Transition Planning from High School to College - Part II

PART II: PREPARE

Colleges differ in their support programs for students with learning disabilities. Most colleges offer at lead off a basic program for reasonable accommodations, while others offer a more comprehensive support program.

BASIC PROGRAM:

Basic testing and program accommodations

Learning and Writing Centers available to all students

Student must disclose disability upon admissions

Disability Contact Person wears prevalent hats and may have no specialized training

INTERMEDIATE PROGRAM:

Learning Centers specifically for students with disabilities

Compound of peers and professional tutors

Support with writing and / or study skills

Testing and program accommodations

Masterly may be a price

COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAM:

Coordinator has expertise in learning disabilities

Wide gamut of tutorial supports

Structured and individualized approach

Advisement and early registration

Frequent vigil of student progress

Uncommon application and may interpolate a summer transition program for freshmen

There may be a substantial fee

If your child will be asking for any level of accommodations in college you must submit a comprehensive neuropsychological or psycho educational evaluation which gives clear and specific evidence of the disability, states a diagnosis, and specifies limitations on academic functioning in the diagnostic summary statement. Do not submit IEP ' s. They are not considered documentation. Learning weaknesses or differences do not constitute a learning disability. Test results should include scaled or standard scores and percentiles.

Some colleges allow the assessment to be no more than 3 years old; but most colleges insist that the testing be no more than 1 year old please ( check with the college to verify ). The test must be given by a certified and / or licensed professional.

Aptitude Testing: Accepted Measures:

Report must include full scale and subtest scores and percentiles. Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale ( WAIS - III )

Achievement Testing: Accepted Measures:

Report must include full scale and subtest scores and percentiles; grade equivalents are not acceptable. The Wechsler Individual Achievement Test II ( WIAT II )

The support your child will need in college should help plan their college choices. Once the preliminary details have been decided a complete high school map will make sure yourchild is well prepared for a successful transition.

In 9th Grade your child should:

Begin a Transition Portfolio, saving such items as report cards, diplomas and certificates; a list of awards and honors you receive; a list of all school and community activities you take part in; a list of offices you hold in these organizations; and a list of volunteer or paid jobs you hold. Update this file every semester.

Transition Planning from High School to College

A comedy is told about a express successful executive planning a business trip to Detroit. The plan was to have facade to frontage meetings with an influential client to further the companys goals. Tickets were purchased, car rented, hotel final, meetings imminent and times confirmed. On the morning of the meetings the executive took the pre - ordered comp out of the glove department and began to drawing out his migration ( obviously pre - GPS times ). Try as he might he could not find his destination, streets were not right, addresses did not pencil and the executive was becoming anxious that not isolated was he lacking but was average racket to be dilatory. The executive pulled the car over and took a short assessment of the direction; the plan was sound, everything was great prepared right down to the model. The executive then looked more closely at the map and laughed out loud; the rental car company had left the wrong map in the glove department it was a street map of Denver not Detroit. There was no way he would get anywhere in Detroit using a map of Denver. The executive pulled into the next gas station, bought a Detroit map, and made his appointment a little frazzled and with just minutes to spare.

We use this story in our Transition Planning Lecture to illustrate the importance of mapping out the planned route for post secondary options for our children. The trip to this destination will look different for many students and families; however, with the right map all students can be successful in reaching their final destination.

Part 1: THE PLAN:

The dictionary definition of transition is movement, passage, or change from one position, state, stage, subject, concept, etc., to another.

So to plan for transition from high school means to have a coordinated set of activities for students with disabilities, designed to promote movement from high school to post - school activities, including post - secondary education, vocational training, integrated employment ( including supported employment ), continuing and adult education, adult services, independent living, or community participation. The transition plan ( which is part of the students IEP ) should begin at age 14 ( or earlier ) and updated annually. The plan is written as students preferences, potential, abilities and interests for post - secondary education, work or vocational training. Recommendations for support ( related services, community experiences, internships, etc. ) to help the student reach his / her goal are also expressed in the IEP ( Annual Goals / Objectives ) as well as strategies for instruction. The transition plan is a mandated service provided under the Federal IDEA Section 504, Subsection D.

The transition plan is the beginning of the map. Here the plan begins: what do we need to know and do in order to make the transition a positive experience. The Goals and Objectives are the start point, the proverbial X on the map the " you are here ". The plan begins with asking your child five Essential Questions: