Transition programming review

Transition Programming 1
Running Head: TRANSITION PROGRAMMING: A REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Transition Programming: A Review of Literature
University of St. Thomas
Special Education Final Project – SPED 799
Bruce D. Lindberg

Introduction
This review of literature will look at Federal and State of Minnesota laws for transition
services, and current literature and findings gathered from multiple journal articles on the subject
of transition and special education. The focus is to define transition services, explore challenges
to success, review what makes a successful transition program, to look individually at the three
areas of transition: employment, post-secondary education, and independent living, and then
explore the recommendations for the planning process. The aim will be to determine what a
successful program should look like and how we as educators can facilitate this.
Definition of Transition Programming
“The transition from school to adult life is the culmination of special education; all the
special educators teach in their classrooms comes to fruition when the student enters the adult
world” (Thoma, Baker, & Saddler, 2002, p. 82) Transition is the final phase in a student’s special
education services. The focus of these services is to prepare the student for being as independent
and self-sustaining an adult as they possibly can.
In the developmental stages of transition services, the focus was to transition students
with disabilities from the educational setting of services to another setting in the adult
community service system (Kohler & Field, 2003). Transition-focused education today is a
system that is not an add-on, but an educational focus for students when they reach the age of 14.
The purpose of transition services are to be directed towards adult outcomes and consist of
academic, career, and extracurricular instruction and activities delivered through a variety of
instructional and transition approaches and based around the student's needs.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 [34 CFR 300.43
(a)] [20 U.S.C. 1401(34)] defines the term “transition services” as a coordinated set of activities
for a child with a disability that:
Is designed to be within a results-oriented process, that is focused on improving the
academic and functional achievement of the child with a disability to facilitate the child’s
movement from school to post-school activities, including post-secondary education,
vocational education, integrated employment (including supported employment);
continuing and adult education, adult services, independent living, or community
participation; Is based on the individual child’s needs, taking into account the child’s
strengths, preferences, and interests; and Includes instruction, related services,
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.
IDEIA spells out further requirements in [34 CFR 300.320(b) and (c)] [20 U.S.C. 1414
(d)(1)(A)(i)(VIII)]: Beginning not later than the first IEP to be in effect when the child turns 16,
or younger if determined appropriate by the IEP Team, and updated annually thereafter, the IEP
must include:
Appropriate measurable post-secondary goals based upon age-appropriate transition
assessments related to training, education, employment and, where appropriate,
independent living skills; The transition services (including courses of study) needed to
assist the child in reaching those goals; and beginning not later than one year before the
child reaches the age of majority under State law, a statement that the child has been

informed of the child’s rights under Part B, if any, that will transfer to the child on
reaching the age of majority under §300.520 [see 20 U.S.C. 1415(m)].
Minnesota statue 3525.2900 Transition Programming: A Review of Literature sub part 4
describes transition planning as follows: by grade nine or age 14, whichever comes first, the IEP
plan shall address the pupil’s needs for transition from secondary services to post-secondary
education and training, employment, and community living. Minnesota requires that by this stage
a secondary evaluation addressing transition needs must be conducted and goals addressing these
needs must be present in the Individual Education Plan (IEP). In the planning process IDEIA
recognizes the importance of self-advocacy and requires that all decisions regarding transition
programming and activities be centered on the students’ interests (Eckes & Ochoa, 2005). This
is self-determination; it is acting as the primary agent in his or her own life where he or she
makes decisions for themselves and makes choices about individual quality of life free from the
influences of others.
The President's Commission on Excellence in Special Education noted that the
unemployment rate of working-age adults with disabilities was 70% as compared to the non-
disabled at 22% (Schmitz, 2008). This, in large part, is what was behind the dramatic changes
that took place in the re-authorization of IDEA in 2004. The Office of Special Education allows
states and local districts to determine what constitutes appropriate, measurable, post-secondary
goals and outcomes (Schmitz, 2008).
According to Schmitz (2008 transition planning should involve a seven-step assessment
process. The first step is an Interest Assessment that the student completes. In the second step,
the student would then complete a Career Exploration. Third, the school would then conduct an
Academic Assessment focusing on academic performance as it relates to the workplace. The

fourth step the team, with the student at the center, would then develop a career plan. The fifth
part of the assessment process would measure the student’s skills in self-determination. The sixth
step would be used to determine present social/emotional learning levels. The seventh and final
step assesses the present the student’s independent living skills. This data would then be used to
drive the transition planning for the student’s formative transition years in secondary education.
Challenges to Success
One of the current problems facing success of students with disabilities is the rate of
dropping out of school. The likelihood of students with disabilities dropping out of school is
double that of their non-disabled peers according to Brooke, Revell, and Wehmann (2009).
Harvey (2001) states, the dropout rate of students with disabilities are at least 30% or more. In
Harvey’s article, Vocational-tecnical education: A logical approach to dropout prevention for
secondary special educaiton (2009), used data taken from parents of students with disabilities.
The parents in his study provided five primary reasons why children with a disability drop out of
school. Students left because they were not doing well in school, they did not like school, they
were bored, they married or became parents, and /or they had behavioral problems. Harvey
(2009) suggests that youth with emotional disturbances (ED) were the most likely to leave
school.
All of this seems quite bleak, but dropout rates aren’t the only element that challenges the
success of transition programs today. Washburn-Moses (2006) reports, many programs do not
appear to be individualizing instruction. He goes on to suggest that what curriculum that does
exist may often be watered down and the way in which special education services are being
delivered is unfocused and not meeting the needs of students in both the transition and general
education settings. The organization of programs in schools that exists at present may actually

hinder teachers their efforts to provide direct services to students due to the increasing case loads
and paperwork that is required by law.
From a stratified survey of 378 high school learning disabled teachers in Michigan, two
themes emerged regarding the effectiveness of programs for students receiving special education
services in the secondary transition programs; lack of program coherence and lack of options for
students in transition programs (Washburn-Moses, 2006). Program coherence in this study
referred to curriculum alignments and/or efforts to organize and coordinate services with special
education and in relation to the extension of services into the general education classroom. There
was a sense that general education teachers often were less than receptive to having students with
special education services in their classrooms. This leads to the lack of options for students in the
general education settings. The survey recipients reported a need for more general education
courses that met the needs and skill levels of students with reading difficulties. The impressions
of the survey results were that many educators outside the special education classrooms were
supporting the need for more self-contained programming. There is also a suggestion that part of
the root of the problem results from teacher training programs not addressing the needs of
students in special education in the general education preparatory programs.
The study referenced by Mellard and Lancaster (2003), compared students with and
without learning disabilities from government statistical reports from the U.S. Department of
Education and the National Center for Education Statistics 1997. The authors point out that
students who were identified as having a learning disability do not have the same quality of life
as their non-disabled peers in the areas of employment, post-secondary education and training,
and independent living. This is directly impacted by the high drop-out rates that Washburn-
Moses (2006) spoke of for students with disabilities who drop out of high school are less likely

to live on their own and less likely to enroll in any post-secondary training programs. Mellard
and Lancaster (2003) suggest that students with disabilities leave school with less than a positive
experience due to the lack of success they have seen in school, and are less likely to pursue any
further education or training after high school.
There is also a group within those receiving special education services that face some
unique challenges that are as old as society; the gender biased societal roles of women.
According to (Lindstrom, Johnson, Doren, Zane, Post, & Harley, 2008), “many young women
with disabilities still face significant barriers in obtaining meaningful employment, accessing
post-secondary education, living independently, and fully participating as adult community
members” (p. 66). This is rooted in their struggle against gender role assumptions, low family
expectations, and disability stereotypes. Thus, many female students with disabilities start off
with lower hopes for the future themselves than their male counterparts.
Even with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, there continues to be a disparity
of adults with gainful employment. “35% of people with disabilities reported full-time or part-
time employment, compared to 78% of those who do not have disabilities” (Brooke, Revell, &
Wehmann, 2009, p.58). People with disabilities remain twice as likely to drop out of high school.
Individuals with the higher levels of mental illness have very high rates of unemployment, as
much as 90% (Brooke, Revell, & Wehmann, 2009). Many of those individuals with disabilities
tend to remain in center-based programs.
In 1996 a study was conducted showing youth with disabilities within 5 years of leaving
high school; youth with developmental cognitive delay had employment rates of 37%, and
70.8% of youth with learning disabilities (Sabbatino & Macrine, 2007). Without a well-defined
transition program preceding appropriate training, many students with disabilities do not achieve

the goal of becoming productive workers and consequently are likely to become unemployed.
Pearman, Elliott, and Aborn (2004) referenced a study conducted by the National Council on
Disability (2000) in which graduates did not possess the necessary skill to be successful on the
job and that unemployed rates were intolerably high for youth with disabilities. Without effective
transition programming students with disabilities run a higher risk of unemployment as adults.
Elements of an Effective Transition Program
According to Kohler and Field (2003) a framework for effective transition practices
should be as follows: 1. student focused planning that includes student developed self-
determination skills through practice and application, where educational decisions are based on
students’ goals, visions, and interests to set long and short term goals, provide cross-curricula
opportunities for students to collect and reflect on information about themselves and then use
that information to set goals, students instructed to use self-advocacy strategy; and 2. student
development with practices that emphasize life, employment, and occupational skills;
collaboration service delivery working on an interagency model that links school, family, and
community services agencies. It must address the three areas of transition being: Employment,
Post-Secondary Education, and Independent Living (IDEIA, 2004)
Transition programs should include curriculum that is focused on the first five years after
high school. They should have a strong vocational training, employment and independent living
skills curriculum and take into account multi-cultural aspects of student needs. They should be
planned through a process of self-determination and a coordination of student, parents/guardians,
educators, and community service providers. It is also important to point out that best practices
now recommend focusing on the “new three R’s” of relationship, rigor, and relevance. The
theory is that if the student has strong relationships with his/her teacher(s) they are less likely to

drop out. Programs that offer rigor with proper supports in place allow students to see success in
learning. And lastly it is important to make the curriculum relevant to his/her goals (Wagner &
Davis, Summer 2006).
Employment
According to Zhang and Katsiyannis (2005), the Federal Government has stressed the
importance of school to work initiatives for those with disabilities since the 1980s. In this article
they noted that states have shown an increase in awareness of transition needs, in participation of
students with disabilities in the transition process, in collaborative relationships between school
and community agencies, and in policy development to support better transition services and
outcomes. Two models that Zhang and Katsiyannis (2005) studied were the Transition service
integration model and Project RENEW. The transition service integration model combines the
resources of the school, rehabilitation services, and developmental disability systems in the final
year of school. During the final years IEP Team meeting representatives from rehabilitation
services and local developmental disability services are invited to the meeting, where they begin
to determine the future needs of the student so that a transition from the secondary system to
adult systems can occur and there won’t be a gap in services. Project RENEW, a program in
South Carolina, is a service for adults after completing high school. Project RENEW provides a
comprehensive case coordination for the participants’ ongoing educational, employment,
social/emotional development, and community adjustment.
Neubert and Moon (2000) discuss the use of the Transition Profile as one tool to
assessing the needs and tacking the ongoing development of transition skills. The data gained
from this tool then becomes the focus of all programming for the student. They state that this
became an ever-developing document that the student updates as they complete goals identified

as needs in this assessment. They then can use this report to become the driver of the team. The
profile does not end when the student exits secondary services, but continues to follow them and
support them as they transfer to the adult system(s).
According to Brooke, Revell, and Wehmann (2009), there are seven core indicators of
quality competitive employment services: “Use benefits planning, individualize job goals,
quality of competitive job, consistency of job status with that of co-workers, employment in an
integrated job setting, quality of job-site supports and funding, and the presence of ongoing
support services for job retention and career development” (p. 60). An employer viewed as high
quality will value the concept of empowerment of the individual to make choices that affect
potential jobs and career paths. Quality of competitive job refers to the wages and number of
hours worked weekly, companies that don’t seek to pay less than minimum wage. A successful
transition program can be measured by student attendance, increase in student self-esteem,
commitment to work ethic, increase knowledge of community based academics and economics,
self-determination, and progress towards permanent employment (Sabbatino & Macrine, 2007).
The National Organization on Disabilities funded an urban transition model that paired
early training and paid-work experiences for youth with physical, mental, and sensory
disabilities. This was a partnership with a high school and a local university. The objective was
to have students realize that they have abilities that are necessary for the work place, help
employers and their non-disabled employees understand the realities and benefits to hiring youth
who are disadvantaged, and demonstrate what employers, educators, and students with
disabilities can accomplish through a successful partnership (Sabbatino & Macrine, 2007). The
results of this program noted an increase of attendance, increase in students expressing a better
self-image and understanding of their disability, a stronger work ethic, increased self-

determination skills, and progress towards permanent employment for the students that
participated in this program.
Social skills on a job can directly impact successful continuous employment. Appropriate
social skills have dramatic impact on success in adult roles, especially in employment situations
(Sabbatino & Macrine, 2007). Students need to learn what an appropriate job type behavior is in
order to succeed. They need to know what language is acceptable, how to ask questions
appropriately, and how to voice problems they are having on the job appropriately.
Another model for successful transition from school-to-work is the Individualized Career
Planning Model. This model is designed to enable more easily transition from school-to-work
and to adult services without seeing loss in employment opportunities (Condon & Callahan,
2008). This specific model is a combination of existing programs and initiatives, and involves
social security work incentives and natural supports. Members of the team include
representatives from Vocational Rehabilitation, parent(s)/guardian(s), individual, educational,
and adult agencies working cohesively to put inplace an effective and supportive plan. The plan
then provides schools with a vocational curriculum with the goal of graduation and paid,
community-based employment.
Post-Secondary Education
American schools have, for the past several years, focused on students attending college
after graduating from high school and ignored the fact that not all students have the academic
skills or interest to go to the traditional college. In doing so, a more vocational outcome approach
has been ignored. A Harvey (2001) report that the U.S. Department of Education concluded on
two separate reports from 1995 and then 1997 that vocational programming does have a place in
our schools. It prevents students with disabilities from dropping out of school. A program that

focuses on programming for the individual needs and interests in employment that is realistic to
the abilities of the individual is very important. Vocational education, or training, and transitional
programming are an important and viable secondary training component that should be included
in all secondary special education programs
Wagner and Davis (2006) call for increased efforts to create multiple pathways for
students to complete high school, through career and technical programs that meet the needs of
students with emotional disorders, and that is academically challenging. By increasing the ways
in which students can earn their high school diploma, they will be more successful in school
(Wagner and Davis 2006). Students receiving special education services who receive adequate
vocational training in high school are less likely to drop out and more likely to be employed
competitively after high school, which is the ultimate goal of any transition program. For
students to be independent in their adult lives means that they must have the skills to be
employable. Harvey (2001) suggests that schools should promote opportunities to help students
with disabilities develop comprehensive career awareness, and then they should attempt to
connect learning to meet the needs of successful participation in the labor market. Students with
disabilities should be placed in a work site with natural supports that include co-workers who
provide job training for the supported employee and/or mentoring relationships (Sabbatino &
Macrine, 2007).
According to Mellard and Lancaster (2003), from a study conducted by the National
Center for Educational Statistics report, suggest that few students are prepared for moving from
secondary educational system to post-secondary institutions and the requirements that come with
this transition. They are used to being sought out for services and in the post-secondary
institutions they have to advocate for services for themselves. Many parents are also not prepared

for students needing to advocate for themselves. Students are ill prepared for the different
entrance tests such as ACT, SAT, and Accuplacer that determine placement; and that the same
accommodations may not be available to them as previous tests in high school would have been.
Eckes and Ochoa (2005) discuss the difference between the laws that direct education in
the primary and secondary years and those that are applied to the post-secondary setting. IDEIA
protects the student and provides specific guarantees that end once the student exits services or
graduates from high school. Upon graduation the American’s with Disabilities act provides
supports for adults with disabilities and come with different protections. Parent(s)/guardian(s)
and students need to take these differing laws into account when planning any higher education
(Eckes & Ochoa, 2005).
When deciding on whether or not to look at a more vocational track or a career track
involving the traditional college, the student’s team should look at college readiness, is described
by Milsom and Dietz (2009) in Defining college readiness for students with learning disabilities:
A Delphi study. According to their article college readiness includes academic skills, academic
behavior such as study skills, critical thinking skills, organizational skills, clear understanding of
collegiate expectations, and coping skills. Additional characteristics were identified in this study
and they were confidence in ability, knowledge of how to self-advocate, persistence, self-
determination, and a clear understanding of their disability and how it affects them in the
learning environment.
In 1995 Chadsey-Rusch conducted a qualitative study of four students, two students with
developmental disabilities receiving services from their secondary school were compared to two
students without a disability, attending a community college. The report revealed that students
without disabilities may only see the educational experience leading to a job, whereas the

students with disabilities saw this and that the experience also provided for the development of
friendships, opportunities for recreation, and an improvement of their self-esteem (Pearman,
Elliot, & Aborn, 2005). Post-secondary education or training programs should not just prepare
students for a job, but also be a place for the development of social skills that will benefit them in
the future.
Independent Living
In the community, students with disabilities need to understand their legal rights and
understand what happens if they get into the correctional system. According to (Smith, Polloway,
Patton, & Beyer, 2008), “there is a significant over-representation of persons with developmental
disabilities in the criminal justice system” (p. 422). This also correlates to the number of those
with mild-to-moderate cognitive deficiencies in the low-income members of our communities.
The amount of criminal activity is higher in communities where there is widespread economic
hardship and therefore the percentage of members incarcerated who have a cognitive deficiency
is higher. These individuals, all too often, fall prey to the actual criminals in the community who
seek vulnerable individuals to commit crimes for them.
Smith, Polloway, Patton, and Beyer (2008) “gullibility is a core characteristic in
individuals with mild retardation and that these individuals are thus vulnerable to social
manipulation, particularly within the criminal justice system” (p. 423). Once in the system
individuals with cognitive deficiencies are easily mislead and frequently do not understand their
individual rights. As a result of not understanding their rights they are at high risk of ending up
in the correctional systems, due to being manipulated into confessions that may only be partly
the truth . In such cases the real offenders are never revealed or punished.

In addition to understanding their legal rights, students need to develop self-
determination skills to help them become self-sufficient in home living, accessing supportive
resources, and planning for transitioning to living on their own or in a supportive setting like a
group home. As students develop skills in self-determination they are changed by their
enviroment and therefore their skills continue to grow throughout their life (Malian & Nevin,
2002). Self-determination leads to a clearer understanding of the individual abilities and needs
that can further the process to living as independently as they can. Students need to learn how to
make appointments for themselve, manage personal health and preventative health care, and
manage their money. Not all individuals with disabilities are able to independently do these
things, but those who have developed the skills of self-determination will know what they can
and cannot do independently and be able to seek assistance.
Part of success for students with disabilities is the ability to develop skills in self-
determination, however, teachers are faced with a significant problem and that is that they are
often not properly trained in the transition process, and more specifically, the process of teaching
self-determination (Thoma, Baker, & Saddler, 2002). Teacher preparation programs must
provide opportunities for pre-service teachers to take what they have learned in their college
classrooms and combine that with the knowledge derived in close interactions with children,
parents, and colleagues. They must then bring these skills back into their college classrooms to
further develop. In addition, pre-service teachers improve their practical skills through organized
discussions with their college colleagues and instructors to further reflect and develop theses
skills.

Recommendations for Planning
Pacer Center (2005) has a list of ten tips to help one’s child prepare for success in
adulthood that teachers can also use in guiding independent living instruction. The list includes
the following steps: help the child develop good decision-making skills, teaching the child about
his/her disability, teach them to recognize his/her personal strengths, help him/her cultivate
community supports early in life, learn about the laws that provide for and protect adults with
disabilities, teach them to be part of their individual education planning team, prepare them for
the world of work, develop a vision for the future, and prepare to let them go. The list is a tool
that should be part of the transition process from the beginning.
Assistive Technology
One of the areas often overlooked in the post-secondary setting is assistive technology.
Technology that is commonly used at colleges involves a specific device or software designed to
assist with writing or reading. Mull and Sitlington (2003) suggest that we have not really seen
the full potential of existing technology when it comes to serving the needs of students in special
education, in fact we have barely scratched the surface. There is an increasing need for programs
designed to support students with learning disabilities in attending post-secondary institutions,
however, students with disabilities are still less likely to attend college than their non-disabled
peers. Those who attend are less likely to complete due to a lack of support with basic academic
needs that these particular students struggle with. Assistive technology may be one of the
solutions that help assure student success in post-secondary settings.
There are many roadblocks that may arise with assistive technology in the post-secondary
setting. Five of the road blocks that may prove challenging are: the question of the use of

technology, as a cognitive prosthesis versus a cognitive partner that corrects the impairment; the
availability and cost of the assistive technology; the potential that the student will not properly
care for the device; sufficient training so that the individual is able to effective use the device
meet the purpose that they chose (i.e. an alpha smart for note taking or voice assistive
communication devices); and is the student eligible for assistive technology (Mull & Sitlington,
2003). A cognitive prosthesis corrects one or more specific impairment like a computer with
voice recognition software to type for someone whose physical disability does not allow him or
her to type. A cognitive partner supports the student's efforts to accomplish a task by assisting in
learning specific materials. Many times it is the answers from questions one and two that drive
the outcome of question five; what is the technology being used for and how will it enhance the
learning process.
According to Mull and Sitlington (2003), Groundwork for assistive technology needs to
begin in high school or earlier. Justification needs to be clearly stated as to the reason that the
support is needed and how it should be best used. Also, the student needs to learn how to use the
technology effectively on his or her own.
Connection to Resources
According to Pacer Center (2005), parents should begin thinking about their vision and
that of their child with a disability and identify what type of lifestyle they would like to achieve
and what are the main considerations for this. One question should be, find out where he/she
wants to live by using family and friends as references. Another focus should be to begin
planning early to allow for time to explore and learn about post-secondary education,
employment and independent living needs and start exploring possible support the child will
need as an adult. According to Margolis and Prichard (2008) Parents, families, educators, and

other involved parties on the IEP team needs to determine if the young adult qualifies for
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and/or local government/county social services for
disability income, health care insurance, food support, and housing. The team then must discuss
plans for housing. The parent and the student also must determine guardianship and what if any
roles the parent will play in the adult life of the student. It is also important to connect the student
with Vocational Rehabilitation Services.
Connecting the services is crucial for the success of the student and this begins in the
early stages of the transition process. Some of the supports and services families need to look
into begin with county social services coordination and case management, personal care
attendants, respite care, in-home family support services, semi-independent living services, and a
traditional group home. (Pacer Center, 2006) There are typically five services that students with
disabilities and their families should be connected with: financial support, legal and health care
decision making, education to vocational training, health insurance coverage and housing
(Margolis & Prichard, 2008).
Other Factors
There continues to be a disparity in the employment rates and income of Hispanic and
African American youth that have disabilities as compared to their Caucasian peers. In the state
of Minnesota, special education teachers must state how the student’s ethnicity has been
accounted for on the individual education plan (IEP) for each student. According to Geehen,
Powers, Lopez-Vasquez (2001), a student’s ethnic and cultural background needs to be taken
into account when working to develop work programs, career development, life skills
instruction, and in performing a transition assessment. What is recommended is to increase
parental involvement. Students from ethnically diverse families, whose parents were actively

involved, had more successful outcomes. What is important to understand is that ethnically
diverse groups have different norm-related behaviors and define adult roles differently and
parents can be a valuable resource in truly understanding these differences (Geehen, Powers, &
Lopez-Vasquez, 2001). By understanding the cultural values of the family a more concise system
of support can be put into place, including community supports.
Summary
Transition Programs play the final and most critical role in the lives of students with
disabilities. The individual success of the student relies on, and is in the hands of those that have
supported them and helped them get to the point of entering adulthood; from their general
education teachers and special education teachers, parents, work coordinators, social workers,
vocational support services, to all other community based agencies (Schmitz, 2008). The
coordination of these services is imperative to the success of the student, as many of these
services will follow them on into adulthood and be of assistance to them as they attempt to live
as independently as they are able.
A successful program is multifaceted and cannot be measured by one element. The
federal and state governments provide laws and guidelines for programming and services for
students with disabilities. The districts then work within this framework to establish programs
designed to meet the needs of the students they serve with one eye always on the future. The
ability for a program to be successful and be sustainable depends on its ability to adapt to
changes in laws, information, technology, and the ever changing needs of the students it provides
service to. Programs are likely to be successful and continuously show Yearly Transition
Progress (YTP),” if they (a) had credible, stable staff and strong administrative support, (b) were
perceived as contributing to positive student outcomes that were valued by the school and

community, and (c) had a clear role and presence in the district.” (Benz, Lindstrom, Unruh, &
Waintrup, 2004, p. 48)
Schools need to address individual rights utilizing multiple methods. Teachers should
develop further discussion around topics related to the legal system and individual rights. The
instruction should focus on direct instruction and role-playing. Involving members of the law
enforcement community is also very helpful. It allows students to ask questions of these officials
and helps to foster a positive relationship with students and law enforcement. By making this
part of a life skills curriculum and part of the transition process educators are helping to better
prepare students with cognitive and learning disabilities to advocate for themselves. (Smith,
Polloway, Patton, & Beyer, 2008)
Discussion
One of the challenges faced in completing my research for this topic was that there is not
much written about transition programming within the parameters of this project. Much of the
research that I found was surrounding only two areas of transition; post-secondary education and
employment. I was able to find a plethera of curriculum surrounding the area of independent
living which includes recreation and leisure, community participation, and home living. But, I
struggled with finding specific literature that supported independent living skills. What has been
written about idependent living was written more than 10 years ago, for the most part, and in my
opinion did not address the needs of our todays students. The assumption can be made from the
current litreature that the area of independent living will fall into place if there is a strong post-
secondary/vocational training program in place, but that is a false assumption. More is needed to
be done in the area of Independent Living.

As a special education teacher working in a transition program, the literature that I
reviewed for this article has provided me with multiple perspectives to concider when I am
developing my curriculum. It also highlighted a number of areas in which high schools
curiculum may be improved in order to create a more effective transition program. My goal is to
take what I have gathered from my research and help to create a more concise and interconnected
programming, whereby students are more effectively prepared to transition into the work-world
and to live as independently as they can. Students would achieve their maximum level of self
reliance by using the skills of self-advocacy and self-determination to connect with services in
the adult system that meet their individual needs.
Working my director and special education coordinators, it would be my goal that a more
effective process could be fostered to plan curriculum and training for secondary special
education teachers in the area of transition programming. From my experience, I frequently have
reviewed IEPs that focus solely on academic goals. Goals written for reading, for instance,
should reflect how the lack of this skill will impact the student in independent adult life. What
job opportunities might be missed if the student continues to struggle with not being able to read
an instruction manual? How might as student whose disability is reading comprehension be
impacted when it comes to applying for a lease on an apartment. How does math fluency impact
a student in indendent living? Goals that address these needs are transition goals. Goals that state
that “John will improve his math skills from an age equivalency of 10 years old to 15 years old”
are not truly a transition mindful goal.
As special education teachers, we also need to be mindful of what the student’s goals for
post-secondary life are. If a student is planning to work in the trades, then we should advocate
for that student to have a academic programming that focuses on skills necessary for preparing

the student for this career path. The opposite applies to students who plan to move into a career
where attendance to a two or four year school is required then should have less a vocational and
more an academic IEP. Any training that is done needs to include the aspcets of creating a
school-wide goal, including an administration that supports a two pronged approach to
graduation and that supports the transtion needs of our special education population. I strongly
hope to be more involved in the process of teaching these ideas to my colleagues. After all,
serving the needs of students with special education needs and assuring their success in the
transition process has become my passion.
The research in this paper will also support my plan to work to improve upon the use of
individual interagency intervention plans (IIIP) with the students that I work with. By moving
from the standard IEP to the IIIP the focus moves from solely focusing on the secondary
educational environment to making those necessary connections to resources in the community.
Families that have a child with a disability need to be aware of the importance of the role that
outside agencies play in supporting them now and their child as an adult. Breaking down the
barriers that often exist and bringing everyone to the table on an annual basis, if not more, to plan
for life after the student leaves services of the secondary educational system will aid in creating a
seamless transition to these services.
Transition is the final phase in a student’s special education services. As has been
discussed in this paper, it begins at the age of 14 and goes until 21. During this period we, as
special educators need to be mindful of our ultimate goal. The goal is making it possible for the
students that we serve to be ready to live as independently as they possibly can.

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