Chapter 9: Getting Older

Begin Early

Although the process of planning for life after high school officially begins at the age of 14, there are activities that you and your child can do at any age to help prepare for the shift to adult life in the community. Offer your child opportunities to make choices and decisions. Suggest that they participate in household chores or manage their allowance. Initiate discussions about their hopes and dreams for the future, and encourage them to participate in their Pupil Evaluation Team (PET) meetings at an early age.

FMI: See TRANSITION CHECKLIST, pages 9.WS.3 - 9.WS.4.

Formal Transition planning begins at the age of 14 or earlier if the PET determines that early planning is necessary. The purpose of planning at age 14 & 15 is to ensure that your child's selection of classes relates to their long-term goals. This might include participation in classes that address daily living skills, advanced-placement courses or a vocational education program. The Transition statement in the IEP should reflect these PET decisions.

The first step is to talk with your child. Answers to questions such as, "Do you want to go to college after high school?” or "What kind of job do you want to have and what skills will you need?” will help guide discussions about courses and activities for high school. It will also help identify the supports that will be needed to make it work.

It is equally important to hear from your child that they are unsure about what they want to do. This may indicate to the PET that they will need to implement activities (through both school and the family) that will help your child identify their interests and skills and explore how those might relate to possible career options. For example, guidance counselors can assist your child with interest inventories or arrange for vocational aptitude testing. As a parent, you might want to think about setting up some job shadowing opportunities for your child.

FMI: See QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER WHEN PLANNING FOR LIFE AFTER HIGH SCHOOL, pages 9.WS.1 - 9.WS.2.

Beginning at the age of 16 (or earlier, if appropriate), the Transition Plan becomes more refined. The Individual Educational Program (IEP) needs to focus on the inclusion of educational goals and objectives that are directly related to your child's individual needs and preferences for life after high school. Transition goals within the IEP should also identify how related activities will be incorporated into the general curriculum.

Maine State Education Regulations (MSER) 2.31, 10.21, and 5.13 indicate that the IEP must include a statement of needed Transition Services for the student, based on a coordinated set of activities, which shall include:

• Instruction
• Special education services
• Supportive Services
• Community experiences
• Development of employment and other post-school adult living objectives and, if appropriate,
• Acquisition of daily living skills and functional vocational evaluation

The PET needs to remember that the areas of focus will differ, depending on your child's unique needs and their plans for the future. For example, students who plan to go on to post secondary educational opportunities will need to be kept aware of the steps necessary to accomplish this. Juniors in high school generally take Pre-Scholastic Aptitude Tests (PSAT's) and any necessary accommodations have to be requested in writing by specific deadlines. The same is true for seniors who take Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SAT's).

FMI: See MODIFICATIONS & ACCOMMODATIONS, pages 6.S.4 - 6.S.7.

If the student's goal is to live in the community, with or without supports, or to get a job, the PET may need to explore what agencies and services are available to help achieve those goals. When your child reaches the age of 16 (or younger, if deemed appropriate by the PET) the school is responsible for identifying representatives from other appropriate agencies that might provide support after high school and include them in the planning process.

State and community provider agencies are required to have a designated representative involved in the transition planning process. However, the reality is that some agencies may not have sufficient staff to attend all the meetings they are invited to. Many schools have found that the best way to include representatives from outside agencies in the Transition Planning process is to give them plenty of notice before meetings. Parents and teachers might also find it helpful to meet with agency representatives at another time to gather information about their services and ask for suggestions regarding services for the individual student.

Although the school is responsible for identifying appropriate adult agencies and making linkages, ensuring that these connections have been made is an essential activity for you as a parent to do as well. Follow up on the recommendations of the PET by becoming familiar with adult support agencies and services in the community. Once appropriate services have been identified, have your child (with your support) apply for those services.

FMI: See Chapter 12 - RESOURCE NUMBERS to contact any Maine Committee on Transition Regional Site.

It is important to understand that many agencies have long waiting lists. Even if your child does not need services now, it is better to apply and not need them when the time comes, than to wish that you had applied and find out that it will be several years before a needed service is available.

“Agency responsibilities for transition services - In the case where another agency other than the school administrative unit responsible for the student’s education, fails to provide agreed upon transition services contained in the IEP of a student with a disability, the school administrative unit shall reconvene the Pupil Evaluation Team, identify alternative strategies to meet the transition objectives and, if necessary, revise the student’s IEP. Nothing in these rules relieves the other agency, including the Maine Department of Human Services, The Department of Behavioral and Developmenta Services, the Maine Department of Labor or the Bureau of Rehabilitation, of the responsibility to provide or pay for any transition services that the agency would otherwise provide to students with disabilities who meet the eligibility criteria of that agency." (MSER, Chapter 101, Section 5.13B, p. 26)