The Pieces of the Transition Puzzle

1. The Pieces of the Transition Puzzle February Unlocking Passions through Transition & Career Assessment http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3efFjnEhFX4

2. Goals • To provide specific information on transition assessments and their application to Indicator 13 requirements. • To provide additional career assessment references and resource materials for families, teachers, and school transition instructors in order to enhance transition planning for youth .

3. Format • Background Discussion via PowerPoint • Small group work • Review resources available • Self - evaluate individual district plan • Identify areas of need regarding district assessment protocol

4. Attitudes & Perceptions 4

5. How do these needs effect post secondary goals? • Work Environment • People • Endurance • Type of work • Level of Independence • Evidence of success at further education

6. What Strengths do Youth bring to the Table? Did You Think about Strengths? Interests Aptitudes Strengths Passions Experiences Knowledge Skills Other Unique Abilities 8

7. The Missing Piece: Work Orientation Pitfall can be to assume the young person is not employability, which may not be an accurate interpretation • Expressed desired to work • Clarity in career goal to proceed or the need for vocational exploration activities • Expressed enthusiasm and energy level to work • Interest in becoming self sufficient 9

8. How do you identify strengths? Transition Assessment! 10

9. What is Transition Assessment? Transition assessment is a structured, coordinated effort that involves collecting data on students’ strengths, preferences, and interests related to their postsecondary goals (Sitlington, Neubert, Begun, Lombard, & Leconte, 2007) as well as needs that may impact the realization of postsecondary goals. Clark (2007) sums up transition assessment as a continuous process that includes “obtaining, organizing, and using information” (p. 2) to support students with disabilities and their families in making critical decisions related to transitioning successfully to adult life.

10. Assessment = Intervention By participating in an assessment process, the individual changes (e.g., goals, feelings about himself) and learns (e.g., information about herself regarding abilities, preferences, learning styles, where she could go next, options available). Individuals become empowered when they discover their interests, abilities, talents, strengths and needs. Recidivism decreases when assessment is followed by services that follow recommendations. Assessment transforms consumers’ lives (they have told us and we have seen this).

11. Interests, Careers, and Post Secondary Goals Building Career Options through assessment 13

13. Building Community & Collaboration You are ONLY One Piece of the Puzzle! 15

14. Families as Equal Partners Family input early in the transition process establishes a solid foundation for planning and builds a critical connections and relationships with the transition partners It is essential to build a trustworthy relationship with the young person and family Appreciate the fact that families have a long history of working with multiple professionals with mixed results Provide support to families to plan for change during the transition process 16

15. Community Partners Many people, government agencies, and organizations have distinct roles and responsibilities in ensuring the successful transition of youth to productive careers. Intuitively, it may seem that with so many people involved successful student outcomes are inevitable. Transition has a multidimensional face that it becomes increasingly important to outline individual roles and responsibilities. In the end, everyone in society benefits from effective transition of youth with disabilities into productive careers. 17

16. Transition Team Partners 18

17. Person Centered Planning: A Promising Practice • Team identified by the person and their family and friends, who play a pivotal role • Few models: • Making Action Plans, known as MAPS (Forest & Lusthaus, 1990) • Group Action Planning, known as GAP (Turnbull & Turnbull, 1992) • Planning Alternative Tomorrows with Hope, known as PATH 19

18. Overview: Coordinate and share assessment activities & results • In IDEA, transition planning must be based on assessment (requiring collaboration between special education and vocational rehabilitation). • OVR, MR/DD,MH and others. • Vocational have create plans of service for consumers. Avoid duplication and delay. Provide clear information. Talk during the IEP years!

19. Transition Assessment – Making it COUNT! The Key to the Puzzle of Moving to a Successful Adult LIFE! 21

20. Framework for Transition and Career Assessment • Levels of Service • Level I—make quick decisions; minimal assessment required, go on to next level if more information is required. • LevelII—diagnostic and prognostic, exploration, go onto next level if more information is needed to make decisions. • Level III—comprehensive career assessment/vocational evaluation. Adapted from VEWAA Final Project, 1975

21. Who Provides These Levels of Services? Transition coordinators Guidance Teachers Young person Parents and family members Community service providers, OVR, MR/DD, MH… Employers or service learning supervisors Employment specialists , Job Coaches Vocational Evaluators Vocational Rehabilitation counselors Others who have relevant experience, vested interest in the student, and have received some type of orientation or training.

22. Vocational Evaluation Levels I and II assessment can be coordinated and collected by a teacher, para - educator, parent, guidance, transition coordinator or others. Level III assessment should be conducted and coordinated by a CVE. (Level III: Comprehensive Vocational Evaluation)

23. Transition (Career) Assessment

24. Domains of Transition Assessment & Adulthood Home and Family Employment/ Education Leisure and Pursuits Community Involvement Personal Responsibility and Relationships Physical/EmotionalHealth Cronin, M. E. & Patton, J. R. (1993). Life skills instruction for all students with special needs: A practical guide for integrating real-life content into the curriculum. p 13. Austin TX: PRO-ED.

25. Assess within a career development context Stages of career development Career awareness Career exploration Career preparation Career assimilation Career growth and expansion Refer to 2 Handouts

26. What do you use currently to assess these domains? Home and Family Physical and Emotional Health Leisure and Recreational Pursuits Personal Responsibility and Relationships Community Involvement/Participation Employment and Education Please complete the Domains Worksheet (Handout)

27. Formal assessments are standardized instruments backed by data showing that they are reliable, valid measures. They typically contain standardized procedures for administration, scoring, and interpretation, and scores may be compared across student populations. • Academic achievement tests • Cognitive functioning assessments • Adaptive behavior scales • Aptitude tests • Interest inventories • Personality scales • Clark (2007)

28. Informal assessments are non-standardized measures that often do not contain reliability and validity measures. Informal assessment procedures are typically less structured and do not allow for score comparisons across student populations . • Surveys • Social histories • Rubrics, rating scales and checklists • Applied technology/vocational education prerequisite skills assessments • Personal future planning • Progress monitoring • Clark (2007) • Learning styles inventories • Curriculum-based assessments • Observational reports • Situational and environmental assessments • Medical appraisals • Structured interviews • Adaptive, behavioral, or functional skills inventories or checklists

29. Is Your Assessment Authentic? It is a process that provides real and meaningful feedback for improving Learning Instructional practices Performances and behavior Educational and vocational or career options Linkages with “real world” performances, requirements, and experiences. (adapted from Herman, Aschbacher, & Winters, 1992)

30. Authentic Assessment (continued) All assessment is authentic transition assessment when it is tied to post secondary goals and uses: prior knowledge, recent learning, or relevant skills to solve realistic, authentic problems demonstrates the ability to Perform Use processes of learning Apply knowledge in natural environments and situations

31. AIR Self-Determination Assessment Parent Version Teacher Version Student Version Available at http://education.ou.edu/zarrow Self-Determination Assessment Tools | Zarrow Center | College of Education | University of Oklahoma 33

32. ARC Self-Determination Assessment Student version Must use the manual to score Cost: free Available at http://education.ou.edu/zarrow 34

33. Field and Hoffman SD Assessments SD Student Scale SD Parent Scale SD Teacher Scale SD Observation Checklist User’s Guide Cost: free Available at http://education.ou.edu/zarrow

34. SDOC- Self Determination Observational Checklist This checklist contains items designed to measure three behaviors associated with being self-determined (planning, communicating, and behaving independently). Observe the Student, does the student: • 1. _____ask a question? • 2. _____examine an object in the room? • 3. _____provide an alternative to the teacher’s point of view? • 4. _____provide an alternative to a peer’s point of view? • 5. _____make more than one attempt to accomplish a task? • 6. _____try more than one method to accomplish a task? • 7. _____make a list of things to do? • 8. _____use a calendar to plan? • 9. _____express satisfaction about an outcome? • 10._____express disappointment about an outcome?

36. ChoiceMaker SD Assessment Curriculum Referenced Assessment Choosing Goals Participating in IEP Meetings Taking Action on Goals Sopris West (search by author: Martin) www.sopriswest.com Cost: $14.95 for 25 copies 38

37. Independent Living Assessment The law states that an independent living goal be addressed “when appropriate.” To determine if an independent living goal needs to be written, some type of assessment needs to be given. This provides evidence of needing an independent living goal or not. 39

38. Adaptive Behavior Assessments Transition Planning Inventory (TPI) ProEd, Austin Texas (www.proedinc.com) Informal Assessments for Transition Planning ProEd, Austin Texas (www.proedinc.com) Enderle-Severson Transition Rating Form Great tool for students with significant support needs www.estr.net Casey Life Skills www.caseylifeskills.org 40

39. Personal Preference Indicators Interview format Family members, friends, professionals who know student well Designed for students with significant support needs Likes, dislikes, social indicators, choices Health, body clock, future http://education.ou.edu/zarrow/ Cost: free

40. Casey Life Skills - Web based and FREE!!! Spanish, French or English, with numerous supplemental assessments Youth and caregiver formats Automatically scored and sent to you Can obtain class summaries Provides different levels of questions for students across functioning levels Level 1 basic skills Level 4 complex skills www.caseylifeskills.org 42

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43. Casey Life Skills Educational Supplement Assessment

44. Independent Living – Assessment Tool adapted from Washington State Department of Social and Health Services

45. Choose and Take Action: Finding a Job for You PUBLISHER Sopris West 4093 Specialty Place Longmont, CO 80504 800.547.6747 www.sopriswest.com 47

46. On-Line Free Interest Inventories On-Line Individual Interest Inventories My Future http://www.myfuture.com/toolbox/workinterest.html I Oscar www.ioscar.org Career Voyages www.careervoyages.com Career Clusters www.careerclusters.org (download in pdf format) Dept of Labor www.onetcenter.org 48

47. Exploration of Interest Results Occupational Outlook Handbook www.bls.gov/oco/home.htm www.bls.gov/k12/index.htm Job videos (English or Spanish) Individuals & Job clusters http://acinet.org/acinet/videos.asp?id=27,&nodeid=27 www.careervoyages.com Uses the above videos in an interactive format 49

48. Career Awareness & Exploration Watching Video http://acinet.org/acinet/videos.asp?id=27,&nodeid=27 Provides numerous videos for students to watch English or Spanish Job cluster and skill categories Horse Training Coast Guard Assistant Construction Workers Live in the Community Doing Short exploration periods Long-term try-outs 50

49. Community Based Assessment is Functional Assessment • “the analysis and measurement of specific behaviors that occur in real environments and are relevant to life and vocational goals” (Halpern & Fuhrer, 1984)

50. Community Based Assessment is Functional Assessment • Involves interaction between behavior and environmental conditions and demands • Determines the impact of disability • Process, not instrument