Transition Plan

Developing an effective transition plan for high school students with autism spectrum disorder can be a difficult task. This article examined five steps to take in order to make the process easier. “During the high school years, young people work to develop new identities and make decisions about the future, including where they will live, what they will do, and who will be their friends” (Szidon, Ruppar & Smith, 2015). As our reading stated, the child is going through a vertical transition. A vertical transition is defined as any transition that occurs in the lives of most individuals. These transitions are age or developmentally based.

Creating a transition plan for a child with ASD is more difficult because these students have their own unique challenges. “Students with ASD experience greater social communication difficulties than what would be expected of  other students their age” (Szidon, Ruppar & Smith, 2015). These students also have “higher levels of repetitive behavior and restrictive interest than their peers with other disabilities” (Szidon, Ruppar & Smith, 2015). Therefore, it is important when developing a transition plan that the team takes into account each child’s specific needs.

Step 1: Identify transition goals

            During this step, as our reading stated, the team should begin to consider the student’s needs in the areas of post-secondary education, employment, and independent living. Administering a transition assessment is one effective way to begin this process. These assessments “are available to measure adaptive and social skills in high school students and can provide school teams with a current level of functioning” (Szidon, Ruppar & Smith, 2015).

Step 2: Link post-secondary goals with IEP goals

            “Once the team develops measurable post-secondary goals in education, employment, and independent living areas, annual IEP goals can be written” (Szidon, Ruppar & Smith, 2015). This step is particularly important since  the IEP goals and  transition goals must coincide together. The IEP states the necessary steps the student will take in order to be ready for their transition plan to follow after graduation. The transition team “should research the skills needed for the desired career and identify areas where the students with ASD might struggle” (Szidon, Ruppar & Smith, 2015).

Step 3: Troubleshoot and adjust transition and IEP goals

            When developing a high-quality transition IEP the goals should be measurable. “IEP goals need four key components: the students name, an observable skill that the student will improve, the conditions under which the skill should be performed, and a criterion for reaching the goal” (Szidon, Ruppar & Smith, 2015). Depending on the goal some of these components can be difficult to achieve.

Step 4: Provide opportunities to teach skills

            Students in high school typically have a full schedule. This can make it difficult to find time to schedule  in specially designed instruction. “For students with a full load of academic instruction, finding time to offer adaptive skill development or social curriculum may require creative planning and difficult decision making on the part of the IEP team” (Szidon, Ruppar & Smith, 2015). The team must work together to determine where these skills can be implemented..

Step 5: Evaluate progress

            “A well-crafted transition IEP should provide the team with valuable information about student progress toward realizing post-secondary goals. If the IEP goal has been written in a manner that is observable, and the performance conditions and criteria are well articulated, data should be easy to collect” (Szidon, Ruppar & Smith, 2015).

 Szidon, K., Ruppar, A., & Smith, L. (2015). Five steps for developing effective transition plans for high school students with autism spectrum disorder. Teaching exceptional children, 47(3), 147-152.