students who stay past 18. So I have started this blog as a way to share what I know and to hopefully empower families to know not only how to advocate but what to advocate for so that your child does not end up sitting on the couch when that bus stops pulling up each morning.

Please feel free to ask questions or tell me what you need to know and I will do my best to address those issues. And please visit my website:

www.munciekardos.com