Parents
and Students
Tips For
Parents
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Students and their parents are the most important
part of Transition Planning. Parents know their children far better than the
teachers know their students. Students know their own needs and desires
far better than any one else. The abilities and needs of each student are the
central focus of what is written in the T-IEP. Daily lessons, class work,
community-based activities, and homework should reflect the goals and
objectives in the T-IEP. Students are encouraged to share their daily
school and community experiences with their parents (through conversation or
pictures). Parents are encouraged to involve their child in home and
community experiences, and communicate those experiences with the teacher.
Maintaining an open line of communication among the student, the parents,
teachers, and counselors is crucial in order for the student's abilities,
needs, and interests to be the center of transition
planning.
- Communicate with teachers.
Share your thoughts and ideas about the curriculum and school activities.
Let teachers know about your child's interests, strengths, weaknesses, and
desires. Write them notes about your child's weekend activities.
-Plan for your
child's next IEP meeting. Make a list of comments, questions, and
experiences. Attend the meeting, and share your thoughts and
concerns.
- Provide opportunities for your child to "work" at
home. Post a "Daily Chores List" for your child. For example: 1.
Make your bed. 2. Fill the dog's bowl with water. 3. Put dirty clothes in
hamper. Have your child keep track of the chores that were completed
(example: sticker chart). Provide a reward for work
completed.
- Explore the community with your child for fun things to
do: movies, library, park, pet store, YMCA, restaurants, etc.
-
Let your child help you plan meals. Have your child be involved in each
activity involved, from cutting and sorting coupons, to pushing the grocery
cart, to reading items on the list and locating those items, to helping "bag"
the groceries, to putting the canned goods in the pantry.
- Know your
rights.
- Do your research. There are many ways to locate
information on your child's disability, assistive technology, parent groups,
organizations, social and living, and employment opportunities for your
child.
Counselors & Agencies Continued
Florida Diagnostic & Learning Resource System (FDLRS) is a
network of 19 state and federally funded associate centers which provide support
services to educatiors, families of student with exceptionalities, and community
agencies throughout Florida. Centers are part of the public school system
and serve from 1 to 9 counties. Each center provides services in the 4
areas of Childfind, Human Resource Development, Parent services, and
Technology. FDLRS also includes 4 specialized centers that provide
services for specific populations statewide, including the Assistive Technology
Educational network, Florida Instructional Materials Center for the Visually
Impaired, Resource Materials Center for the Hearing Impaired, and the
Tech-Instructional Technology Training Resource
Unit.
Helpful Links
Council for Exceptional Children
Florida Department of Education
National Information Center for Children & Youth with
Disabilites
Clearinghouse for Professions in Special
Education
Special Education Resources on the Internet
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http://www.thearc.org
The Association of Retarded Citizens (ARC) is "the national
organization of and for people with mental retardation and related disabilities
and their families".
http://www.isc.rit.edu/~easi/
Equal Access to Software and Information (EASI) "Students and
professionals with disabilities have the same right to access information
technology as anyone else.
http://www.fddc.org Florida
Developmental Disabilities Council (FDDC) "guides development and
administration of services for people with Developmental Disabilities by
planning and funding research, innovations and programs to improve the quality
of their lives".
Teachers
Counselors & Agencies
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The vocation and the classroom teacher's
ultimate goal is for the student to make a successful transition from life as a
high-school student to a meaningful life as a family member, an employee, and a
citizen of the community. A teacher of students with mental retardation takes on
many responsibilities in the transition process. One of the responsibilities of
the teacher in transition planning is to assess the student. The teacher gains
information about each student through a variety of sources such as
communicating with the parents, communicating with the student, assessing
class-work, collaborating with other teachers (Speech/Language Pathologist,
Adaptive PE, Occupational therapist), and documenting observations. The
teacher is also responsible for the Transition Individual Education Plan.
AT-IEP must be written in order to set goals for each student. The T-IEP
goals and objectives address areas such as Communication, Daily Living, Social
and Leisure Skills, Community Experience, Functional Academic Skills, and
Employment Skills. The teacher plans his/her lessons according to
goals written in the T-IEP, and is responsible for the facilitation of learning
in the classroom, in the community, and at home. Teachers document the
student's progress through observations, checklists, work samples, charts,
information from the parents and student, and information from other teachers
involved with the student.
As a Vocational Rehabilitation counselor, I
will explain the procedures from referral system through the steps taken to the
follow up or closer of the case to the parents. Some language will be addressed,
so that if parents read information or hear such language they will know what
the language means. Also a copy of "Citizen's Handbook for the Rehabilitation
Act" and a referral application will be given to the parents as guides to
knowledge of the services provided by VR, the limitations of funding, the rights
of the client and parents, contracting out of services, client and/or
parent/guardian financial obligations, and other important and historical
information.
The role of the Guidance Counselor
is to help students make the best possible decisions about their
lives. They help students focus attention on their interests, abilities,
and needs in relation to their home, school and community. Guidance
Counselors also help students develop decision-making abilities that thay will
need to plan their education, choose an occupation, and solve personal
problems.
Developmental Services
is statewide system that provides community services to over 29,000
individuals. This population includes individuals with mental retardation,
cerebral palsy, autism, spina bifida and Prader-Willi syndrome as well as
children at risk of a developmental disability. In recent years, many
individuals with developmental disabilities have moved into supported or
independent living arrangements, have been able to work in meaningful jobs with
competitive wages, have become homeowners, and have become active members of
their communities.
Andrea Anderson Bacon
Camille Davidson
Larianne Stutts
Gladys Jones
Dave Meharg
Natalie Sessions
What is
Transition?
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The Mission of T.R.U.S.T. The
purpose of this web site is to provide
information for parents of students in
the Trainable and Educable Mentally
Handicapped (TMH and EMH) programs.
Our goal is to involve parents and
students in the transition planning
process by connecting them with teachers,
counselors, agencies, and other
community resources.
Transition is the process by which an individual
changes
roles from being a student to a productive adult who participates in
society.
The transition planning process should begin by the time the
student reaches
the age of 14. The student then begins developing
skills necessary to become
as self sufficient as possible in such areas as
social and personal
relationships, self-care and independent living. It
is also a goal that the
student gains employability skills and becomes
productive in the community.
Many people are involved in the transition
process. The transition plan is
centered around the needs and abilities
of the student, and is implemented by
teachers, parents, counselors,
community agencies, as well as the student.
