1. Job Exploration Counseling

2. Work-Place Readiness Training

3. Self-Advocacy Instruction

4. Work Based Learning

5. Counseling on Post-Secondary Education

Disability disclosure is just one aspect of a person with a disability advocating for their needs

A student who has strong self-advocacy skills may feel more comfortable discussing the impact of their disability with an employer

Students will self-advocate what they need to be successful

Transition stakeholders can assist students in making a person-centered program by...

Providing classes and programs inside and outside of school that align with students’ future goals, personal strengths and interests, and family values

Facilitate meetings with advocates and professionals outside of school to build relationships and networks with others who can help after high school

Set up internships, job shadowing or work experiences that align with students’ goals and interests

Provide students with options outside of school, such as hobbies and volunteering, to encourage community involvement

What Can Person And Family Centered Program Design Do For You?

When a transition team supports a family, a student will have...

Academic Options

Participating in programs in high school and after graduation that help build skills for future employment.

Employment Options

Getting involved in different types of work experiences before graduation so students may determine which experiences align with their work styles and preferences and help them explore strengths they might not have known they had before.

Living Options

Creating a plan that will help students define what “home” means to them by exploring various living options and knowing how to apply for them.

Self-Determination

Assisting students in learning about their strengths, needs, priorities and personality will allow them to continue to make choices where they will move towards their goa

• Using person-centered planning to support students in establishing their own transition goals, including postsecondary education, career and independent living;

• Creating and maintaining a system that supports family involvement and empowers families to support the self-determination;

• Ensuring that students are actively involved in Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings that include teachers, families, vocational rehabilitation (VR) program counselors and other agency representatives as appropriate; and

• Engaging students to jointly plan their comprehensive, rigorous education programs, with appropriate conditions/accommodations for learning, and their VR transition and pre-employment transition services programs that ensure they have a successful pathway to independence and competitive integrated employment beyond high school.

• Developing Self-Determination Skills

  Self-determination activities are those that result in students with disabilities having the ability, opportunity, authority and support to:

  • Communicate and makes personal decisions;

  • Communicate choices and exercise control over the type and intensity of services, supports and other assistance they receive;

  • Control resources to obtain needed services, supports and other assistance;

  • Participate in, and contribute to, their communities; and

  • Advocate for themselves and others, develop leadership skills through training in self-advocacy and play a key role in their own futures.

How can barriers for family engagement be identified and removed?

How can transition teams welcome, encourage, and build family engagement in the transition process?

Are teams building family leadership opportunities and voice into the transition framework process?

Do family members know about their student’s goals and the classes and programs that they participate in?

Is the shared information given in a family friendly format and a variety of ways?

How can families prepare for meetings to discuss transition planning?

What community connections can be made with the family to help them be prepared and included?

What improvements can be made in the communication process with families?

What tools are teams using to accurately assess family perspectives and engagement?

The only directory of its kind, Think College Search features information on 328 postsecondary education programs for students with intellectual disability.

• Peer networks

• Peer support arrangements

• Stay-Play-Talk

• Recess-based approaches

• Strategies for students who use AAC

• Paraprofessional facilitation strategies

• Class-wide peer acceptance efforts

• Cooperative learning

• Peer partner programs