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This website resource provides transition resources for parents, teachers and professionals. Throughout the website, there are headings for specific disabilities such as ADHD, autism and visual impairment. Each of these disabilities is provided with a brief summary and link which discusses success stories, suggestions and tips about transitions with those particular disabilities. The website is broken down into grade level options which make the search more specific. At the top of the page, there are headings related to worksheets, videos and colleges. This website will be useful to any student at any age that is transitioning either into a higher grade or new school. It will be important for parents of children who are going through the transition process to check out this website and read about what parents can do to help. I would highly recommend this to families who I speak to about this process.

I like how this article discusses success stories instead of negative views. The suggestions and tips for each disability is helpful to. What i really like is how it is broken up into grade levels so that it is easy to find what you need.

This is a great article, full of many resources, and is very easy to follow. I liked how for the student section it broke it down and from why students should be involved their IEP meetings and transition services, to providing students with resources to see about what to do after high school. Very user friendly and I would direct my students to this site.

Home site for the Down Syndrome Research Foundation.

This document is an overview of a module that discusses how to support the transition process of individuals that use Assistive Technology. It has slides from a presentation that review the transition process, set up for someone who would be facilitating a workshop. The page is helpful because it breaks down the transition process, which is something that can be used as a refresher for those of us who are special educators in the lower grades that do not deal with transitions. The page also discusses how assistive technology is needed for individuals, and when it is appropriate to include in the transition process. I feel that I could refer to this site, although the set-up is strange, for guidance during my career.

The ATTO: Assistive Technology Resources website offers resources about assistive technology. There are six categories that the information is broken down into: Government, Education, Organizations, AT Products, Web Design, and AT Guides. It is a very user-friendly website and offers families, students, and educators a wealth of information about the latest news and uses of assistive technology. As a special educator I am particularly interested in assistive technology in the schools. Clicking on the Education link it takes you to a page that offers curriculum design for teachers and parents on using assistive technology in the classroom, as well as how to provide educational activities at home to encourage self-determination with children and adults with special learning needs. I could definitely use this when designing unit plans in the classroom for my students.

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."

Educational software has been around for over 30 years now. In that time we have progressed from graphics that were just made by letters and numbers to programs now with rich graphics and that can really measure student progress in a multitude of areas. My current district has made a big push the last several years to move all software possible to online software. We are now down to just a few titles that are CD/DVD based. These are mostly in the areas of music, art, and special education due to the size of the programs. Below I answer some of the questions that I get from educational administrators:

This article , or really is a book, is great for getting the most up-to-date, comprehensive information on facilitating transitions for young people with mild, moderate, or severe disabilities. The book includes cutting-edge research, new statistics and legislation, and timely new chapters on: inclusion in schools and in the community; postsecondary education; autism spectrum disorders; high-stakes testing and accountability; assistive technology; customized employment; Social Security benefits and work; incentives; and self-determination. It is broken down into the following sections to make it easy to find what you need his book contains the following sections: (1) Transition Planning; (2) Facilitating and Supporting Transition; (3) Work and Life in the Community; and (4) Designing and Implementing Individualized Transition Plans. It is really a one stop shop for transition strategies. I find this book to be a great resource for any professional working with transition aged students. It has all the basics and more. I would invest in this book if working with transition ages students because it would be a great reference to have. I personally like having my text books as a back up in case I do forget something or need to use them.

Hi Andrea---Great resource, assistive technology helps to support growth in a student's self-determination....please tag all of your technology resources as mcst-assistive-tech. Looking forward to your summary and written connection to transition.

This article reminds people that children and people with disabilities are people too. They can participate just like anyone else they just need tools to help them succeed. Through technology we can help people with disabilities feel more independent and empowered. This a great article and connection to resources for my upcoming career in special education. Not only does the article offer some great ideas but also who/where you could contact to learn more.

Great posts Andrea....can you make sure to tag mcst-Assistive-tech. Thanks

AT technology helps children with many disabilities. This article focuses on children with learning disabilities. Through AT children can focus on and celebrate their strengths. AT technology helps them "bypass" their challenges. AT can assist in all areas of school and life. Reading, Writing, Math, Organization, Etc... There are so many ways to assist students with AT such as alternative key boards, audio books, electronic worksheets, calculators that verbalize what you are typing, etc... I knew about some of these items but I have not had the oppurtunitity to work with any of them. At least now i have some background knowledge so if I ever need them or have the oppurtunitity to implement them into my classroom I will at least know a little. I also have this great resource to go to now if the situtation arises where I am looking for answers on AT.

This article outlines the most common devices used for motor disabilites such as mouth wand, head wand, single switch access, sip and puff switch, oversized ball tracking mouse, adaptive keyboard, eye tracking, and voice recognition software. These devices help people with motor disabilities be successful in the workplace, home, school, etc... This a great tool to use as a resource to show people with motor disabilities that yes it is challenging for you but there are devices that can help you become more independent. I plan to use this for my general background knowledge and if i ever need to use as a resource again for a student i know where to find it. It also has information on where i can get more information on AT.