What is Transition?
Transition for students with disabilities focuses on their transition from the school
environment to environments in adult living such as employment, community
participation, leisure activities, place of dwelling, and post secondary education.
Definition of Transition Assessment
“The ongoing process of collecting data on the individual’s needs, preferences, and
interests as they relate to the demands of current and future working, educational,
living, and personal and social environments.” (The Division of Career Development
and Transition)
According to Sitlington, Neubert, & Leconte, (1997) transition assessment data is
the foundation for defining goals and services that are to be included in a student’s
IEP.
“The purpose of transition assessment is to determine the strengths, abilities and
areas of need for students in addition to identifying interests and preferences.
Assessments aid in determining levels of self-determination skills and the amount of
necessary supports. Both formal and informal assessment measures are used, in
addition to comprehensive transition skills assessment, during the transition
evaluation process.
Transition assessment is broadly inclusive of competencies that are needed for
adulthood. These competencies can be categorized into three main areas: current
and future education, work, and living. Personal-social permeates all three domains.
The team chooses among a range of standardized and informal assessments,
including functional and ecological assessments. These provide both general and
specific data that are used in planning for desired transition outcomes. The nature of
transition implies that assessments be ongoing, have a specific purpose, and be
effectively summarized. “(Mallory Gertscher, M.Ed.)
Examples of Types of Transition Assessment
Formal
Self determination
Assessments/Inventories
Interest Inventories
Personality Inventories
Adaptive Behavior Scales
Informal
Record Review
Interviews
Ecological Inventory
Portfolio Assessment
Achievement Tests
Situational Assessments
Work Related Temperament Person Centered Planning
Scales
Laws and History related to Transition Planning and Assessment
Information obtained from Browder (2001)
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Transition Assessment came about after PL 98-199 which required
Individual Transition Plans (ITP) to be included in a student’s IEP.
In 1984 the Developmental Disabilities Act required that employment of
individuals with disabilities focus on and create guidelines for supportive
employment services. “Supportive employment is paid employment in a
competitive job setting with ongoing support services.” (Browder, 2001, pg
362).
In 1984, the Carl D. Perskins Vocational Education Act expanded vocational
education and assessment services to students with disabilities to include
transition services. It was amended in 1990 so all students be informed of
their vocational opportunities at least 1 year prior to graduation. It also
mandated that students with disabilities be provided equal access to
vocational services.
IDEA mandated transition planning in IEPs
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IDEA 1997
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-transition planning should start at age 14 with a statement of the student’s
transition service need under the IEP and be updated annually. By age 16,
transition services have to be defined to include interagency responsibilities.
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IDEA 2004
Transition Services
a) Transition Services means a coordinated set of activities for a child with a
disability that is:
(1) designed to be within 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
(2) is based on the individual child’s needs, taking into account the child’s
strengths, preferences and interests, and includes:
(i) training and education,
(ii) related services,
(iii) community experiences,
(iv) the development of employment and other post-school adult
living objectives; and
(v) if appropriate, the acquisition of daily living skills and functional
vocational evaluation.
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According to Wehman et al (1988) transition planning should focus on the
following: Information obtained from Browder (2001) p. 362.
 Employment
 Postsecondary education
 Residential plan
 Financial/income needs
 Recreation/leisure needs
 Medical needs
 Counseling/case management
 Transportation needs
 Advocacy/legal needs
 Personal/home/ and management
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In the 1990’s, transition planning trends moved from sheltered workshop
and adult day programs (traditional segregated environments) to supported
employment to create opportunities for individuals with moderate to severe
disabilities to be able to obtain and maintain jobs, as well as improve self
esteem, job satisfaction, and provide financial security. The above process
can be completed by using ecological assessment and person centered
planning.
Vocational Evaluation as defined by Chapter 101 pg. 47
Vocational Evaluations
Every child with a disability between 16 and 20 years of age may be provided an
opportunity for an interest and aptitude evaluation. Such evaluations may include
job sampling and practical experiences if determined to be appropriate. Such
vocational evaluations may be provided by qualified evaluators. The purpose of
the vocational evaluation is to assist the IEP Team to identify child’s vocational
interests, his/her vocational strengths, and deficits in work skills and behaviors
that would interfere with appropriate educational programs and services that
would be reasonably expected to result in the gainful employment of the child.
Based on the results of such an evaluation, a component of the child's
Individualized Education Program shall be developed to include special
education, supportive services and vocational services necessary to accomplish
the identified vocational goals. A representative of the appropriate regional
vocational agency or program shall be invited to participate in the development
of this component of the child’s Individualized Education Program.
Disadvantages of Standardized Transition Assessment Tools
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Do not focus o life skills and adult outcomes
Not designed for students with moderate to severe disabilities
Do not focus on functional behavior
Do not focus on a student’s home, community and work setting
Advantages Ecological Assessment for Transition Planning
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Focus on functional skills and support needs
Include person-centered planning
How to Conduct a Ecological Assessment for Transition Planning
1. Records review
-focus on student achievements, strengths, and preference related to future
employment.
-include information related to prior job training
-focus on the strengths and positives for transition planning
-Create a “profile to introduce student to transition team” that includes the
following: personal information, skills and recent achievements, ongoing
supports needed
2. Person Centered Planning
-allows for family input to be provided to help plan for student’s future
-teacher can help parents prepare for person centered planning by sharing
examples of other students with moderate to severe disabilities that have
been successful with transition planning.
-hold person centered planning meeting with family and friends to prepare
for IEP/ITP meeting
-person centered planning increases parent participation in IEP/ transition
meeting, allows family priorities to be indentified and an agenda of topics to
be discussed at the IEP/ITP meeting
-priorities can be summarized in a “family preference profile” and “student
preference profile”
-family preference profiles can include vocational, educational, and leisure
preference
3. Three Ways Ecological Assessment Promotes Self-determination during
Transition Planning (Browder, 2001 p. 271)
1. Use meetings to foster leadership
2. Encourage the student to set goals and make decisions, or base goals on
student preferences
-Student Preference Profile can be created and shared at meeting for
students with more significant disabilities who cannot lead the planning
meeting.
-Student Preference Profile can include environmental, food, material,
and activity preferences
3. Assess what self determination skills the student needs to acquire (ex.
communication or social skills)
Priorities determined through person-centered planning and self -determination
strategies can be used to develop a personalized curriculum for a student with
moderate to severe disabilities.
Steps to Creating s Student’s Personalized Job Training Curriculum
1. Ecological Inventories
 Identify specific job options in community that are related to student’s
preferences
 Generate a list of options to consider for current training and future
employment
 See Fig. 13.1 in Browder pg. 375
2. Situational Assessments-providing students with an opportunity to try new
jobs, to gather more information about the student’s needs and preferences
 Job tryouts for students can vary in length from a day, several weeks,
one per quarter, or several at a time
 Special Education teachers and transition coordinators can evaluate
job try outs through the use of task analysis, discrepancy analysis, and
repeated trial assessment (ex. write a list of all student’s responses to
remove a tag from a piece of clothing).
Transition planning through the use of ecological assessment, person centered
planning, and job tryouts is a way in which schools can provide students with
moderate to severe disabilities with opportunities to transition to adult living.