Conclusion

To improve transition results for young people with disabilities, individual transition team members and community transition team members must work creatively. Many services exist in every community. If transition team members cultivate relationships with these resources and combine successful teamwork methods with the services available in their community, they will be able to create dynamic individual plans. Here are some starting steps.

Students:

• Write down your long-term goals and what you think you need to do to reach these.
  
• Read your IEP and transition plan and decide if the plan is being implemented.
  
• Tell your teachers you want to lead your own IEP meeting and ask them to help you learn what to do.
  
• Learn about your civil rights under the law, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act.
  
• Learn about your disability, how to explain to people your strengths, and how to ask for reasonable accommodations.
  
• Practice job interviews and/or asking for accommodations.
  
• Talk with your doctor and parents about your health care needs so you will be ready to take responsibility for them.
  
• Ask your teacher how to get involved with your community's transition team.
  

Family Members:

• Observe your son or daughter's independent living skills, work behaviors, social involvement, dreams, and hopes.
  
• Call your child's teachers and ask that transition services, including financial planning, be addressed at your next meeting.
  
• Help your child learn about his or her disability and how to ask for the supports he or she needs.
  
• Give your child responsibility for chores at home.
  
• Role play different situations with your child (e.g., interviews).
  
• Discuss your child's medical needs with him or her and facilitate discussions with your doctor.
  
• Introduce your child to adult role models with disabilities.
  
• Look in your phone book and Yellow Pages and identify three new possible resources to help your son or daughter's transition to adult activities.
  

School or Agency Administrators:

• Evaluate transition services in your system.
  
• Look into establishing or strengthening your community transition team.
  
• Make a phone call to develop a new community agency contact.
  
• Find some funding to share across agencies or for service development.
  
• Set up a meeting with staff members to learn each person's expertise in transition.
  
• Develop a cooperative agreement with another agency specifying how to coordinate transition.
  
• Encourage your staff to be creative in problem solving.
  

Special Educators:

• Talk to students and families about transition services.
  
• Ask to attend a conference, workshop, or other learning opportunity related to transition.
  
• Teach students about their civil rights under the law, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act.
  
• Pledge to conduct collaborative, needs-based IEP meetings that empower youth and families.
  
• Provide youth with step-by-step activities that familiarize them with the IEP process and prepare them to take active roles.
  
• Call the local rehabilitation counselor or mental retardation case manager and coordinate a meeting.
  
• Use the Transition Services Phone Interview Guide presented earlier in this publication and call one community agency or resource.
  

Vocational Educators/Educators:

• Contact a special educator and find out when IEPs are scheduled for your current or future students.
  
• Offer to provide a tour of your program and share your knowledge and expertise in job competencies, job development, and job placement.
  
• Identify one student receiving special education services and work with him or her to provide vocational counseling to help define realistic career goals.
  
• Develop a plan to coordinate your work-study program with all the special education community-based work programs.
  

Guidance Counselors:

• Create a workshop for students on self-advocacy skills that would promote success in postsecondary education or employment settings.
  
• Ask to attend a workshop, inservice, or other training to learn about community agencies and resources.
  
• Ask a college representative about services for students with disabilities.
  

Community Agency Service Providers:

• Attend a workshop, inservice, or other training to learn about community agencies and resources.
  
• Develop a folder that contains some of the wealth of information you have about community resources and how to access them, and share with IEP Team members, transition councils, families, students, and administrators.
  
• Identify three things that could help you actively participate in the IEP process when appropriate, and share these with the high school administrator or special educator/transition specialist.
  

Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors:

• Schedule regular office hours at schools that you work with.
  
• Support activities and use of assistive technology for students in high school that result in employment.
  
• Serve on a local transition committee.
  
• Share your knowledge of the job market and job assessments.
  

Any of the Above:

• Identify two ways you can add to the collaborative transition planning process; share this with administrators, special educators/transition specialists, or other service providers.
  
• Offer to take the lead to develop a community transition resource directory for your community.
  
• Most of all, take any one proactive step in your community towards collaborative transition planning and observe the results.
  

You can work to improve the system of transition services both at the individual level and in your community. It's worth it!