Transition

Facilitating The Postschool Adjustment Of Students With Disabilities

Edward Levinson

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781000010213
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Adjusting to post- high school life can be especially difficult for individuals with disabilities who are expected to find and maintain employment, live on their own, and function successfully in their communities. This book argues that the area of special education namely, pre-service and in-service teachers, counsellors, and psychologists can be

1
Introduction to Transition

In the past several years, schools have increasingly focused upon providing students with the services and skills they need in order to obtain and maintain employment and to function effectively and independently in the community. More often than not, this effort has been focused upon students with disabilities, because those students have historically had greater difficulty achieving such goals once they leave school. Though this effort has been termed transition, the same term has been used to refer to different processes within the school environment. Recently, I was teaching a doctoral seminar in school psychology. One of the students asked if she could make her required presentation on the topic of transition. I was thrilled; however, my attempts to provide the student with needed information were met with quizzical looks and blank stares. ‘What does all this have to do with preschool assessment and kindergarten transition programs?” she asked. Slightly embarrassed, I explained that I misunderstood her topic, took back the reference materials I had provided to her, explained that the term transition meant different things to different people, and told her that her topic was nonetheless acceptable.

Though the term transition has been used to refer to different processes within the educational environment (for example, it has been used to describe movement from preschool to kindergarten and from elementary school to junior high school), for the purposes of this book, transition will be used solely to describe the process of facilitating the postschool adjustment of students, particularly students with disabilities. I define postschool adjustment broadly to include adjustment to work, leisure, and independent functioning in the community.

Appropriately, this chapter begins with a review of the more prominent definitions of transition that appear in the literature. I highlight a transdisciplinary transition model, which I advocate. I also discuss the linkage between transition and career development and include a brief review of career development theory within the context of the model’s discussion. This is followed by a discussion of the characteristics of “individuals with disabilities,” a review of the unemployment and underemployment rates that have historically confronted these individuals, and a brief review of the federal legislation that has been passed to facilitate transition.

Definitions of Transition

Wehman, Kregel, and Barcus (1985) offered the following definition of vocational transition:

Vocational transition is a carefully planned process, which may be initiated either by school personnel or by adult service providers, to establish and implement a plan for either employment or additional vocational training of a handicapped student who will graduate or leave school in three to five years; such a process must involve special educators, parents and/or the student, an adult service system representative, and possibly an employer.

This definition clearly suggests that transition efforts must involve a variety of school and community personnel and must include the parents of the students or the students themselves. Moreover, the definition suggests that transition is a planned and systematic process that occurs well before the student is eligible to leave school.

Although the definition provided by Wehman, Kregel, and Barcus (1985) emphasizes school-to-work transition, many transition specialists argue that transition programs must focus upon community adjustment and other aspects of adult life as well. In the landmark document “OSERS Programming for the Transition of Youth with Disabilities: Bridges from School to Working Life,” Madeline Will of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services defined transition as follows:

The transition from school to working life is an outcome oriented process encompassing a broad array of services and experiences that lead to employment. Transition is a period that includes high school, the point of graduation, additional postsecondary education or adult services, and the initial years of employment. Transition is a bridge between the security and structure offered by the school and the opportunities and risks of adult life. Any bridge requires both a solid span and a secure foundation at either end. The transition from school to work and adult life requires sound preparation in the secondary school, adequate support at the point of school leaving, and secure opportunities and services, if needed, in adult situations. (Will, 1984; p. 10)

More recently, the following definition of transition was proposed by the Division on Career Development and Transition of the Council for Exceptional Children:

Transition refers to a change in status from behaving primarily as a student to assuming emergent adult roles in the community. These roles include employment, participating in post-secondary education, maintaining a home, becoming appropriately involved in the community, and experiencing satisfactory personal and social relationships. The process of enhancing transition involves the participation and coordination of school programs, adult agency services, and natural supports within the community. The foundations for transition should be laid during the elementary and middle school years, guided by the broad concept of career development. Transition planning should begin no later than age 14, and students should be encouraged, to the full extent of their capabilities, to assume a maximum amount of responsibility for such planning. (The OCDT Position on Transition, Halpern, 1994)

In October 1990, Congress enacted the Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments of 1990 (Public Law 101--476), an amendment of Public Law 94-142, the Education of the Handicapped Act (EHA). Under the new law, the name EHA was changed to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Though I discuss this legislation again later in this chapter, IDEA includes a definition of transition that is currently the basis for many school-based transition programs. Section 602(a) of IDEA defines transition services as

a coordinated set of activities for a student, designed within an outcome-oriented process, which promotes movement from school to post-school activities, including post-secondary education, vocational training, integrated employment (including supported employment), continuing and adult education, adult services, independent living, or community participation. The coordinated set of activities shall be based upon the individual student’s needs, taking into account the student’s preferences and interests, and shall include instruction, community experiences, the development of employment and other post-school adult living objectives, and, if appropriate, acquisition of daily living skills and functional vocational evaluation. (Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments of 1990, Public Law 101-476, Section 602(a) [20 U.S.C. 1401(a)]).

Public Law 101--476 requires that a student’s Individual Education Plan (IEP) address the issue of transition and requires that transition planning be initiated by at least age sixteen. Specifically, IDEA lists the following additional requirements for the IEP:

(D) a statement of needed transition services for students beginning no later than age 16 and annually thereafter (and, when determined appropriate for the individual, beginning at age 14 or younger), including when appropriate, a statement of the interagency responsibilities or linkages (or both) before the student leaves the school setting,

(F) in the case where a participating agency, other than the educational agency, fails to provide the agreed upon services, the educational agency shall reconvene the IEP team to identify alternative strategies to meet the transition objectives.

Additionally, the law specifies that if the IEP team determines that services are not needed in one or more of the areas specified in the legislation, the IEP must include a statement to that effect and the basis upon which the determination was made.

In June 1997, President Clinton signed new amendments to IDEA (Public Law 105-17) that made subtle but substantive changes to the law (deFur and Patton, in press). Those changes include the following:

• “Related services” were added to the list of required transition services.
• Students with disabilities are to participate in statewide testing.
• Functional behavior assessment is required.
• Increasing student self-determination is added as a goal of transition.
• Transition planning is to begin at age fourteen.

The latter change is primarily a function of the high dropout rate among students with disabilities. As deFur and Patton (in press) suggest, if such excessive dropout rates are to be reversed, transition planning must be initiated prior to age sixteen (the previous requirement), in that many students have already dropped out of school by that age. Specifically, the legislation states: “(I) beginning at age 14, and updated annually, a statement of the transition service needs of the child under the applicable components of the child’s IEP that focuses on the child’s courses of study (such as participation in advanced placement courses or a vocational education program).” (section 614(d)(1)(A)(vii)

To better understand the transition process as specified by the law, it is helpful to define and explain some of the terminology used in the legislation. Hence, the following section briefly describes what is meant by the terminology used in Public Law 101-476.

What Is Meant by “Post-School Activities”?

The legislation includes the following in its description of “post-school activities”: postsecondary education, vocational training, integrated employment (including supported employment), continuing and adult education, adult services, independent living, and community participation. Clearly, then, transition is meant to address not just employment needs, but future needs within the broader focus of life within the community.

What Is Meant by “Coordinated Set of Activities”?

According to federal regulations, the term coordinated set of activities means the linkage between the activities that comprise transition services and the relationships among agencies involved in the provision of transition services to a student. Because the transition process necessarily involves different professionals from different agencies in the community, the regulations require that activities and services be complimentary and nonduplicating in nature and that agencies and professionals be aware of what their and others’ responsibilities are.

What Is Meant by “Outcome-Oriented Process”?

The term outcome in outcome-oriented process describes the major goals and objectives of the transition process. As specified by the legislation, those are employment, postsecondary education, vocational training, continuing and adult education, adult services, independent living, and community participation.

What Activities Are to Be Considered Part of Transition?

The legislation states that the coordinated set of activities must include instruction, community experiences, the development of employment and other postschool adult living objectives, and, if appropriate, acquisition of daily living skills and functional evaluation. Each of those areas must be addressed in a student’s IEP. Moreover, specific objectives must be established for each student in each of those areas, based upon the individual needs of the particular student.

When Must Services Be Provided?

Services must be provided to students no later than age fourteen.

Who Determines What Services Are Needed?

The law states that the following individuals must be involved in transition planning: the student, the student’s teacher(s), a representative of the school, the parents, and representatives from outside agencies that will be involved in planning or providing services needed by the individual student.

How Does the Team Determines What Services Are Needed?

IDEA does not specifically identify how the IEP team determines what services are needed by a particular student. Since transition is a component of the IEP, however, it naturally follows that the process used to identify other educational or related services needed by students with disabilities (within the context of IEP development) would apply. Hence, needed services would be identified based upon a comprehensive assessment of the individual student. This assessment would focus upon, but not be limited to, issues such as employment, postsecondary education, adult services, independent living, and community functioning and would be designed to answer the following questions:

• What competencies and knowledge does the student need to successfully move into employment, postsecondary education, and so forth?
• What skills and knowledge does the student presently possess in each of those areas?
• What skills and knowledge does the student still need to acquire in each of those areas?

Who Provides the Services?

One public agency, typically the school, is primarily responsible for the provision of transition services, though the law is clear in indicating that other community agencies need to be involved as well. According to the law, the school’s responsibilities in service provision must be clearly stated in the IEP. The responsibilities of the other involved agencies must also be stated in the IEP. Linkages among participating agencies (that is, who provides what service, when services are to be provided, and to whom services are to be provided) should be agreed upon by agencies beforehand and formalized in cooperative interagency agreements.

Where Are Transition Services Provided?

Though the legislation does not specifically mention where transition services are to be provided, it infers that they should be provided in a variety of settings including in the school, in the community, on the job, and in the residence.

In particular, it is important to note that the legislation’s definition of transition as well as other definitions suggest that the transition process is “transdisciplinary” in nature. This term implies that transition planning must include professionals from agencies outside of the schools who have expertise in areas other than education (Levinson, 1993). That is, planning must occur jointly among professionals from such fields as education, mental health, social services, and vocational rehabilitation. Though educators may carry the major burden of transition planning (as a result of IDEA), educators must involve professionals ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• 1 Introduction to Transition
• 2 Assessing Individual Student Needs
• 3 Transition Planning
• 4 Training
• 5 Placement
• 6 Roles for Professionals, Families, and Agencies
• 7 Model Transition Programs
• Index