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The laws affecting college students with disabilities and the process of obtaining assistive technology in college are completely different from the K-12 world. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is not in effect in higher education. Summary: This article is located on the webiste for the University of New Jersey. The article describes how IEPs are not in effect in college and that it is the student's repsonsibility to request the assistance that they need. The article also describes that although college's are required to provide assistive technology for students, they are not required to provide the most sophisticated technology available. Professional Practice: In order to prepare our students for college, we need to understand what services college provides. This article helps us to see how asstitive technology is addressed at the college level. We can use this knowledge to teach students how to ask for the assitance that they need. We can also work with the students to identify what services their particular college may provide and help them to get in contact with the neccessary people.

This article was written by Amy G. Dell from The College of New Jersey. It discusses the difference between IEP's and assistive technology in the K-12 world versus the college world, and the laws that surround them. Dell states that "Colleges have no legal responsibility to identify students with disabilities or involve parents in decision making. Parents are often surprised to learn that there are no IEP's in college." Instead of an IEP, the law that protects students with disabilities is a civil rights law. The article continues by discussing reasonable accommodations that students with disabilities can receive in college and how to obtain them. If I were a special educator working on transition and career development, I would use this information to educate my students about the difference between K-12 school and college. I would teach them the difference between having an IEP and using the civil rights law in college. The student needs to learn that they must advocate for themselves in college to receive the academic assistance to help them succeed.

"In order to help you change the way your students learn, this course will expand your knowledge related to learning differences, provide actionable strategies to impact the learning experience of your students, and cultivate positive habits of mind. At the end of this course, you will have:  Deepened your own understanding of learning differences and the related constructs of motivation, executive function, and working memory. Explored relevant strategies for supporting students with learning differences. Applied strategies in your classroom and provided a more personalized learning experience for all of your students. "

"Please be aware when you adapt these materials (i.e., expand, reorder, translate into a different language, rephrase individual items, apply to different populations, or implement different data collection methods), you will need to conduct a pilot test of your adaptations and re-evaluate the reliability and validity of the new versions of the materials."

"The Institute on Disability is pursuing the expansion and further development of Assistive Technology (AT) services and training in the state of New Hampshire. Assistive Technology is integral to the daily lives of many New Hampshire residents. Awareness of and the ability to try assistive technology devices are important aspects to making a decision whether a particular technology is "the right fit." The IOD is actively involved in partnerships on campus, throughout the state, and on a national level to promote access to assistive technology services." This site is full of great information about assistive technology. The resources tab is where you want to direct most of your attention as many of the documents and resources that are identified are very practical and geared toward use by special education service providers, students, and parents. Of particular interest to schools is instructions for how to create a low cost case for the iPad for use in schools. Check it out! Application to Transition Practice The information provided on this site will help to support transition practices in the classroom (direct teaching of transition skills), in work-based learning experiences, and living. There are many suggestions for how to physically adapt assistive technology hardware to meet an individual's need in the workplace. Also, in the resources there is a resource list of "reviewed" iPad apps for use to assist individuals with disabilities to become more independent is environments both within and outside the classroom. For example, the dragon app is free and it can be used to dictate and transcribe text. Various apps used for study skills and time management and organization could be very useful for students with LD and ADD in a variety of environments. It would be important to introduce individuals to some of these apps while they are in high school so they can learn about how they might help them in college, daily living, or employment settings.

The Institute on Disability is part of the University Center for Excellence on Disability at the University of New Hampshire. "The Institute on Disability is pursuing the expansion and further development of Assistive Technology (AT) services and training in the state of New Hampshire. " This department at the University of New Hampshire provides information about disability services that are provided for their current students as well as information concerning training programs for professionals. Professionals can register to attend the assistive technology workshops to learn about the newest programs that will help students with disabilities in their education. As a special educator, I would use this website to attend workshops on the most current assistive technology resources. This would keep my knowledge up to date and give me the opportunity to experience new and different programs. Then, when I have new students who may need different assistive technology both in high school and transitioning to college, I will be better equipped to tech them how to use the program.

This website provides very helpful information for families regarding the different assistive technology systems that are available to children with disabilities. It provides resource reviews about hundreds of technology resources that are available to help families chose the one that works best for their student. It also provides a search engine based on state to help families locate organizations in their area who work with students with certain disabilities. This site has a link to discussion forums where families can talk and connect with others who have students with similar disabilities. The Family Center on Technology and Disability has created this site to be helpful and informative for families. It is very easy to navigate and user friendly. As a special educator, I would use this website as a way to help families connect with organizations and other families in the area who have students with similar disabilities. Disabilities can be very challenging not only for the student but also for the families who are supporting them. Having someone else to talk to about any possible struggles they may be having and having someone else to relate to can be very helpful.

This website provides many different links about different types of assistance technology. Each link has a short summary about the tool which gives a person in need of assistance an idea if the type of technology is necessary or not. Each resource provides a wide range of topics such as introductory fact sheets and CEU's for practitioners and educators. This resource is also important for families who are new to the transition phase of a child's life. These tools can support children who are very young as well which means it can provide assistance to a wide range of families.

"Knowing where to begin and how to proceed can be daunting though. We're here to help. Funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs, the Family Center on Technology and Disability provides a wide range of resources on assistive technology, from introductory fact sheets and training materials to in-depth discussion of best practices and emerging research. Try setting aside 30 minutes a day to review an FCTD resource. Before you know it, you'll know a lot more about assistive technology and the ways in which it can improve the lives of the children and youth with disabilities. Of course, we're here for your just-in-time information needs as well. We hope you'll visit our site often!"

Summary: This PDF document is in the form of a book which serves as a guide for professionals working on generating transition plans. The guide progresses through tips for planning for employment, education, independent living, etc. , and also features informal assessments for each. The guide closes with examples of letters to parents or guardians about transition planning, as well as questionaires to assess learning styles. Professional Practice: This guide is a "one stop shop" for those who are looking for resources for writing a transition plan for a student. It features a variety of different questions to guide the creation of this important document. As I work with students of transition age, I could see myself using this booklet regularly to guide my process.

Awesome resource! Transition plans are so important and this resource is really helpful when it comes to creating them.

This is a great resource. I liked how it was broken out by the ages so you can see how relevant transition services are at the different stages. It's helpful to see/consider things you might not have thought of for a plan. It will be very useful when creating transition plans for middle and school kids.

This resource is a website called Star Center which consists of a Learning Lab Service made up of different sections such as; phonics, fluency, comprehension, math skills and social skills building. There are other headings too for example; Literary Services and PlayAttention which is where students learn the skills to survive and thrive in the classroom or workplace. There are also links which are easy to navigate to that offer job opportunities, success stories as well as an online store. This website could be useful a special educator because if offers skills which can be helpful for student who are interested in entering the workplace in the future. It is important for students to be aware of the skills and knowledge required for a particular job. This resource can be helpful in ensuring the students are successful in the future.

I found this website to be very interesting and could potentially be very beneficial to people in need of assistance. Not only does this website provide a list of different assistive technology tools, but it also gives links to tutorials about how to use the product and accessibility features. Some examples of assistive technology products are wands and joysticks, alternative keyboards, touch screens, braille displays and screen readers. These products can be useful for at home use as well as at school. There are also news articles about each product to let a person know what other companies have said about that particular product. I can see myself using this resource in my special education career by researching these products to see if it could assist one of the students I work with. By providing one of these resources to a student with a disability, it could make their life much easier either at school, home or both. There is a link on the website that helps a person identify which tool is the right fit for you. I could use this to help identify which one would best assist the students I work with.

This resource provides assistive technology training and help using a computer. Each topic has a link connected which gives a few paragraphs describing the area of interest. There are more links provided after you click on "assistive technology training" or "help using a computer". Some of these links are occupational therapy, youth services, scholarship& award programs and social services. Since there are so many topics covered on this website, it can assist many different families and individuals in need of a variety of support services. This resource could be useful in my life as a special educator by allowing secondary students to explore it and learn step by step how to use a computer if they don't know how to already. It can also be useful to parent who are in need of special services for their families. Many students are not aware of the services that are available to assist them, therefore, by reviewing this website, they can become more aware.

This online resource begins by explaining Indicator 13 and 14 which is important because many parents and students are unfamiliar with the term. The opening page also gives families an overview of agencies that specialize in special education transition services. There are several links that provide important information that can be very useful to families in this situation. In my opinion, this website is full of wonderful information and at times seems a bit overwhelming. Some of these important areas are; occupational therapy, early childhood, funding, physical therapy and parent partnerships. I would use this resource as a guide to parents and teachers who are in the process of transitioning a student/child to middle or high school. I would have a meeting with the student and parents to discuss the transition process and ask the parents to view the website to that they have an understanding about the different agencies involved to help.

"Transition services are intended to prepare students to make the transition from the world of school to the world of adulthood. In planning what type of transition services a student needs to prepare for adulthood, the IEP team must first consider areas such as vocational training, community employment and post secondary education for the student. If the IEP team thinks that independent living and community participation are appropriate for a student then these areas should also be considered." This website is from the State of Vermont Department of Education. The website has an overview of transition planning and what to do. There are many other great links on the site as well. This is a terrific resource for anyone who will be working in Vermont. The laws are different in each state so it is good for those of us who are certified in NH and are planning to head to Vermont in the future.

This video shows you step by step a word document that someone created for a transition plan. I found many PDF versions but did not know how to share them so I found this youtube source. It is great for special educators who need to find a template or a different version because theirs may not work for every student. I would use this in the future when working with transition ages students.

This is a great youtube video. I would definitely use it as a refresher when I needed it, before working with high school students. It's helpful to have someone narrating the steps and reasons for each one.

Career portfolios are the way to go! I think every student should have one. Steve

How can educators align transition goals with standards-based education? Addressing the individual needs of students with disabilities and successfully meeting academic standards for all students is challenging. Therefore, it is critical that innovative curricula emerge that combine standards-based academics with transition planning to facilitate access to general education, including multiple-outcome measures and learning supports (Kochhar-Bryant & Bassett, 2002). This website is all about enhancing transition outcomes by using technology. The Ohio State University developed a standards-driven computer-based curriculum for students with disabilities in grade 8-10. They emphasized 3 skills: reading competencies, information literacy skills, and career planning. This would be great for a special educator to read and adopt the standards that OSU developed. It is interesting to see what different states are doing in the field as we at times tend to stay in our own little bubbles.

Description: The Agrability Project offers assistive technology and resources to farmers, their families and their communities, which allows agricultural workers with disabilities to be successful and live independently.  Those eligible for services may have blindness, deafness, developmental disabilities, cerebral palsy, amputations, arthritis, stroke, or spinal cord injuries. The Agrability Project works with groups like 4-H clubs to encouraged students to participate in making modifications to farms, and eliminating accessibility barriers, etc. It currently serves 24 states.From the Home Page, if you click on "Communities of Interest" it will list different groups that discuss the latest issues about disability in agriculture. Topics include: Arthritis and Agriculture, Assistive Technology, Ergonomics, Mental/Behavior Health, Peer Support, and Vocational Rehabilitation. From the Resources Page you can click on "Youth" and be taken to a page that offers lesson plans about assistive technology and Inclusive 4-H resource materials. As a special educator it is important to be able to think "outside-the-box" sometimes when it comes to helping a student meet their goal. Knowing the area that we live in and the interests of my students, there is definitely a pull to the agriculture industry. This website is a good resource to use when trying to assist the students with this particular career interest in mind for the future.

"The only three true job interview questions are: 1. Can you do the job? 2. Will you love the job? 3. Can we tolerate working with you? That's it. Those three. Think back, every question you've ever posed to others or had asked of you in a job interview is a subset of a deeper in-depth follow-up to one of these three key questions. Each question potentially may be asked using different words, but every question, however it is phrased, is just a variation on one of these topics: Strengths, Motivation, and Fit."

By knowing these three job interview questions we can be better prepare our students to recognize and answer them. As part of our transition preparation we should prepare students to successfully answer these three questions.

Learning what your college has to offer is so important! Keene State has wonderful resources but not all colleges do. Students really need to do their research to be sure they are getting what they need and take their education into their own hands.

It is crucial to know what your college offers! Learning this prior to starting school is so incrediably important and will help the student be successful in school. Schools have so much to offer typically you just have to seek it out.

This is great for students who are planning on going to college to read. I know of some students who don't even want to research/contact any colleges regarding assistive technology or other assistance they might be able to provide. I hope that students do consider what resources are available at the school of their choice and that they've developed the self-advocacy confidence to seek out help when they need it.

Nice article Amanda! I like that this site provides ample information in short chunks and each chunk has another resource attached to it. I think it is very helpful

I really enjoyed this article. It is very easy to navigate through and will be very helpful in the teaching profession.

This website resource covers ages from 0-22 as a transition into adulthood which I honestly thing everyone could use help with, not just individuals with disabilities. There are 3 different links to help with transition; The basics of Student Involvement, Person-Centered Planning and Materials for Students. As you scroll down the website, each category gives a brief summary and a link for more information/agencies that can be helpful. There is also related information which discusses and IEP, how a disability is defined and the health care transition for youth with special care needs. This website would be important to use with a student. They would be able to research about transition under their own age at the link at the top of the page. After all, there is a quote on the home page saying ,"there's a very simple and common sense reason why IDEA 2004 requires that students with disabilities be invited to attend every IEP meeting where postsecondary transition goals will be considered: It's their lives."

Applicable laws, required documentation, parental role etc for each group