Guaranteeing Special Education Rights: Individualized Education Plans
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TRANSITION PLAN SPECIFICS
We will discuss specifics in two additional sections, the IPE and Vocational Rehabilitation Services.
Important to keep in mind for the transition plan is development of skills that will make a student employable. The transition plan should be much more than how to fill out a job application and "what do you want to do when you grow up?"
Two prerequisites for competitive employment are adult basic literacy and job skills. An evaluation of a student's transition needs should always include an assessment of literacy. Can the student read and write at an adequate level to complete a job application, write a cover letter, file papers, read a computer manual? Can the student perform math well enough to make change, understand a balance sheet or score well on the SATs? A first step in a transition plan is an honest look at how close the student's current academic skills are to what is required for his or her career goal.
Job skills include both the actual technical skills and 'soft skills'. The latter, sometimes referred to as workplace culture, emotional intelligence or 'success skills', include organization, goal-setting , planning and communication. As Dale Brown says, the student who leaves school supplies laying around, forgets his assignments and often comes to school late or not at all often grows up to be an employee who leaves tools laying around, forgets his job duties and often comes to work late or doesn't show up at all. The transition plan should include teaching students strategies they can generalize to the workplace, such as using a planner to write important dates and phone numbers, putting all needed supplies in one place, planning tasks before starting on a project. Job skills also include communication.
NEXT: Academics - the ABCs of School to Work