Transcript The Transition to Adulthood - Iowa's Deafblind Services

The Transition to Adulthood
Supporting the Dreams of Youth and
Families with Complex Needs
I have spread my dreams
under your feet; tread softly
because you tread on my
dreams. -W.B. Yeats
The Transition to Adulthood is a
Natural Process
“If you live long enough, you cease being a
child and become an adult, with all the
attendant privileges (often fewer than
hoped) and responsibilities (often more than
imagined) conferred by that status”.
(Ferguson& Ferguson)
Transition Defined
 Refers to a change in status from behaving
primarily as a student to assuming adult
roles in the community
 Involves the participation and coordination
of school programs, adult agency services
and natural supports within the community
(Halpern)
The Role of Educators in
Transition
 Assisting youth and their families to make
informed choices about the future
 Anticipating the demands of future roles
and environments and helping youth
prepare for them
The Focus on Transition
 Has resulted in significant gains in most
domains of adult life for youth with
disabilities
 However, to some degree, we have
separated the transition to adulthood from
it’s natural processes by making it “special”
 We have made transition our process
Part of the problem..
 Educators become prisoners of
accountability
 In the case of transition, youth and families
become spectators of their own process
The Historical Context
 Independent Living Movement
 Career Education Movement
 OSERS Federal Transition Programs
 IDEA (PL101-476)
Genesis of the problem
 Progressive disability movements supported
by government funding
 Government funding attached to procedural
regulation
 Result: an obsessive focus on regulations
and procedures
 Multiple intiatives schools are confronted
with (NCLB, etc.)
The result…
Regulatory compliance
trumps practice
Yet experience tells us…
Compliance does not
necessarily produce quality
The Big Ideas
 All students leave school systems equipped
to be successful, interdependent adults
 Schools cannot possibly be responsible
for all the activities necessary to achieve
the successful transition from childhood to
adult roles
Involve students and families
 Planning should begin no later than age 14
 Students should encouraged to the fullest
extent of their ability to assume
responsibility for their transition planning
 Family participation should be encouraged
 Educators facilitate this process
 Use person centered planning processes
Collaboration
Networking
Coordination
Cooperation
Ongoing activities that save
time and resources
Networking
 Gain awareness of available resources
(community asset mapping)
 Learn how to access or refer individuals to
services
 Leverage generic resources through typical
community groups (Rotary, Elks, C of C)
Coordination
 Assisting in the selection and scheduling of
services
 Communication between agencies with
responsibility for transition services
Cooperation
 Finding ways to support and complement
each other’s roles
 Example: Schools conduct assessments that
are useful in determining adult agency
eligibility
It’s about relationships
 Schools with quality transition service
programs have strong linkages to
community resources
 School personnel establish and nurture
personal connections with families, local
business, post-secondary institutions, and
adult service agencies
Transition Coordination
 Reflects the connection between knowledge
and skills domains and the range of services
and supports a student may need
 Requires a team effort
Knowledge and Skills
 Communication and Academic Performance
 Post-Secondary Education and Training
 Employment
 Leisure and Recreation
 Independent Living
 Health and Fitness
Knowledge and Skills
 Community Participation
 Interpersonal Relationships
 Self Determination
Transition Services: A Shared
Responsibility
 Instruction
 Related Services
 Community Experiences
 Development of Employment
 Post-School Adult Living
 Daily Living Skills
 Functional Vocational Evaluation
Transition Teams
 Education serves as the lead agency
 By generating ideas, tackling barriers, and
opening doors, local transition teams
provide the mechanism through which
successful student outcomes are achievable
(Blalock & Benz)
Benefits of Teams
 Team approach distributes work across
many instead of a few
 Many minds generate more and better ideas
 Design unique delivery systems that meet
local needs
 Share responsibility and ownership
 Improve accountability and follow through
Benefits of teams
 Team composition affords “reality checks”,
dispels myths, and offers firsthand
information
 Encourage local employers to become
school to career advocates
Team Activities
 Involve students and
former students
 Self advocacy
conferences
 Host a futures
conference where
students can learn
about post-school
options
Team Activities
 Actively involve
family members
 Establish a parents as
partners program, or
parents as faculty
 Encourage parent
participation in
organization of events,
networking
 Conduct topical parent
training
Team Activities
 School and Employer
Partnerships
 Host career talks and
fairs, set up workplace
tours, job shadowing,
internships or
mentoring
Student Self Advocacy
 Learn about their strengths and skills and be
able to tell others
 Learn about their disability, including how
to talk about to to others
 Learn what accommodations are, and what
types benefit them
 Learn how to express themselves
Student Self Advocacy
 Learn about the IEP and how this forms the
basis of their education
 Understand their rights
 Develop a future focus
Insanity is…
Doing the same thing again and
again and expecting a different
result.
-Einstein
Some Final Thoughts
 Transition is a shared responsibility
 Educators need to learn skills of
collaboration
 Transition should drive the secondary
curriculum
 Knowledge and skills areas should be
infused within GE curriculum
 Students and families own the process