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There is an abundance of information regarding transition planning for students with disabilities available on the internet. The Transition Resource Tables contain frequently used low-cost/ no-cost web-based transition resources available to professionals, students with disabilities, and their families.

The National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth (NCWD/Youth) has released three new publications, including "By Youth, for Youth: Employment," "Transition Truths: An Overview of Transition Systems," and "Supporting Families of Students with Disabilities in Postsecondary Education: Learning from the Voices of Families." NCWD/Youth assists state and local workforce development systems to better serve all youth, including youth with disabilities and other disconnected youth, and is composed of partners with expertise in education, youth development, disability, employment, workforce development, and family issues.

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.

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.

The Transition Coalition provides FREE research-based online training for professionals and others involved in transition planning. These modules are developed using up-to-date research in transition, effective practices in professional development, and are tested by practitioners across the country.

Welcome to the website for the Center on Transition Innovations (CTI)! It is the vision of the Virginia Department of Education to create a centralized statewide resource for educators and other stakeholders in the transition of youth with disabilities. CTI will provide evidence-based resources and information along with emerging practices in the field. A cornerstone of this center is the research studies and demonstration projects conducted here in the Commonwealth. The results of this work will help shape the ongoing work of CTI.

Welcome to the website for the Center on Transition Innovations (CTI)! It is the vision of the Virginia Department of Education to create a centralized statewide resource for educators and other stakeholders in the transition of youth with disabilities. CTI will provide evidence-based resources and information along with emerging practices in the field. A cornerstone of this center is the research studies and demonstration projects conducted here in the Commonwealth. The results of this work will help shape the ongoing work of CTI.

"Supporting Strong Transitions for Youth with Disabilities Welcome to Tennessee's online home for training and resources on preparing students with disabilities for life after high school. Consider this the "blueprint" to building a comprehensive transition program for your students. Learn about the best practices and practical strategies for special educators, families, and other transition team members as you fill your toolbox with key tools for success. "

"The Transition Improvement Grant has designed a transition app to increase self-direction and self-advocacy for all Wisconsin youth in the transition planning process.  We are excited for youth, schools, families, and agencies to begin using this application! "

"WestEd's National Center for Systemic Improvement (NCSI) helps states transform their systems to improve outcomes for infants, toddlers, children and youth with disabilities. NCSI provides states with technical assistance to support their school districts and local early intervention service programs in improving education results and functional outcomes for children with disabilities."

The FCTD Family Information Guide to Assistive Technology and Transition Planning includes the following sections: We have included many website addresses throughout the guide. Whenever possible, we have listed the URL (the website address) that will take you to the precise page within an organization's website on which the relevant resource appears.

This website is very useful for families who are going through a time of transition and in need of assistive technology. The website is easy to follow and provides many links to the URL that will help assist someone who is interested. One thing that I thought was really interesting about this website is that it gives success stories and discussions for families in need to refer to. One other important factor about this website is that it has a link for a glossary of key transition terms. This will be helpful to families who are new to this process. As a special educator, this resource could come in handy when meeting with a family who has a child in middle or high school in need of transition services. I recommend this website to the family and explain to them how it is set up and what type of information is provided. If the family does not have internet access at home, I would give them an opportunity to explore the website at the school.

Posted on February 02, 2011 Print this entry "I started that summer day at the neighborhood Motel to begin my life as a working person. I was not ready to be accountable to the manager, or to my schedule that called for an arrival by 7:00 a.m. every morning". Don't know why that quote is pasted above but I do agree that this is a great resource. It is a very personal story and is something that anyone could relate to in the working world. This is a great resource to use with students entering the work force and can help me an an educator assist those students in the transition

I really enjoy the very personal nature of this article. It identifies ways we all felt about our first jobs and describes how students with severe disabilities should experience that as well. The article really made me think about my own experiences in the working world and how best to assist students in transitioning to work.

This article begins with a personal account of the author's first job and how that experience left him/her with such a feeling of accomplishment and responsibility. The article continues to describe how these experiences are just as important for students with significant disabilities. They gain more knowledge about life, and with a smooth, well-planned transition plan, they can achieve their goals. As a future special educator, this article gives insights to the transition process on a more personal level.  This article would be helpful to keep in mind how important this process is to the students, and what I can do to help them attain their goals. 

For those looking for information and resources about college and post-secondary options and accommodations Elizabeth Hamblet has a wonderful listing of resources and information with links on her website. http://www.ldadvisory.com/links Elizabeth is the author of the article in the January 2014 issue of Teaching Exceptional Children titled, "Nine Strategies to Improve College Transition Planning for Students With Disabilities ." You may also wish to read her book, which covers transition to college in depth - 7 Steps for Success: High School to College Transition Strategies for Students with Disabilities .

This toolkit has been developed by an ad hoc team comprised of a small representation of individuals from across the state working in Centers for Independent Living (CIL), Local Education Agencies (LEA) and Vocational Rehabilitation (VR). The goal was to create a resource tool to enhance collaboration in transition planning for young adults with disabilities. A special acknowledgement to members of these three organizations for the many valuable resources and links included in this toolkit.

"As indicated in the references at the end of this document, the Taxonomy 2.0 brings in the latest literature regarding predictors of post‐ school success, strategies to increase graduation and reduce dropout, school climate, and vocational rehabilitation services focused on fostering successful transition of youth with disabilities in college and careers."

Summary:
This web-article is from United Cerebral Palsy and is centered around transitioning from school to work and using assistive technology throughout. The article highlights some of the barriers associated with this transition. They talk about how often-times students transition from school to work and their assistive technology equipment does not follow them, or they are not taught how to utilize the technology for their jobs.The article also has a very useful list of suggestions for how to make this transition more successfull.

Professional Practice:
I think it is really easy for us to narrow our scope and only focus on students in school, or only at the age level that we are planning on working with. This article reminds us of some of the issues associated with transition that we may have not even begun to think about. Whenever anyone is working with students at the high school level they need to be thinking about how to make the transition to college or work as smooth as possible. This includes making plans for how to allow the student to keep using their assistive technology.

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.

Summary: This article outlines 5 steps that special educators can take to complete successful transition planning. These five steps are centered on the student and include including the student, self advocacy, self-determination, etc. Professional Practice: These 5 keys to success are essential. The keep the focus on the student and how to make the process work for them. By keeping these keys to success in mind we are really making the process student-centered.

I like how this is such an easy article to follow and read. The 5 steps act as a good checklist for any special educator.

Great article. It hits home on a lot of fronts. I think it is important to note that the very first step is student involvement. Students really need to come to the table and feel respected and contribute to their transition planning.

"This site has been put together by the Indiana Northeast Cadre of Transition Leaders and the Indiana Secondary Transition Resource Center. This is a �living� site that will be monitored and improved on a regular basis. New transition assessments may be added and additional sorting will take place in the future. If you have suggestions for the site or find links that need corrections, please click on the button below and share your thoughts with us. The goal is to continually improve upon the access and usability of the system."

"Life is full of transitions, and one of the more remarkable ones occurs when we get ready to leave high school and go out in the world as young adults. When the student has a disability, it's especially helpful to plan ahead for that transition. In fact, IDEA requires it."