Transition Factors
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Parents should prepare the following transition factors that will help children with disabilities to achieve secure adulthood in an integrated community.
1. Transition plan should start as early as possible.
2. Transition plan should be comprehensive covering not only employment, but also independent living, post-secondary education, leisure/recreation, and functional instructions.
3. Transition assessment should be focused on finding what a child with disabilities “CAN DO” and what he/she likes to do. It might be helpful to know what the child cannot do and to provide supports in education. However, the future plan cannot be developed based on what child cannot do. The most important thing is to find something child can do and would enjoy doing rest of his/her life.
4. Student’s active participation in planning will motivate him/her to achieve the goals.
5. Participation of parents and family member is necessary for the successful transition.
6. Transition plan should reflect family values, culture, and characteristics of community.
7. One-on-one assistant might be helpful for students with disabilities to learn skills in the transition plan. However, during this period of transition from high school to adulthood, education should be delivered in settings that are close to the real world as much as possible. Try to fade out the staff support and build in more natural support.
8. Transition plan should be established no later than the age of 16.
9. When there are many goals and objectives that students with disabilities should accomplish before graduation from high school, make sure to prioritize them and teach goals starting with the higher priority.
10. Regional Center develops a person-centered plan for the services. A person-centered approach promotes how a person with developmental disabilities wants to live, describes where a person wants their life to go, and determine what needs to be done. Make sure this plan reflects the ITP goals of school education.
A person-centered plan includes:
• Respect for the person with the disability and their family
• Support for the individual
• How they will support the life of the individual with disability
• A plan of action with responsible parties
• Planning for post-secondary education
• Career exploration opportunities
• Job-seeking skills training
• Structured employment opportunities
• Participation in career
• Independent living skills training
• Community based instruction (CBI) and travel training
• Personal interest in leisure and recreation
