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IRIS MODULE SECONDARY TRANSITIONS

Katy McKellar
IRIS Module Secondary Transitions
Georgia College & State University
Mrs. Hiller Crook
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IRIS MODULE SECONDARY TRANSITIONS
Assessment

1. What is secondary transition? Why is it important for school personnel to help

students plan for post-school transitions?

Secondary transition is the period of time when students are graduating from
high school or aging out of the public education system and determining the next
step in their life, whether that may be going to college or going into the workforce.
Students also have to determine what job they want, where they want to live, and
how they would like to be involved in the community.

It is important for school personnel to help students plan for post-school

transitions because at that age, students have typically been in a school setting since
a young age, and they do not know any other setting or way of life. Making the
decision of their next step is stressful for students in general, because it determines
their future trajectory as a young adult. Many students with disabilities go to
community or technical college to get their Associate degree, because they have a
higher chance of graduating than they would at a four-year university. Therefore,
individuals with exceptionalities may have more difficulty than those who are
neurotypical, especially because they may not be taking the typical path to
adulthood and may need advice to determine what is best for them.

2. List and describe the five components of the Taxonomy for Transition Programming.

The five components of the Taxonomy for Transition Programming are:

o Program structure: The obligation of teachers to ensure that students are prepared to
make a decision for their secondary transition when the time comes, which is done
through adhering to a common philosophy, planning collaboration in the community,
receiving the proper education as professionals, and providing resources to students that
will ease and support their transition.
o Student-focused planning: Working with students as individuals through an assessment
to determine what their goal is after their post-secondary transition, whether that is
through college or employment. This provides options and ideas to students as well as
advising them for what the best option may be for them as individuals.
o Student development: This takes data that students provided in their assessment and
uses it to determine what students will need to know and be competent in doing in order
to be successful in their future, because those factors are different for every student.
o Family engagement: When a family does (or does not) engage in helping their child take
these plans and skills for their future into consideration to make financial and logistical
choices that will support their child’s transition and ease their way into their future. For
many students, this is the make-or-break factor because if they are not supported by
their family or receiving financial assistance, they may be in a lot more debt or forced to
enter the workforce.
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IRIS MODULE SECONDARY TRANSITIONS
o Interagency collaboration: This is when the IEP team for a school meets and discusses
how to take the goals a student has for their future into consideration with continuing the
supports and accommodations that the student receives in their future, especially if they
are going to college. In the scenario that a student is going to college, it is the IEP team’s
responsibility to contact the IEP team at the student’s new school and collaborate with
them to create a plan for the student.

3. Explain why self-determination is important for students with disabilities.

Self-determination is important for students with disabilities because these students

do not have all of the abilities of a neurotypical student. Therefore, they may excel
in some areas where other students are average, while they fall below average in
areas where other students are still average. This is why it is crucial that they take
their exceptionalities into consideration and acknowledge how they can
complement their strengths in order to meet their full potential as individuals.

4. Jessica is a rising ninth-grade student who has a physical and intellectual disability
and uses a wheelchair. Imagine you are Jessica’s general education teacher and a
member of her IEP team. As part of her annual review meeting, Jessica and her team
discuss her post-secondary plans. Following is some of the information the team
learns during the meeting.

Strengths:

 Capable student who works hard to get passing grades

 Loves the computer and catches on quickly to games and computer
programs

 
Short-term goals:

 Ride the school bus to and from school (currently, parents transport her)
 Spend more time with friends

 
Post-school goals:

 Get a job in a hospital or somewhere she can help sick people (as long as
she doesn’t have to read much)
 Live on her own or with a roommate

 
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IRIS MODULE SECONDARY TRANSITIONS
Areas of need:

 Doesn’t like to read and often doesn’t remember things she does read

 
Additional information: Her parents state that she has never talked with them about her post-
school goals, and they always assumed she would live with them.

 
For each of the components of the Taxonomy for Transition Programming, recommend one or
two actions you as the teacher can take to help Jessica reach her goals. Explain your responses.

Components of Taxonomy Actions and Explanations

for Transition
Programming

Program Structure Jessica’s teacher should collaborate with

a local hospital or other place for sick
people such as a nursing home to
retrieve materials that employees need
to be able to read in order to smooth
Jessica’s transition from school to her
future work environment.

Student-Focused Planning  Jessica’s teacher should assess her with

a variety of techniques in order to
determine what her goals are for the
future to begin working towards them.
After Jessica’s assessment, her teacher
should have a meeting with her and
advise her on what her options will be
for her future career.

Student Development   When Jessica has narrowed down the

options presented to her during her
advising meeting, her teacher should
then collect data on the skills, resources,
and areas of competency that Jessica
will need to be proficient in in order to
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IRIS MODULE SECONDARY TRANSITIONS

follow her goals and get the job that she

wants so that she can begin working on
those things.

Family Involvement  Jessica’s family should discuss where

she would like to live and what her goals
are for her career. Then, they could
determine if it would be possible for
Jessica to live on her own or with a
roommate rather than continuing to live
with her family as they assume that she
will.

Interagency Collaboration  The IEP team at Jessica’s school should

contact her future employer and
landlord if she pursues working in a
hospital and living independently,
because they can help her determine
how to

Works Cited
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IRIS MODULE SECONDARY TRANSITIONS
The IRIS Center. (2013). Secondary Transition: Helping Students with disabilities plan for post-
high school settings. Retrieved from https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/tran/