Transition by Neal Lieberman

Hi everybody, my name is Neil Lieberman

and this uh discussion is on transition, which is one of my passions.

And you can see to the side of me here, the direction gonna take.

I'm going to start with what is transition,

then go into court cases. Impacting transition and then of course idea

And then research to policy,

policy to research and then scholarly research brought forth by policy now 4,

5 and six here.

Um,

there's kind of a mix.

So

just keep that in mind

and then we'll look at the changes in the laws

and then hope and references.

So

at this point we will go ahead and start with what is transition.

So

transition

is really dependent on a theory or on theory. We think of it as any type of

change from one thing into another.

So

when we use that

thought,

it can be vertical, it can be horizontal. It can even be circular.

So some of the ways people think about it

or by age, years of schooling

thought processing

actions,

live life events,

groups of age.

And we said live events, which I suppose could be one as well.

Maybe you went to concerts

and you measure your transitions by that.

But anyway, I wanted you to think about

how you perceive transitions in your own life

when you think of your own transitions,

Are you thinking about groups of age when you

changed age or when you changed grades or it might

be even bigger when you graduated high school when

you graduated college or you might have minuscule steps,

it's however you think about it.

So

what I'm trying to express here is that transition

is big.

It covers this

massive,

I guess, vast

amount

from birth

and on

basically. So

this module

is not

long enough for large enough to cover

transition from birth all the way through,

even all the way through through uh secondary school.

So we're going to focus just on secondary through post secondary transition.

I just wanted everyone to be aware that transitions occur in

all sorts of ways and in all sorts of times.

All right. So let's look at court cases that have impacted transition.

Well,

I'm guessing you probably know these court cases without even looking at them,

but we'll pull them up here.

So

The first one of course is the Board of Education Verse Rally in 1982.

And while transition wasn't a major component in this area, it did provide

faith and definition for faith. And so

it was expected that students with disabilities are

going to be provided or we're going to be

provided the same amount of education for the same

type of education as there appears without disabilities.

So, in essence, that would include

whatever was happening with their peers after graduation and the

same things with transitioning from from each piece in school.

Unfortunately, that didn't happen and we're aware of that.

What happened was the continuance of waiting for

students with disabilities to drop out of school

and the allowance

um of

de Minimus or the bare minimum,

which was accepted

because I guess people didn't really think that people with disabilities would be

productive members of society. And school is just kind of a place where

they were put.

So eventually that led us to Andrew v. Douglas County School District in 2017.

That is a huge gap in years. I would say

that

brought forth much

bigger change in the area of transition

because now

school districts could no longer rely on De Minimus.

They had to do programs that were forced or that were expected

to have a beneficial outcome and they were based on the individual.

So transition

is also based on an individual

and

the beneficial outcome

would be

becoming a productive

member of society after high school graduation. Whatever that meant,

it could mean working, it could mean going to college

vocational training.

So there are quite a few possibilities, but it also matches

what other students or students without

disabilities are becoming as they transition.

Right? So Andrew did a lot, even if it's not if you don't see it specific

towards its impact on transition when you read transition, you may not see Andrew V.

Douglas in there,

but

it's important to remember these laws have

impacted transition

and they are building the same way

as they would for general education

students.

Okay, so let's go back and look at the idea of course.

So

I. D. E. A. Has its own definition for transition now

and it states

that transition is a coordinated set of activities

for a student designed within an outcome oriented process

which promotes movement from school to

post school activities including post secondary education

vocational training,

integrated employment which would include supported employment,

continuing an adult education,

adult services,

independent living or community participation.

Mhm.

So the coordinated set of activities must be based upon.

The individual students needs

take into account student preferences

and interests

and include instruction,

community experiences,

the development of employment and other post school adult living objectives.

And if appropriate,

the acquisition of daily living skills and functional vocational evaluations.

Yeah

so

it really covers a wide range of severity

of disabilities. When you really look at this definition.

Some students don't need the functional vocational evaluation.

Well others

will need to know

for the team will need to know in what situations

might

uh they have the opportunity to be successful at

some type of work that relates to their interests.

That's important thing to remember.

The other thing that is really important

to remember is the coordinated set of activities

which unfortunately is not defined very well.

Um There's actually no definition of I. D. A. Of what that actually is

the cancel for exceptional Children I believe

does have a definition that they have set which

has been used for the most part and that would

show benefit benefit using activities that would

benefit a student as they transition.

So

it is not always the easiest thing to do.

The coordinated set of activities, but try to think of what would create

a situation where a student

with a disability who's graduating will be again a productive citizen

in whatever way that happens,

we have lots of life experiences that we use so we

can't just ignore that with a student who has a disability.

No I think we forget sometimes our parents forget sometimes

that leisure

experiences

are important for everyone.

So that has to be part of that transition component.

It could be

watching tv

but something

that is focused on the individual. Right?

So let's look at the next piece here because we go to an inclusive statement now and

when we look at the inclusive statement,

I'm talking about the first time the statement of

actual needed transition services uh was put in,

it was the first rule change that was associated with in the I.

P. Uh

since the passage of public law 94 1 42 and that was in 75 when the law was passed. So

what it did was it included statements of needed transition

services and agency responsibilities and it made it integral integral.

So I can't speak as part of the I. P. So it just brought up, it elevated the status of

transition

right transition services.

It was no longer just something that we could or could didn't have to bother doing,

it was now part of the ipe,

it was now

protected

right? It had to be in there. It had it was part of the procedural safeguards.

Now it included the right to participation from the parents,

from the students of course.

Um And it's a little

uh huh

vague when you get to agencies that are

willing to spend money on transitions for a student and that can vary depending

on

what has occurred uh during the meetings or before the meeting's anyway.

But looking at this, so provision of services,

any aspect of the pipe

that's protected

includes transition now.

All right, so basically transition is part of any part of the I. P.

That's protected if that's worded a little uh

more clearly.

Okay, so let's go to the summary of performance or the S. O. P. Document.

This is a document

that is provided or that is created when a

student is graduating just usually a couple of months,

months or less before a senior graduates high school or a student ages out.

And it is a required document.

A lot of students,

if they're going to college will have it and they can give it to

the Student Support services to assist them

with getting accommodations on that one.

Now,

when you look at idea,

it's really vague and the language that it has as to whether a meeting is required.

Um

I think that most people or most districts probably require a meeting.

I know mine does and it's a good chance to talk to the parents

and the students about the changes in transition that they're going to go through.

Um

So I think a meeting is warranted in this situation,

but it may be that some districts don't follow that and they just need

to have the document prepared and somehow show that they've given it to the

the student.

Mhm.

So that is the summary of performance document.

And actually, let me say one other piece on the summary of performance document

and that is, it is

based from the student,

the student is involved in that document and

talk about things that have worked for the

student and what might work for the student as they move out of high school.

All right now, let's look at a brief history.

So during the seventies and

the eighties researchers publications started studying

what students with disabilities were doing after graduating from high school.

Well, guess what? They didn't find favorable things in this case. So

eventually the government started seeing this and they decided they wanted

to know what students with exceptionality ease we're doing after graduation.

Well, they of course found major issues

Which brought users to create a transition policy

and they made funding for it a priority.

So in 1991, they created and they funded the systems change in transition priority.

So that's great. They sent money for it and it included

um

a basis now for transition for,

to see

what we could do

and how we can improve it.

And that's after that let's look at our impact on our other laws. So

1992

the rehabilitation act

decided to use the same definition of transition as I. D. A.

Right? And then 90 for the schools to opportunities act passed.

And that required inclusion of all students.

Now, I'm not talking about inclusion in classrooms.

I'm talking about the opportunities that

are provided for general education students,

especially if they're transitioning. Right? So

going to

a lecture for some, someone talking about community college,

of course they need to be included in that.

Alright,

dependent again,

I suppose on individual needs. But according to this law, they should be

1998.

The workforce Investment Act connects with the rehabilitation act,

the Workforce Investment Act.

I think a lot of people are not as familiar with,

but it provides a lot of services but for

people with disabilities to get them into the workforce.

It also helps agencies, employers,

um

students obviously. So

it's important and it's still out there.

Be aware of that. All right. So now let's go back and look at research to policy.

So

if you have looked at transition,

you will be aware of this survey which

is the national longitudinal transition serve way sort

of survey and LTs which was funded by officers and it went from 1987 and 93.

So

a little while and it

it went in two different

intervals And the first one, they just

interviewed students that had

two years or less less post school experience.

And then the second interview,

they interviewed students who had five years or less.

Um

and so that's what created the systems change in transition priority,

which I just mentioned before from, Oh sirs.

And now most recently

they have done

me,

they have done the end

LTs two.

So they did a follow up study. Now.

This study looked at students who graduated in 2000 and it went from 2001 to 2011.

It's interesting though,

because even though the study has ended and the results are published,

there doesn't seem to be any discussion on how

it's going to impact impact policy.

So if you want to investigate the link is right up here, um,

you can look at it in your handouts as well and you can see what the results were about

as far as that goes.

I haven't noticed or seen anything that's uh changed because of it.

Now. Also the taxonomy for transition planning. Now,

this is what I'm talking about how it can go back

and forth between policy to research and research to policy.

But this formed out a meta evaluation activities,

outcomes of federally funded model, demonstration transition programs,

literature, review

analysis of exemplary transition programs

And even concept mapping.

So all of that and Kohler designed in 1996 and it's still used today.

It's actually used quite a bit today. So it's a popular area for transition.

And you see the link below there as well for the original

LTs study.

All right. So let's look at policy to research now.

So

based on the difficulties and the barriers that are still in existence

and the low success rates for students with disabilities after high school,

even with the policies that we've put in place to combat them

there.

For some reason.

Research has been enhanced by it.

So, and it's been focused on programs,

certainly some of it's been focused on programs related to the field.

And if you look these pieces up, you'd see the drama therapy, roleplay, interview,

the self advocacy strategy.

And there's a program called me and there's many others as well.

Um and some of those come from psychological pieces as well as educational pieces.

Now.

Strangely,

there does not seem to be any major

factors impacting impacting transition at this time.

And

I don't know if it's due to the

feeling that the current transition requirements are satisfactory.

Although if you look at the data from the intel

And LTs two that does not match that thought,

there is a lot of research available that's focused on transitions

um better

specific to students with specific disabilities to like students who have autism,

where students with intellectual disabilities.

And that area of research has been growing and growing,

especially the intellectual disabilities.

There's a number of college programs that have been set up uh,

that now accept students uh

with intellectual disabilities

selfie.

All right. Let's move on to

some more.

Some research came about because policy created the need

to look further into the area of transition.

So, I just have a couple authors in the module.

They've engaged engaged in this type of research Morningstar at all.

And then scott and Bruno. Now,

as I talked before the taxonomy for transition programming,

I just wanted to let you have an example of it

and you can see that.

So, if you're designing a transition program,

these are all pieces that should be involved.

And if you follow this, you'll have a

a good idea. You should have a pretty good plan when you're done.

All right. So, let's look at

this piece here.

We're still looking at policy ida covers Children's with disabilities from birth

Through high school graduation until age 20 or

until age 22 from birth because the child.

Fine.

Alright. It guarantees a free and appropriate public education faith

requires a program based towards educational

benefit based on the student's situation.

Right. We know of listening.

So, what is idea cover after a student graduates high school or ages out of 22.

Find out

nothing.

All right.

So, what happens next.

Yeah,

idea is gone.

And section five or four of the rehabilitation act

and the americans with disabilities act have taken over.

Yeah,

exactly. Who knew.

So, welcome to college.

You have about a 29% chance of graduating good lap first you don't with a disability.

So here's some questions parents and students might be asking, what do you mean?

There's no I E P. What happened to my accommodations?

I have to go where and tell them what and bring them what?

Well that's college pieces. So what about working

well? You have the rehabilitation act in A. D. And A D. A. To help you out.

You can't be discriminated against. It's too bad.

You did not get a job in high school.

Hello,

you're on your own. Good luck.

So the reaction there.

What?

Right

so that

would be what I think would be in the minds of many people

who have just

found

this out.

Yeah.

So let's go back

quick review

and now

we can go straight to hope.

Right?

And so we there is hope we can do things and we must do things to assist.

1.

1 of the things we can do is have secondary

students connect with agencies such as vocational rehab services,

Pacers Learning Disabilities Association of America which

is also involved in policy changes.

So is the autism society and many others.

So we need to connect with these agencies

which is actually part of the transition component.

I mean teach the changes in the laws to the students

and parents as well as how it will impact them.

We can provide internships opportunities to be in the community,

can visit colleges, visit the Office of Support services.

Students have to self identifying college to get reasonable accommodations,

but they have to know what they need to do and they

have to understand what reasonable accommodations are or what that means.

And there are a lot of other opportunities, just as long as students know,

and parents know as well what is available to them and how

they can get through these changes that they're going to experience.

You know, parents have to realize they're not going to be involved in college,

and students have to realize that to they have to realize there's no I

a p they have to realize they're not going to just be given things.

Um,

so those are just points. We have to teach that to them

and that needs to be part of our transition.

So,

on your handout, you have this as well.

So,

if you are interested in looking at any of the

articles or other references that I have on here,

you have it available.

All right, well,

thank you

and I look forward to seeing what you put

on the discussion page.

Transition by Neal Lieberman

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