Technical Assistance on Transition and the Rehabilitation Act (TATRA) offers information on the transition topics such as transition, ADA Rights, Social Security work programs, self determination, and more to help families of students and young adults with disabilities learn about key transition strategies promoting the career development, self-determination, and postsecondary success of their youth.
http://ici.umn.edu/products/impact/192/over20.html
By Vern Zacher, Jean Ness, and Dennis Olson
Quick common sense tips on transition for American Indian Youth in Transition and those working with them through the process.
Incight empowers people with disabilities to become contributing members of society. We accomplish this through several dynamic programs focused in the areas of: Education, Employment, Networking and Independence.
Career Development for Exceptional Individuals (CDE) specializes in the fields of secondary education, transition, and career development for persons with documented disabilities and special needs. CDE focuses on the life roles of individuals as students, workers, consumers, family members, and citizens. Articles cover qualitative and quantitative research, scholarly reviews, and program descriptions and evaluations.
The Oregon Youth Transition Program (YTP) is a comprehensive transition program for youth with disabilities operated collaboratively by the office of Oregon Office of Vocational Rehabilitation Services (OVRS), the Oregon Department of Education (ODE), the University of Oregon (U of O), and local school districts statewide in Oregon. The purpose of the program is to prepare youth with disabilities for employment or career related post secondary education or training.
Transfer of Rights at Age of Majority: A resource guide for students with disabilities and their families.
As students prepare to take on the responsibilities of planning for their future education, career, and life goals, there are many questions to explore and skills to learn. This resource guide is designed for students with disabilities and their family members or other support persons. By using the guide together, students and their families have the opportunity to explore the issues and events, such as the transfer of educational rights, that they will encounter as the student transitions from junior high or middle school to high school and beyond.
NEXT S.T.E.P. is a curriculum that teaches high school students how to begin planning for their lives after they leave school. “S.T.E.P.” is an acronym for “Student Transition and Educational Planning.”
The NEXT S.T.E.P. curriculum contains 16 fully developed lessons and is organized into four major sections:
- Introductory material explaining the concepts underlying transition planning along with beginning efforts in self-exploration.
- Student self-evaluation.
- Student involvement in setting and achieving goals.
- Students sharing their goals and accomplishments at a culminating event.
As students work through the lessons, the goal is for students to become increasingly responsible for developing and implementing their own transition plans.
Professional technical education and school-to-work programs are still largely gender segregated, preparing young women to enter low wage traditionally female occupations. This gender gap in career opportunities is even wider for certain vulnerable populations such as minority women and women with disabilities. The purpose of the Career Connections project is to improve career options and post school employment outcomes for young women with disabilities by providing: (a) information about a variety of career choices, (b) access to career related learning and technical skill development, and (c) connections to employment and post secondary training programs.
The National Center on Secondary Education and Transition (NCSET) coordinates national resources, offers technical assistance, and disseminates information related to secondary education and transition for youth with disabilities in order to create opportunities for youth to achieve successful futures.NCSET launched its youth Web site, Youthhood.org, in the Spring of 2005. The Youthhood Web site is a dynamic, curriculum-based tool that can help young adults plan for life after high school. Although the site addresses youth directly, it is intended to be used as a curriculum within a classroom, community program, or in any setting where adults are working with youth to set goals and plan for the future. The Youthhood includes informational content, interactive activities, an online magazine, and a wealth of other opportunities for youth to connect what’s important to them to their learning experiences.
Hello! Hey, we’re glad you made it. This site is a place for you, your friends, and other teens. It’s a welcoming community for all youth and a place where all youth belong. We want you to be here. This is your place, your space.
Here you can start thinking about what you want to do with the rest of your life. This Web site was built to help you plan for the future. What will you do after high school? Will you work? Go to college? Live in a place of your own? By using this Web site, you can plan for your future right now!
Click here to learn more, or you can register now! If you’re already registered, log in (see top right) and get active!
Students with Disabilities Preparing for Post-secondary Education: Know Your Rights and Responsibilities by Office for Civil Rights.
More and more high school students with disabilities are planning to continue their education in post-secondary schools, including vocational and career schools, two- and four- year colleges, and universities. As a student with a disability, you need to be well informed about your rights and responsibilities as well as the responsibilities post-secondary schools have toward you. Being well informed will help ensure you have a full opportunity to enjoy the benefits of the post-secondary education experience without confusion or delay.
http://nichcy.org/schoolage/transitionadult
Life is full of transitions, and one of the more remarkable ones occurs when we get ready to leave high school and go out in the world as young adults. When the student has a disability, it’s especially helpful to plan ahead for that transition. In fact, IDEA requires it. Find out more about transition in Spanish | Sobre transición en español
http://www.ncwd-youth.info/guideposts
The transition from youth to adulthood is challenging for almost every young person. This is particularly true for young people with disabilities. Yet, it is in those crucial transition-age years that a young person’s future can be determined.
An extensive literature review of research, demonstration projects and effective practices — including lessons from youth development, quality education, and workforce development programs — suggests that all youth need:
- Access to high quality standards-based education regardless of the setting;
- Information about career options and exposure to the world of work; including structured internships;
- Opportunities to develop social, civic, and leadership skills;
- Strong connections to caring adults;
- Access to safe places to interact with their peers; and,
- Support services and specific accommodations to allow them to become independent adults.
The Guideposts can help steer families, institutions and youth themselves through the transition processes.
http://transitioncoalition.org/transition/
Transition Coalition provides online information, support, and professional development on topics related to the transition from school to adult life for youth with disabilities.
http://www.nsttac.org/
National Secondary Transition Technical Assistance Center ( NSTTAC ) is directed and staffed by the Special Education Program at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, in partnership with the Special Education Programs at Western Michigan University and Appalachian State University. In order to ensure full implementation of IDEA and help youth with disabilities and their families achieve desired post-school outcomes, NSTTAC will help states build capacity to support and improve transition planning, services, and outcomes for youth with disabilities and disseminate information and provide technical assistance on scientifically-based research practices with an emphasis on building and sustaining state-level infrastructures of support and district-level demonstrations of effective transition methods for youth with disabilities. The NSTTAC will provide efficient and effective large-scale implementation and sustainability of research-based secondary transition.
Since 2000, the HEATH Resource Center has served as a national clearinghouse on postsecondary education for individuals with disabilities, managed by The George Washington University Graduate School of Education and Human Resources .The HSC Foundation has partnered with the George Washington University to expand the content of this resource and to designate it as the official resource website of The HSC Foundation’s National Youth Transitions Center.
The HEATH Resource Center is a web-based clearinghouse that serves as an information exchange of educational resources, support services and opportunities. The HEATH Resource Center gathers, develops and disseminates information in the form of resource papers, fact sheets, website directories, newsletters, and resource materials.
AHEAD is a professional membership organization for those involved in developing and advocating for quality higher education of students with disabilities. AHEAD started in 1977, and since then, the organization has been working to promote equal opportunities for students with disabilities in higher education. The organization also offers professional development through conferences, workshops, and publications for those who teach students with disabilities in higher education. The site offers a wealth of transition resources for teachers, students, and families that can be beneficial to the transition planning process. The site gives website laws, assistive technology, and job opportunities. The site also lists annual conferences for those interested in attending.
http://www.alife4me.com/default.asp
The A Life 4 Me cyber community is for middle school aged kids with disabilities who are planning to graduate from high school with a special diploma or a certificate of program completion – not a standard or modified diploma — and for your parents and family members. It is a place where kids with disabilities can share things they are good at, find out more about the things they really like to do, and think about the things that are really important to them.
In this community, there are places that will help answer the question that a lot of adults ask kids
“What do you want to be when you grow up?”
What they are really asking is:
“What things are important to you?”
“What things do you like to do now?”
“What kind of work and play will you want to do after you graduate from high school?”
Kids may have to try a lot more new things before answering those questions.
Here you can travel around a cyber community (maybe one that looks like the one you live in) trying out places and things and you will never have to leave your house. While you travel you can learn new things about your child you may never have known like his likes and dislikes, things he is good at or not so good at, things he wants to do, to try, or to change. In other words you will be learning the type of information that can help you and your child plan his life or even just the next IEP.
http://www.dcdt.org
Division on Career Development and Transition, a division of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), is an organization whose membership promotes active engagement in transition activities for youth and adults with disabilities. The division works to improve the quality of and access to, career/vocational and transition services, increase the participation of education in career development and transition goals and to influence policies affecting career development and transition services for persons with disabilities.
http://www.nsttac.org/students_and_families/PYLNtransitiontoolkit09.pdf
The Pennsylvania Youth Leadership Network (PYLN) has created secondary transition toolkit to assist youth in their transition into the adult world. The best thing about the toolkit is that it was written and designed by youth with disabilities who are members of the Pennsylvania Youth Leadership Network (PYLN) for youth. It can also be used with families and professionals as a youth-friendly Toolkit for transition.
http://www.pepnet.org/default.asp
The Post-secondary Education Programs Network (PEPNet) website includes information from its four regional centers’ activities, and contains practical, informative resources that advance post-secondary educational opportunities for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
http://www.projectteams.org
Project TEAMS provides in-classroom training that expose students to strategies for identifying, communicating and achieving transition goals. The purpose of this website is to act as a central location for resources addressing Transition – Employment – Advocacy – Mentoring – Self Determination and to provide information regarding Project TEAMS.
http://english.disabilitylawlowdown.com/
Brought to you by nationally recognized leaders in the field of disability law, the Disability Law Lowdown Podcast delivers the latest in disability rights information every other week. You can subscribe for free and have shows automatically delivered, or you can listen to the show and read the transcripts from this site. The Lowdown is also offered in video ASL via Disability Law Lowdown YouTube Channel
Disability Law Lowdown 35 – Transition Part 1
Jacquie Brennan interviews Jean Ashmore from Rice University on helping students with disabilities make the transition from high school to college.
(Running time is 17:03, filesize is 15.6MB)
Listen to show: Disability Law Lowdown 35 – Transition Part 1
or
read the shownotes and transcript for show 35.
Disability Law Lowdown 36 – Transition Part 2
Part two of Jacquie Brennan’s interview with Jean Ashmore on the transition from high school to college for students with disabilities.
(Running time is 19:11, filesize is 17.6MB)
Listen to show: Disability Law Lowdown 36 – Transition Part 2
or
read the show notes and transcript for show 36.
Learning Disabilities Association of America (Success in College for Adults with Learning Disabilities)
http://www.ldanatl.org/pdf/college_success.pdf
This is a PDF file of a report put out by the LDAA, which shows the steps and concepts you need to address during transition from high school to college. I think the area marked “Tips for Success in College” would be most beneficial as students use the checklist to ensure success in college.
http://www.connectforkids.org/PYT_brief.pdf
On the MOVE: Helping Young Adults with Serious Mental Health Needs Transition into Adulthood presents findings and future directions from an initiative to develop and implement transition programs for adolescents with mental and emotional difficulties as they enter adulthood. Topics include the unique challenges of moving from adolescence to adulthood for adolescents and young adults diagnosed with a serious emotional disturbance or serious mental illness, matching services to the needs of adolescents and young adults, and the Transition to Independence Process Model.
http://www.transitiontocollege.net/
Information for students with intellectual disabilities is provided in this Internet resource. The site includes answers to frequently asked questions related to developing or expanding services for students with intellectual disabilities in college settings, and specific information on the two Post-secondary Education Research Center (PERC) project sites in Maryland and Connecticut.
http://www.handsandvoices.org/needs/transition.htm
Hands & Voices is a non-profit, parent-driven national organization dedicated to supporting families of children who are deaf or hard of hearing. This article describes how to plan for transition if you are a student who is deaf/hard of hearing.
