For information on employment and other community living
topics, click here.
New
Resource Guide for Parents who are Blind or Partially Sighted - Through
the Looking Glass and its National Resource Center for Parents with Disabilities
are proud to announce the release of the first comprehensive resource guide for
parents who are blind or partially sighted. The new 212 page "Hands-On
Parenting: A Resource Guide for Parents who are Blind or Partially Sighted"
provides a wide range of practical information, adaptations and resources for
parents who are blind or partially sighted.
Paving the Way to Work: A Guide to Career-Focused Mentoring -
Mentoring is recognized as one of the most important strategies for assisting
youth in making a positive transition into adulthood. This excellent and
comprehensive guide provides the framework for setting up a successful mentoring
program.
U.S. Department of Education Pamphlet:
Students with
Disabilities Preparing for Postsecondary Education: Know Your Rights and
Responsibilities - This document provides information on the rights and
responsibilities of students with disabilities who plan to attend a
postsecondary institution. This pamphlet also explains the obligations of
postsecondary schools to provide academic adjustments to ensure that they do not
discriminate on the basis of disability. Copies can be ordered by calling (877)
4-EDPUBS or on-line ordering at
http://www.edpubs.org/webstore/Content/search.asp.
Monday Bulletin on Services to
Youth Focus on Transition (PDF 6/06)
Growing Up and Staying Healthy!
- This new e-Newsletter, from the Healthy & Ready to Work National Center (HRTW),
contains information on health and transition issues of those with special
needs, along with employment, accessibility issues, adulthood, health care, and
more.
Tips for a Successful
Transition - Planning for the future of your child with special needs is
an ongoing process. What is perhaps most difficult to consider is that the child
or teen you see before you today will grow to become an adult with capabilities
and needs in the areas of work, housing, personal finances, transportation,
recreation, friends and the many other areas we all face as adults. Here are
some beginning tips and thoughts.
US Department of Education Clarifies Transition Related Changes in IDEA -
This FOCUS on Results document introduces the Michigan Department of Education,
Office of Special Education and Early Intervention Services' (OSE/EIS) priority
for transition during 2005-2006 and addresses language changes to transition
provisions from the newly reauthorized Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act. Inside you will find data, explanations, and resources relating to
secondary transition.
The Transition
Planning Process - The
transition from school to young adulthood can present challenges
for youth served by special education, but the transition period
also entails opportunities for educators and practitioners to
provide young people with experiences that lead to success. In
the two decades since transition planning
entered the special education lexicon, changes in service
delivery have helped shape the implementation of the transition
planning process in schools for students with disabilities
(National Center on Secondary Education and Transition, 2004).
Serving Up
Skills - Marcos Gomez made a
lasting impression when he walked into Chicago's Deep Dish 'n
Dogs restaurant to look for work. The 21-year-old from Ada had
just graduated from Goodwill Industries' Hospitality Food
Service program that offers job training to people with
disabilities or other barriers to employment. He showed up
ready for work and a paycheck. The enthusiasm showed.
IDEA 2004: Transition
Services & IEPs
IDEA 2004 changed the definition of "Transition
Services" and included new language about "post-school activities,
post-secondary education. The new definition reads:
"The term 'transition services' means a coordinated set of activities for a
child with a disability that--
(A) is designed to be 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; (B) is based on the individual child’s needs,
taking into account the child's strengths, preferences, and interests..." 20
U. S. C. §1401(34).
Transition Services for Education, Work, Independent Living - this short
article describes changes in the definition of transition services in IDEA 2004.
More articles about changes in IDEA
2004 from Wrightslaw.
Dr. Mel Levine:
How to Prep Your Child to Become An Adult
- In his book ‘Ready or Not, Here Life Comes,’ pediatrician and author
Dr. Mel Levine addresses why some kids make a successful transition into
adulthood while others do not. "Most parents wonder if their child will be
prepared to tackle adulthood when they grow up. Now, after decades of observing
children grow into young adults, nationally known pediatrician and author Dr.
Mel Levine addresses why some youngsters make a successful transition into
adulthood while others do not.”
IDEA 1997 and H.R. 1350 (IDEA 2004)
- Major changes between IDEA 1997 and H.R. 1350 (IDEA 2004)
concerning transition services are identified in a side-by-side chart.
Guardianship Q &
A from Calhoun County, Michigan - click here
(PDF; includes clickable hyperlinks). This informative thirteen-page
document contains questions and Answers on Guardianship accessed from the
Calhoun County Courts website.
Transition Planning: Putting Interagency Agreements into Action - This
brief from the National Center on Secondary Education and Transition discusses
the essential components of successful interagency agreements when developing
and implementing transition plans for secondary students with disabilities.
Kelli Crane, Meredith Gramlich, & Kris Peterson, Putting Interagency Agreements
into Action, NCSET Issue Brief, Sept. 2004.
eSight
Introduces Free Syndicated Content About Tackling Disability
Employment Issues - On June 28, 2004,
eSight Careers
Network launched a new service, the eSight Disability
Employment Web, which offers disability organizations
high-quality free syndicated content that can be added to their
web sites.
Dependent Youth Aging Out of Foster Care: A Guide for Judges (PDF) - The
Juvenile Law Center announces a new publication to guide judicial
decision-making in cases involving older youth in foster care. This 8-page
publication includes analysis of the Foster Care Independence Act, the Adoption
and Safe Families Act, and special concerns affecting older foster children. It
shows how judges, child welfare agencies and children's lawyers can ensure that
youth have safe passage to adulthood by ensuring their access to education,
physical and behavioral health care, housing, and other services. Includes
checklists for ensuring comprehensive decision-making in these areas:
Permanency; Independent Living Skills; Education and Vocational Training;
Physical Health, Mental Health and Other Needs; Youth With Disabilities; and
Discharge of Youth On or After Age 18.
TX Secondary Experience:
More Schools Providing
Job Training - Even though Kevin Hitchel had
never worked in a construction zone, he wanted to be a civil engineer the day he
walked into his high school's construction class. "I didn't know what I would be
doing, but I knew it would help me," said Hitchel, who graduated last month from
Clear Lake High School. By then, the 18-year-old knew how to draw a blueprint,
fix a baseball-size hole in a wall, outfit a room with electrical wires and
recite the names and functions of more than 100 hand tools and household
fixtures. As business owners request more experience from their entry-level
employees, the nation's high schools are beginning to train -- not just educate
-- students such as Hitchel.
New
Accommodation Ideas Paper For Workplace Personal Assistance Services Created
- For some people with disabilities, Personal Assistance Services (PAS) may
be needed to successfully maintain gainful employment. A new paper describing
accommodation ideas for workplace personal assistance services (PAS) has been
created by the Job Accommodation Network (JAN), a Center partner from the
Institute for Community Disability Information at the University of West
Virginia. This publication discusses PAS in the workplace. It provides a
definition of PAS; information about using PAS to accommodate people with
sensory, cognitive, mental health, and motor impairments; a discussion about PAS
and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA); and a list of resources for
additional information.
The
Individual Transition Plan — An Overview - The transition from high
school to young adulthood is a critical stage for all teenagers; for students
with learning disabilities (LD), this stage requires extra planning and
goal-setting. Factors to consider include post-secondary education, the
development of career and vocational skills, as well as the ability to live
independently. The first step in planning for a successful transition is
developing the student’s Individual Transition Plan (ITP). An ITP is available
only for students enrolled in special education who have an Individualized
Education Program (IEP). In this article, we will define and describe the ITP
and how it can be utilized to maximize your teenager’s future success.
MI
Student Takes Different Path to University -
Social worker Janice Fialka warns that a child's high school
graduation can be bittersweet, but especially so for the parents of
developmentally disabled children. Fialka should know: Her son,
19-year-old Micah Fialka-Feldman, is a special education student. As
his graduation drew near last year, it felt more like a dead end than
an open road.
The National Center on Secondary Education and Transition (NCSET)
Information Brief:
Supporting Dynamic Development of Youth with Disabilities
During Transition: A Guide for Families - This
brief provides information about healthy adolescent development for youth with
disabilities, focusing on the role of parents and families in supporting the
successful transition to adult life.
The National Center on Secondary Education and Transition (NCSET)
Information Brief:
Person-Centered Planning: A Tool for Transition - The expression, “It
takes a village to raise a child,” is never more true than when talking about a
child with a disability. Young people with disabilities need a support system
that recognizes their individual strengths, interests, fears, and dreams and
allows them to take charge of their future. Parents, teachers, family members,
and friends in the community who offer informal guidance, support, and love can
create the “village” for every child.
Guide for Employing People with Disabilities -
In partnership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, ED released a guidebook
suggesting ways that businesses can find qualified workers with disabilities,
put disability & employment research into practice, & learn from successes in
integrating individuals with disabilities into the workforce.
Transition Websites
Compiled by Linda J.
Transition Planning: A Team Effort -
http://www.nichcy.org/pubs/transum/ts10txt.htm
Transition Services in the IEP -
http://www.nichcy.org/pubs/outprint/ts8txt.htm
Transition Summaries in the IEP -
http://www.nichcy.org/pubs/outprint/ts8txt.htm
School Based Job Coach Manual -
http://www.nichcy.org/pubs/outprint/ts8txt.htm
Nebraska State Contacts and Resources (transition) -
http://www.ncset.org/stateresources/results.asp
Full Life Ahead -
http://www.nichcy.org/pubs/outprint/ts8txt.htm
Community Resource Mapping/transition -
http://www.ncset.org/publications/viewdesc.asp?id=939
National Center on Secondary Education and Transition -
http://www.ncset.org/default.asp
IEP and Transition Planning -
http://www.ncset.org/topics/ieptransition/default.asp?topic=28
IEP and Transtion Planning Frequently asked questions -
http://www.ncset.org/topics/ieptransition/faqs.asp?topic=28
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"My Future My Plan"
Curriculum - We have just been informed that the new My Future My Plan
Curriculum developed by the National Center on Secondary Education and
Transition (NCSET) and State of the Art, Inc. will be profiled on Oprah this
coming Monday October 20th, 2003. It will be included as one segment that is
part of a show on the larger issue of discrimination.
Designing Personalized Learning for Every Student:
Activity Based Assessment
(ABA) Inventory and Other Forms - Today's students are more diverse than
ever before—in cultural backgrounds, learning styles and interests, social and
economic classes, and abilities and disabilities. How can schools accommodate
these differences while also dealing with other demands for change, from the
push for tougher standards to the call for more discipline in the classroom?
This book offers answers—and challenges schools to reinvent themselves as more
flexible, creative learning communities that include and are responsive to a
full range of human diversity.
VA
Beyond Special Education, a Fragile Future:
Virginia Budget Gaps
Diminish Transition Options - Ted Nigh wants
his friends to know that life in the nursing home is all right and that they
shouldn't hesitate to visit him. He is getting good care and gets along well
with the staff. The problem is, he has
difficulty relating to most of the other residents.
