Educators encourage students to be active participants in their own learning, to shape their futures and set forth on a path of their own creation. For students with disabilities, that hasn’t always been the case. Often, they’ve been sidelined to a life chosen for them by others. Fortunately, the entire field of special education aims to change that — especially for those in the transition planning space.
For those new to transition planning, it’s the intentional, coordinated, and organized process in which students with disabilities are guided in making the shift from school to post-school activities. This may include independent living, the workforce, and continuing education, among other priorities.
As the number of students with special needs grows, so does the need for corresponding individualized education plans (IEPs). In turn, because every student with an IEP must undertake transition planning by the time they’re 16, the need for transition planning educators has increased significantly.
Here are five tips in preparing students with disabilities for life after school from three alumni of the George Washington Graduate School of Education and Human Development (GSEHD):
Expect More
Ellen Coulston brings a unique dual perspective as both a parent and an educator of individuals with disabilities. She has witnessed firsthand how quickly decision-makers can limit opportunities or close doors completely once a student receives a disability diagnosis. For her, successful transition planning is about rejecting those limitations and championing a future of potential and possibility. “Our job is to build capacity in the youth, expose them to options, and give them experiences and space to practice being a self-advocate,” explains Coulston.
She goes on to add, “When we devise goals to reach and create space to reach those goals — regardless of whether we fulfill or fall short of them — we allow the dignity of risk.” In turn, this enhances our confidence, personal growth, and reinforces our rights to self-determination. When we expect more of ourselves and our students, we create room for possibility and growth.
Think Long-Term
Devin O’Connor started his career in adult services, where he became curious about what experiences and access students with disabilities had to employment opportunities before joining the workforce and working with him.He wondered, if transition planning became part of the conversation sooner, would more opportunities have been put on the table for them sooner?
He notes, “Transition doesn’t just happen in a classroom…it is also a process that ends with meaningful employment out in the community.” Education is part of a child’s formative years, along with their growing perception of their capabilities and strengths. Exposing them to company tours and informational interviews at a younger age gives students an opportunity to ask questions and plan in collaboration with teachers while they are still enmeshed in a classroom environment, which sets them up for success when they do reach the workforce.
Representation Matters
Chelsea Simpson recognized that social interaction was just as important as access to workforce training and development for individuals with disabilities entering the workforce. As a direct response, she developed and activated a peer support group for current and past students. While this had the benefit of facilitating personal and professional development, it also expanded students’ worldviews and goals for their future.
“[My current interns] get to see graduates that are employed and all their extra goals that they've reached and get to see, ‘Wow, if I complete this program, I can accomplish this. I can go further to do what this person is doing,’” shares Simpson. That’s because many students, regardless of ability, don’t know what’s possible because they haven’t seen it modeled for them. Allowing students to see firsthand that individuals with disabilities can and do lead is a first step in opening pathways to the future of a student’s own determination.
Go Outside the Box
Transition planning is focused on person-centered planning, learning about people’s strengths, needs, preferences, skills, interests, desires, etc. However, it can be all too easy to fall into standard school-to-employment pipelines and put all that to the side. Instead, take a pause to think about how to meet a student with a disability where they are in support of their long-term goals. Sometimes, that means getting creative.
For Simpson, she encountered one student who was passionate about engineering but was not in a place to pursue an engineering degree or training. Thinking outside the box about what engineering is — problem-solving using tools and mechanisms — led her to ask a local hardware store if they’d be open to employing her student. There, he could learn about tools, how they’re used, and how they could be used, which dovetailed neatly with his interests. Today, that same student is a manager at the hardware store and is embarking on a pathway to study engineering formally.
Expand Your Knowledge
While Coulston, O’Connor, and Simpson all had lived experience in the field of transition planning, they also wanted to deepen their respective understanding to better support individuals with disabilities. Each of them found themselves at the George Washington University (GW), where they joined a community of peers with diverse backgrounds. They also found a community of faculty who were actively practicing and could provide sound advice in addition to pedagogy.
Having access to information that was relevant and immediately applicable to their day-to-day work helped them revise their approaches and better make an immediate impact. For Simpson, the peer network was a culmination of the work she was exploring at GW. For O’Connor, discovering universal design and curriculum design shifted how he approached his work. And Coulston expanded her capacity to support parents in navigating an unexpected diagnosis by reminding them possibilities still exist.
If you’re thinking about deepening your knowledge around transition planning, special education, and self-determination, there are a variety of programs that may be of interest. You can choose to upskill quickly with a graduate certificate in Secondary Transition Leadership, earn a master’s in Interdisciplinary Secondary Transition Services, or advance in a doctoral program in Special Education. No matter which program you choose, the central focus remains on an individual's ability to create a future of their own making.
We would like to offer a special thanks to our Master's in Interdisciplinary Secondary Transition Services alumni that provided their expertise for this article:
- Ellen Coulston (MA '21) is an independent contractor who works with all transition stakeholders around the process of building self-advocacy skills.
- Devin O'Connor (MA '21) is an Executive Director of the Grow Group, which does job training and job placement for people from underserved populations while supporting the employers who hire them.
- Chelsea Simpson (MA '20) is a Special Education Teacher/Workforce Development Coordinator for D.C. Public Schools.