7 Things You Can Do to Change Your Child’s Future

At the CARD (Center for Autism) conference that was held in Orlando this weekend, I spoke about “Navigating the Cliff” that is often felt by parents and individuals when they transition out of the public school system. I had the pleasure of talking to many parents both during my training and afterwards who had some really great questions and a true desire to ensure that their children obtain the best plan moving forward as possible. I thought that it might be a good idea to share some of the suggestions that were included in this presentation in hopes that you will find some benefit to them.

1. Transition Planning should start early – By this, I mean from the very beginnings of their childhood. I know that sounds a little crazy, but the activities that your child experiences from very early on, helps them develop relationships, make connections, build their stamina, and recognize their interests that will help them later as they begin to discover who they are. This could mean a gymnastics class, photography lessons, baseball, ballet, drama… It’s important to remember that there’s a lot more to life than speech and occupational therapies (not that those aren’t good too).
2. Early placement impacts later outcomes – If you and your IEP team place your child in a separate special education classroom for most or all of their day, it will not do very much to prepare them for the world that is not a separate setting. When your child spends their day with students who are either at their same level or below, they fail to benefit from role models, and we all benefit from role models, even as adults. The best way to prepare someone for the crazy world that we live in is to expose them to that world while we’re best able to keep them as protected as possible – as children.
3. Plan must be Person Centered – Always be certain that the IEP, and later on the transition IEP, is focused on your son or daughter. If the plan sounds like a cookie cutter plan, then it should be rewritten. Your child shouldn’t just be at the center of the plan, but they should be heavily involved in its development. Yes, some children require a lot of assistance in order to actively participate, but that is the responsibility of educators. If your child has a transition IEP, ask their teacher how he/she can help them become part of the IEP meeting.
4. Plan must link activities, classes and learning at school to post-secondary goals – When your child has a transition IEP (typically age 12, 14 or 16), they’re required to have post-secondary goals. That means that there are goals on the IEP that are focused on what they will achieve after graduation. What your transition-age child does each and every day as they work on their IEP goals must be connected to their post-secondary goals, or outcomes. Every high school principal should be focused on preparing their students for college/trade school or a job, no matter who the student is or what their needs are.
5. Parents are critical partners – There are actually laws, federal laws even, that protect and encourage a parent’s rights to be included in their child’s educational planning. At no point should you walk into a meeting and feel as though everything has been done before you got there. Request the draft in advance, provide your feedback before you get there and make sure that you document any concerns and desires for outcomes that you have within the Parent Input section of the IEP. If it’s not written, there’s no proof that it was discussed.
6. Students should take an increasingly active role – Once a student has a transition IEP, they should begin to become more and more involved in their education. Self-advocacy skills take time and if the team leaves the student’s participation off until the last year of school, there isn’t likely to be enough time for them to learn how to speak up for themselves, in whichever way they communicate, and ensure that others understand what they want for their lives and what type of assistance they need to obtain it.
7. Interagency collaboration is essential – Agencies such as Vocational Rehabilitation, Career Source, and the Agency for Persons with Disabilities should be both documented in the IEP and attend meetings in preparation for the transition out of school. These are the agencies that will assist the student during this planning process and afterwards. Vocational Rehabilitation can cover the costs of post-secondary education and any tools that are necessary for a student to obtain the employment they seek through their Individual Plan for Employment, or IPE. And, yes, you have some pretty significant rights when it comes to Vocational Rehabilitation, but most parents have no idea that they do. More on this in another email 😊

The above is just a taste of some of the important things that are involved with the transition process for students with disabilities. Some of the agencies that are noted are located in Florida, but anyone from outside the state can access the same or equal surfaces no matter which state they live in.