If you're a special educator or transition coordinator for high school students with disabilities, you play a critical role in empowering young people to achieve their goals and dreams. It's a complex and challenging job—and this introductory guide will help you every step of the way as you support students' successful transition to college, work, and community life.

You'll get the how-to guidance you need to master all the basics of transition planning and services, from assessing each learner's strengths and writing IEPs to evaluating student progress. Research-based strategies help you develop effective plans with confidence, and the reproducible checklists and forms keep critical information organized as you prepare each student for life beyond the classroom. A must-read for all transition coordinators—and any secondary educator with a role on the transition team—this book is your essential guide to supporting successful, self-determined futures for all your students.

• Getting started. For each major transition topic covered, you'll find a thorough introduction to the fundamentals, including definitions of key terms and concrete examples.
• Making it happen. Get in-depth guidance and practical strategies for creating and carrying out each step of an effective transition plan.
• What you can do right now. Put the ideas in each chapter into immediate action with quick tips, helpful forms, and a list of the best online resources.

DISCOVER HOW TO: build a transition assessment toolkit • write transition IEPs with measurable goals • increase family and student involvement in transition planning • strengthen student self-determination • embed transition skills in core academic content • boost student engagement in school • create a quality career development program • prepare students for postsecondary education • teach independent living skills • enhance students' social skills • support participation in community experiences • promote interagency collaboration • evaluate student progress • and more

• Skills and Knowledge Checklist for transition specialists
• Self-determination forms for students and families
• Helpful forms for your career development program
• Ecological inventory and task analysis forms

1. I’m in Charge of Transition Planning . . . Now What Do I Do?

• Getting Started: Learning The Basics of Transition Planning and Services
• • Key School Personnel: The Secondary Special Educator and Transition Coordinator
• Making It Happen: Implementing Effective Transition Programs and Services
• • Transition Assessment
  • Transition Planning
  • Family Involvement
  • Student Involvement
  • Transition-Focused Curriculum and Instruction
  • Interagency Collaboration and Community Services
  • Systems-Level Infrastructure
• What You Can Do Right Now: Putting Ideas into Action
• Appendix 1: Skills and Knowledge Checklist for the Transition Specialist

2. Transition Planning from Compliance to Quality

• Getting Started: Understanding the Idea Requirements for Transition
• • When Transition Planning Starts
  • Who is Involved in Transition Planning
  • Writing Transition Individualized Education Programs
  • Interagency Collaboration
  • The Age of Majority and Transfer of Rights
  • The Summary of Performance
• Making It Happen: Creating Quality Transition Planning Approaches
• • Understand that Transition Is a Process
  • Keep the Student Actively Involved in the Process
• What You Can Do Right Now: Putting Ideas into Action
• Online Resources

3. Student-Directed Planning and Involvement

• Getting Started: Defining Self-Determination and the Student’s Role in Transition Planning
• Making It Happen: Supporting Student Self- Determination
• • Selecting Self-Determination Curricula
  • Assessing Self-Determination
  • Data Collection and Evaluating Student Progress
  • What You Can Do Right Now: Putting Ideas Into Action
  • Online Resources
  • Appendix 3: Self-Determination Forms for Students and Families

4. Family Involvement: Engaging Families During Transition

• Getting Started: Why are Families so Important?
• • When Are Families Involved in Schools?
  • Understanding the Family Systems Framework
• Making It Happen: Supporting Families During Transition
• • Create Welcoming Places
  • Increase Family Involvement
  • Transition Topics that Families Want to Know About
  • Understand Cultural Reciprocity to Develop Partnerships with All Families
• What You Can Do Right Now: Putting Ideas into Action
• Online Resources

5. Transition Assessment: The Cornerstone of Transition Planning

• Getting Started: Defining Transition Assessment
• • A Comprehensive Process
  • Individualized Education Programs and Transition Assessment
• Making It Happen: Implementing a Student-Centered Transition Process
• • Types and Approaches to Transition Assessment
  • Implementing the Transition Assessment Process
  • Building a Transition Assessment Toolkit
• What You Can Do Right Now: Putting Ideas Into Action
• Online Resources

6. School Engagement: Keeping All Students in School with Megan Heidrich

• Getting Started: Understanding Student Engagement
• • The Consequences of Dropping Out
  • Defining Student Engagement
• Making It Happen: Strategies to Promote Student Engagement
• • Consider “The ABCs of Disengagement”
  • Create Multitiered Systems of Support
  • Features of a Transition-Focused Multitier System of Supports Model
  • Use Data to Keep Students on Track
  • Use Proven Interventions
• What You Can Do Right Now: Putting Ideas Into Action

7. Inclusion in General Education: Strategies for Embedding Transition into Academic Content with Ryan Kellems

• Getting Started: Understand that Access to the General Education Curriculum is Critical to Transition Outcomes
• • Learn the Role of the General Education Teacher in the Transition
  • Individualized Education Program Meeting
  • Understand the Common Core and Other State Standards
• Making It Happen: Embedding Transition Skills Within Core Academic Content
• • Provide Access to the General Education Curriculum
  • Provide Instructional Supports for Learning: Accommodations and Modifications
  • Access the What, How, and Why of Learning Through Universal Design for Learning
  • Use Assistive Technology to Support Learning and Transition
• What You Can Do Right Now: Putting Ideas Into Action

8. Preparing for Employment and Career Development

• Getting Started: Planning For Careers
• • Effective Career Development: An Evidence-Based Practice for All Students
  • The Stages of Career Development
• Making It Happen: Buiilding a Quality Career Development Program
• • Coordinate a District-Wide Career Development Team
  • Build Programs Aligned with the Components of Career Development
  • Meet the Requirements of a Work-Based Learning Program
• What You Can Do Right Now: Putting Ideas Into Action
• Online Resources
• Appendix 8: Helpful Forms for Your Career Development Program

9. Preparing for Postsecondary Education

• Getting Started: How Does High School Compare with Postsecondary Education?
• • Shifts in the Law and Access to Services
  • Shifts in Responsibilities
  • Developing Self-Advocacy and Self-Management
• Making It Happen: Preparing Students For Postsecondary Education
• • Overview of Prerequisites
  • Postsecondary Survival Skills
• What You Can Do Right Now: Putting Ideas into Action

10. Preparing for Independent Living and Inclusion in the Community with Dawn Rowe and Ryan Kellems

• Getting Started: Why Should Community Living Be Considered an Important Postsecondary Outcome?
• Making It Happen: Preparing Youth for Community Living
• • Teach Self-Determination Skills
  • Teach Independent Living Skills
  • Teach Social Skills
  • Support Participation in Community Experiences
• What You Can Do Right Now: Putting Ideas Into Action
• Online Resources
• Appendix 10: Ecological Inventory and Task Analysis Forms

11. Preparing for Interpersonal Engagement

• Getting Started: Interpersonal Engagement and the Impact on Student Success
• • Understanding Multiple Levels of Secondary School Engagement
  • Effective Practices for Teaching Interpersonal Skills
• Making It Happen: Increasing Interpersonal Engagement
• • Creating Positive School Climates
  • Identifying Students Requiring Targeted Social Interventions
  • Effective Interventions and Strategies for Improving Interpersonal Engagement
• What You Can Do Right Now: Putting Ideas Into Action
• Online Resources

12. Working With Outside Agencies: Implementing Practices to Promote Interagency Collaboration with Monica Simonsen

• Getting Started: Understanding Interagency Collaboration
• • Interagency Collaboration and Federal Law
  • Stages Leading to Interagency Collaboration
• Making It Happen: Building a Collaborative Approach to Transition Planning
• • Strategies for Supporting Youth and Families
  • School-Level Changes
  • Bridging to the Community
  • Community and Systems Change
• Evidence-Based Practices: What You Can Do to Improve Employment Outcomes
• What You Can Do Right Now: Putting Ideas Into Action

References

Index