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Whose Future Is It Anyway? is a transition planning process emphasizing student preferences, needs and interests. The curriculum provides opportunities for students with disabilities to explore issues of self-awareness and acquire problem-solving, decision-making, goal-setting, and small-group communication skills. The outcome of this process is that students learn how to be meaningfully involved in their transition planning process. The Whose Future Is It Anyway? curriculum is based on the conviction that: 1) students who are involved in planning for their future will more likely be full participants in the planned educational activities resulting from that plan; 2) students of all abilities can learn the skills to be involved; and 3) students who believe that their voice will be heard will be more likely participate in the planning process and ongoing educational decisions."

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.

"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 is a great website to visit when helping a student begin planning for college. It offers video clip interviews, activities, and resources to help students (and their families) prepare for life in college. It begins by first getting students to think about their interests, getting students to think about their disability and self-advocacy in college, and finally, students then put together a plan that is enacted in high school in order to get into college.   This is an easy way to introduce college life to students with disabilities who do want pursue a postsecondary education. It is very straightforward and a good place to start, especially, since students will be able to hear what other students with disabilities have to say about college, and students initiate the steps in planning for college.

The purpose of this annotated bibliography is to provide practitioners with relevant research and resources regarding issues and strategies in transition planning with CLD students. The references are organized in the categories of "Issues in Transition Planning for CLD Youth" and "Strategies for Transition Planning for CLD Youth." Finally, a table of resources is provided as a quick reference tool.

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. 

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.

A new toolkit aimed at high school students and called "Kick Start Your ILP" has been released by the Office of Disability Employment Policy. An individualized learning plan (ILP) is both a document and a process that students, including students with disabilities, use to define and explore their career goals and post-secondary plans throughout high school in order to shape their decisions about courses and activities. "Kick Start Your ILP" includes an explanation of ILPs, a year by year checklist of steps to follow, and tips to pull it all together.

This site has a plethora of information about the transition process and how you can be successful in that process using assistive technology. It is broken into 5 sections that are written in a friendly-manner that is easy to follow, even if you are not familiar with the transition process or assistive technology.  I could see myself referring to this article for guidance when working in the transition stages of a students' education. It is helpful, like a textbook, but is not nearly as lengthy.

"FCTD Family Information Guide to Assistive Technology & Transition Planning This 50-page guide offers families information and resources to effectively prepare for and participate in periods of transition in their children's lives. In family-friendly language the guide discusses transition plans and the role of AT in them, offers checklists and suggestions. and provides a range of resources aimed at helping students make successful transitions to higher education, employment and independent living. The guide can be accessed online in both Spanish and English"

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.

Summary:
This article tells the story of a young girl with Cerebral Palsy and how assistive technology became part of her transition plan. It starts by explaining her high school experience, describing what the transition planning was like, and then closes with a description of how she is using the technology in high school.

Professional Practice:
This article is great for those who like examples. This article clearly depicts how a school successfully planned for this girl's transtition with assistive technology. This article helps us to focus on the big picture and how all of the pieces of the puzzle fit together. This resource can be a source of inspiration for how assistive technology can be used with different students.

This resource gives and excellent example of how assistive technology can support a student with disabilities with a transition plan.

Having articles that have real life stories or a personal touch are not only an easier read, they help make the connection. Great choice!

"The world of work has changed. A high school diploma alone no longer guarantees a decent living wage. A typical career path today does not necessarily follow the traditional course of high school, college, and long-term employment. Rather, according to the most recent available data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average worker today stays at each of his or her jobs for 4.4 years, with the workforce's youngest employees staying less than 3 years. That means that they will have 15 to 20 jobs over their working lives. One reality of today's workforce, however, that has remained the same is that youth need to develop skills to be employed. To be able to acquire these skills and effectively change jobs, and plan and manage multiple careers over one's life time, career development skills are important. The process by which youth get to know their strengths and interests, learn how different jobs connect with those interests, and build these career planning and management skills is called career development."

This article describes the need for parents to be equal partners in the transition programming of their disabled child. Even after a student has transitioned from high school, their parents often remain a very strong and important part of their life. The article explores reasons that some parents may be less inclined to participate in the transition planning for their child. The authors then go on to suggest ways include parents more in the process. Professional Practice: It is very easy for us educators to get frustrated when parents aren't as involved in important processes for their children such as IEP planning and Transition planning. This article does a good job a explaining the different reasons that parents might not be as involved. This article will remind me of the unique perspective that parents have, and will help me in my effort to get parents more involved.

Excellent choice on this article Krystin! I find that the role of parents in the transition processes is very important and I think that it would be beneficial for parents to read.

Nice article. I like that there is a resource that discusses advocacy for the students. I feel that much of the time we talk about self-advocacy, which is extremely important, but I feel that it is equally important to have family support and involvement.

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

This article is short, but sweet. It discusses the importance of proper transition planning and the laws that are involved. It also talks about how assistive technology is necessary to enable individuals to communicate and receive the accommodations they need.  This article is helpful to brush up on the laws of the IDEA and how they play an important role in the transition process. 

This is a great article to brush up on IDEA like you said. All those laws and regulations can be to much at times and it is always good to have a resource nearby to double check yourself.

This article defines transition which he outlines that it is very different than change. Transition is the process of people letting go of the way things used to be. Letting go of their personal connections to the change. This article shines a new light on the word transition. It makes it very clear that transition is a process and to aide in the process we can plan for a transition. As a future teacher I plan to use transition planning not just in the older grades but the primary grades. Transition can be hard for so many kids and as an educator it will be my job to help them transition smoothly. This will be through teaching them coping strategies, and preparing them for what the change will be.

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."

"This Module will help users to better understand the benefits of student-centered transition planning, identify ways to involve students in collecting assessment information and developing goals, and be able to prepare students to actively participate in their own IEP meetings (est. completion time: 2 hours)."