Transition Services Information for Parents
Overview of Transition Services
Why you need to be informed and what important role Transition Services plays in your child’s life.
There are two common “crises” in the lives of children with disabilities and their families. The first turning point is when they enter the Special Education System. The second is when they leave it. This area on Transition Services-Information for Parents is geared towards helping this population as they begin to prepare to leave the world of special education. In order to make a successful transition from the context of secondary school to the next phase; either further schooling or work, educators, you will need to prepare for issues that need to be addressed well in advance. You will need to become knowledgeable about resources at the local, state and federal level that are available during the transition phase of special education in order to assist your child in this transition process.
In the transition process there are issues that are global; common to all. However, there is also a great variety of specific personal needs which depend upon the personality, interests and nature and severity of the disability of your child.
This area of NAPCSE has been developed to help you through the very difficult and confusing process of transitioning your child from school to adulthood. The process of transition and the services that are available have only recently been developed and utilized by school districts. The federal and individual state laws governing this requirement are also new and always changing. Schools and institutions must now provide transitional IEP’s and services for these students and their families. However, many parents as well as teachers in special education and regular education are unaware or uninformed about procedures, rights, school responsibilities , organizations, present laws, responsibilities and available support services within the school, community, city , state and government agencies.
While many local school districts offer some pamphlets or short manuals on transition, they only focus on local responsibilities and services. The purpose of this entire section from NAPCSE will be to provide you with a enormous reference source that will include procedures, laws, school responsibilities, organizations, forms, legal requirements, your responsibilities, state and government agencies, and anything else that a would ever need to help ease you and your child through this process.
Teachers and parents of disabled students faces a very difficult task when it comes to trying to maneuver through all the red tape, options, forms etc. that are involved in the special education process. Nowhere is that procedure more intense and important than in the transition of disabled children to adulthood. Faced with a lack of information and responsibilities that they did not have to face for 21 years, teachers and parents sometimes tend to become very anxious about what will occur when their students with disabilities leave the safety of their local school. The transition process first begins when the student with a disability reaches 13 or 14 years of age and continues through 21 if necessary. Parents need the assistance of special education teachers who are aware of transition needs for students every step of the way and teachers need to be ready to help students and parents with the most up-to-date options possible. This section of NAPCSE will fill that void.
Become a member of NAPCSE and read much more on this topic.
