Transition Planning and Assessment

Question 1 

Employment needs:

In training Eric to find suitable employment, he should be taught appropriate job skills and work attitude needed at work. First, he needs to recognize what he loves doing and work towards gathering the relevant documentation such as academic certification and technical skills in mechanical aspects before he starts venturing into the career world.

Further education/training:

Eric needs additional training at the vocational training center and also at a community employment training center. A vocational training center is essential for learning the necessary skills that Eric would need to pursue his interests in mechanics, which would help him achieve his career goal.

Daily Activities:

Eric needs to learn how to live independently, meaning he has to look for an apartment on his own, make living arrangements, and learn how to manage his finances to be self-sufficient. Additionally, he should also learn how to create and invest his money wisely, such that he can sustain himself.

Leisure activities:

Eric needs to take part in more community-based activities and also find things he may find interesting for leisure.

Community participation:

Eric has to understand fundamental legal rights, how to make legal decisions, how to locate and use community resources, as well as how to obtain financial assistance. He can participate locally by taking part in community-building activities such as youth programs and other projects that he may find interesting such as environmental conservation, apprenticeship, and mentorship programs. Health;

He should learn to eat healthy foods and maintain a balanced diet at all times. This factor is essential because it boosts his immunity as well as keeps him physically fit. He should also incorporate a dietary program that helps him keep track of his calorie intake to avoid heart conditions and diabetes.

Self-determination:

Eric ought to learn how to recognize and accept his strengths and limitations and how to set personal goals.

Communication:

Eric should learn how to express himself; how to express his feelings and ideas appropriately. As part of his learning, Eric would have to learn communication skills such as verbal and non-verbal cues and social relation skills like empathy.

Interpersonal relationships

Eric has to learn how to accept rejection and how to get along with a supervisor for him to learn how to get along with others. Learning how to communicate with others will help him approach the girl from his neighborhood who he has an interest in.

Question 2 

Behavioral Goals 

Eric will demonstrate improvement in communication and interpersonal skills and interactions by developing a relationship with a supervisor.

Short Term Objectives or Benchmarks: 

Through continued interaction with the supervisor, Eric will verbally identify the required behavior needed to demonstrate communication skills and interpersonal skills with 70% accuracy measured through daily logs by the Special needs' instructor. His Special needs' instructor will use behavior assessment tools such as a checklist to monitor Eric's progress. These skills will be useful in searching for employment and for a place to live. He will also be given a formal verbal reminder and will be asked to explain his opinion on the evaluation given concerning his behavior. When assigned a restitution plan, often given due to poor behavioral choices, Eric will be expected to accept the consequences without any argument as measured by the instructor of the unique need. Eric will receive corrective mechanisms and feedback from managerial figures, as presented by the instructor of the individual requirement.

Question 3 

As stipulated under the law, the IEP should contain information that is crucial to the education program as well as the student, as it sets out to meet Eric's designated needs. The information that is needed includes the current performance, which shares the student's academic performance, usually based on information evaluated from classroom assignments and tests, and individual tasks done for eligibility purposes and observations made by teachers, parents, and other stakeholders (Siegel, 2017). The report often discloses how the disability affects the child's progress in the curriculum. The second is annual goals, which are targets that are measurable as well as achievable. These goals may be academic, social, behavioral, or physical. Third, the IEP should also include the unique education program, including additional programs that would assist the child (Siegel, 2017). The fourth element in the IEP is that it must disclose whether the child does not actively participate in the class both in academic and co-curricular activities and to what extent. Finally, the IEP must state how progress will be measured and how the child's caregiver or parent will be notified of the development.

Question 4 

Transition assessment is the gradual process of information collection focusing on the student's needs, strengths, interests, and preferences as they cope with the current demands and future standards of learning, living, and working environments (Collier et al., 2017). A transition plan is part of the Individualized Education Program (IEP), which details the necessary transition services and goals that are needed for the student. The idea is often based on the student's skills, interests, and strengths and is used to create and identify goals that would be accomplished during the school year to help the student achieve their post-high school goals (Collier et al., 2017).

Qu estion 5 

McCoy et al. (2020) carried out research to show the transition process of special needs students is ignored despite their increased benefits in the educational career. The study focused on the negative transitions these students face, mentioning the type of needs each of the students want to be addressed during the development. Transition experiences are dependent on socio-economic status and gender (McCoy et al., 2020). The benefits of the program include supporting the students through their transition and encourage positive teacher-student interactions, promoting support systems for lower achievement students to achieve adequate transition support.

Research conducted by Bell et al. (2017) revealed that there was an increasing number of special needs students attending higher education. Holding an initial transition plan is crucial in articulating student post-school educational goals and creates an avenue to participate in the planning. The program is designed to help students who have faced difficulty in utilizing the support systems available (Bell et al., 2017). It encourages self-determination skills, which is essential in academic success. The insight from the research conducted is useful for students in their post-secondary education.

Based on the evidence provided from these research studies, five significant strategies are crucial in transition planning. The first is student involvement, since a successful plan needs to incorporate student interests and personal needs. Involving students helps them develop self-awareness, which is crucial in understanding their needs. The second strategy is self-advocacy, which recognizes individual strengths and weaknesses, adding value to the plan. Third, goal setting, which is critical in ensuring that students can choose what they want for themselves and stay committed. The fourth element is self-monitoring, where students monitor their progress and build on accountability. The final element is self-determination, where students can determine what they want for their futures through the plan.

Question 6 

Given the nature of the transition planning, with its gradual and multi-component process, school staff device ways through which they make sure that they are implementing it as required for their individual needs. The Taxonomy for Transition Programming by Kohler (1996) is essential for helping practitioners to use five criteria as they structure for transition planning. These criteria include student development, program structure, family engagement, student-focused planning, and inter-agency collaborations (Kohler, 1996).

Question 7 

TPI informants involved in IEP planning play an integral role in processing its data. An IEP member may take up more than one position if they are qualified. Each of these members plays a vital role in giving information during the IEP meeting. This information adds an understanding of the child and what needs they require. Some of the members include; parents since they know their children well and can shed more light on their children's needs and strengths, as well as contribute ideas that would enhance their child's education (Miller-Warren, 2016). The second participants are teachers who talk about what changes or services would be crucial in helping the children learn and achieve their goals. The third members are the special needs instructors who share their experience and information that contributes to educating teachers with special needs, giving ideas on how to modify the curriculum and provide supplementary aid that the child may need. Fourth is the specialist to measure the child's evaluation results, which is essential in analyzing the special education services and educate special needs children. Other school support staffs are equally important in providing information about the student, such as drivers and school administrators (Hartmann, 2016). The student is also an essential member of the IEP team since they specialize in their own needs and wants as per their disabilities. They are crucial decision-makers since the IEP program is designed to assist them post-secondary.

Question 8 

In most IEP programs, the following types of transition assessments are used curriculum-based assessments, structured student and family interviews, and work-based assessments; these assessments can either be formal or informal (Achola & Greene, 2016). Formal assessments are renowned for their validity and reliability in providing standardized tools that are important in evaluating students based on their needs. Informal assessments, however, need more than one individual to review and strengthen their validity.

Question 9 

There are four different types of assessments suggested by the National Secondary Transition Technical Assistance Center for transition purposes in IEP based learning. These assessments include adaptive behavior/ independent living, academic assessment, vocational interest and exploration, and self-determination assessment. With each of these assessment tools comes a guideline of how individuals need instructors to administer them to their students. It is important to note that these assessments are delivered on different timelines based on the students' needs, and provides a starting point for the instructors

References 

Achola, E. O., & Greene, G. (2016). Person-family centered transition planning: Improving post-school outcomes to culturally diverse youth and families.  Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation ,  45 (2), 173-183.

Bell, S., Devecchi, C., McGuckin, C., & Shevlin, M. (2017). Making the transition to post-secondary education: opportunities and challenges experienced by students with ASD in the Republic of Ireland.  European Journal of Special Needs Education ,  32 (1), 54-70.

Collier, M., Griffin, M. M., & Wei, Y. (2017). Learning from students about transition needs: Identifying gaps in knowledge and experience.  Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation ,  46 (1), 1-10.

Hartmann, E. S. (2016). Understanding the everyday practice of individualized education program team members.  Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation ,  26 (1), 1-24.

Kohler, P. D. (1996). Taxonomy for transition programming: Linking research and practice.

McCoy, S., Shevlin, M., & Rose, R. (2020). Secondary school transition for students with special educational needs in Ireland.  European Journal of Special Needs Education ,  35 (2), 154-170.

Miller-Warren, V. (2016). Parental insights on the effects of the secondary transition planning process on the post-secondary outcomes of graduates with disabilities.  Rural Special Education Quarterly ,  35 (1), 31-36.

Siegel, L. M. (2017).  The complete IEP guide: How to advocate for your special ed child . Nolo.