Introduction

Transition

Developing Job Skills

Supported Employment

Supported Living

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We all go through many transitions in life. From leaving our home to go to our very first day of school, to leaving home to live on our own for the first time, making transitions is an ongoing part of life. You are likely facing one of your most important transitions as you near the end of your high school career and prepare to move on to bigger things! It is no different for students with disabilities. One of the main concerns of the public schools is to prepare students with disabilities for life after high school. There are several things schools can do to promote their students’ successful transition. As a peer tutor, you may very well be involved in some of these things.

Providing transition goals in the Individualized Education Program (IEP): In addition to teaching academic skills, schools should provide education programs that teach such functional skills as daily living skills, and socialization skills. As students with disabilities get older, they should have written goals and objectives that relate to vocational education and preparation, and community living. These written objectives should be a part of the student’s IEP.

Providing access to integrated settings: Students with disabilities generally benefit greatly when working and/or learning with their peers without disabilities. Therefore, as students with disabilities prepare for life after high school, it is important for them to be involved in general education classrooms, and participate in activities in community settings. There has been quite a bit of research that shows students with disabilities are more likely to acquire new skills, and retain those skills, if those skills are learned in an integrated setting—especially in settings where those skills are most likely to be needed.

Providing the opportunity to participate in vocational education programs: Vocational education programs are a wonderful way to provide job training for a variety of occupations. This can help prepare students for employment after high school. It may also be a way to access more opportunities so that employment is not limited to a small selection of low skill jobs.

Providing training at employment sites: There is no better way to develop actual job skills and learn appropriate social and work behaviors than by being in an actual work setting and interacting with the co-workers. Arranging for real-life work experience while a student is still in school is an excellent method of training. And, these experiences can help students decide what they might like to do once they graduate.

Providing paid work experience: Some research has shown that if students with disabilities are employed in competitively paying jobs (that is, jobs that pay the same amount they would pay a person without disabilities), while they are still in school, those students are more likely to remain employed after graduating. Supervised full or part-time jobs after school, or in the summer, can help a student with disabilities prepare for employment after school.

Incorporating job seeking skills in the curriculum: The abilities to seek and obtain employment are obviously important skills to have if you want to have a job. While students are still in school they can be learning these skills. Schools should offer instruction and practice in the skills that are necessary in order to obtain a job.

So far we have focused mainly on employment. But the transition from high school to the “real world” involves other stuff too. For example, living arrangements. Just as you will make decisions on where you will live and who you will live with after high school, your peers with disabilities face the same questions. Depending on the severity of the disability involved, a person may stay at home with his or her parents, live in a group setting, or rent his or her own apartment. Just as it is for you, there are many options! As you continue through this unit you will come across an entire section on residential options for people with disabilities.

So in a nutshell, transition is a lot of things. It’s change. It’s movement. It’s about facing new things. It’s turning over a new leaf. Students with disabilities need to think about all of the same things that you do as you plan for your transition from high school to that next step. The difference is that some students with disabilities may need more supports than you do and they may need to work with community service providers (such as vocational rehabilitation, or supported employment agencies) to assist them in reaching their goals. Whatever the means are of making as smooth a transition as possible (for both you and your peers with disabilities), moving from high school onto bigger things is a big and exciting step—for everyone!

Next section: Developing Job Skills