Transition Project

Introduction:
At my elementary school, we hold IEP meetings for students once a year to review goals and
progress. I have only taught lower elementary, so I have not had the opportunity to be involved
in a transition meeting or planning. For this project, I chose a student who already had an IEP
and identified their SPIN (student strengths, preferences, interests, and needs) as well as had
interviews with the parents during parent-teacher conferences and the student to further
understand their transition goals. I used the “School and Community Social Skills Checklist” and
I also asked just student questions from “Quick Book of Transition Assessments” for career
development that I modified for a first grader.

Student Background
My target student is a 7-year-old girl named Lillian. Lillian has autism spectrum disorder
(ASD) and was diagnosed when she was 2 years old. The indicators to her parents for testing
were her lack of relationship-building with others and fixation with certain objects. Previously
she was in an ASD classroom, and this is her first year in a general education classroom
where she gets social work services and is pulled out for district assessments.

Lillian is a super bright girl who has surpassed all the district's academic assessments for a
first grader; she is reading, writing, and performing math at an almost second-grade level.
Lillian loves reading, writing, drawing, and dancing. She currently is part of a soccer team for
children with ASD. Additionally, she gets ABA therapy once a week. She is an only child, but
her parents try not to limit her skills, she is expected to make and pack her lunches for school
as well as keep on top of any of her homework. Lillian’s IEP is mainly focused on social
emotional and relationship building as well as self-advocacy. Lillian has made great strides in
these areas throughout the year in general education, but it is agreed that these are still goals
to focus on in upcoming grades.
Present Levels of Performance/SPIN:
Based on parent interview at conferences, answer to transition assessments, grade level
assessments, teacher observation, and student answers to questions, the results were transformed
into SPIN answers.

Strengths: Lillian has many strengths, academically she is performing above average in reading,
writing, and math. Her pictures are developmentally higher than other first-grade students in the
classroom. As her teacher, I have noticed her determination to get work done the right way the
first time and to try her hardest at everything she does. Additionally, she has a very fun and
positive outlook on life and brings that to the classroom every day.

Based on the “School and Community Social Skills Checklist” she received checks in almost all
the boxes in the areas of classroom-related behaviors and school-building-related behaviors.

Interests/Preference: Lillian loves reading, her new favorite is the Junie B Jones books. She
reads at least a chapter a night with her parents. Lillian also loves TV shows and remembers facts
about them very easily. One of her favorites is the show “Number Blocks” which she has the
support stuffy of “Seven” from the show. She also loves dancing and has been captivated by the
Wednesday dance from the new show “Wednesday” on Netflix.

In the interview with Lillian, she states that she likes being outside and enjoys recess because she
gets to play with friends. This was a big personal gain for Lillian because, at the beginning of the
year, she did not have many friends because she moved from an autism support classroom to a
general education classroom, so she did not have many kindergarten connections. This was an
initial concern for her parents and me at the beginning of the year when at recess she would be
playing by herself. She also mentioned in the survey that she likes to play games and make
things, I have noticed that she has a very vivid imagination.

Needs: When I met with her parents for conferences, we both noticed Lillian has a need for self-
advocacy. If Lillian does struggle with something, her parents gave the example of getting the
twisty tie off a bread bag, she would rather struggle and get frustrated than admit to someone she
needs help. We are hoping that she can learn that we all need help and whom to ask when we do.
Furthermore, Lillian has made great strengths with personal connections with friends, but both
her parents and I feel that there can be some additional work there. In the interview with Lillian,
she stated that she thinks she does not get along with her classmates because another boy in the
class used to be her friend; now, he is not.

Based on the “School and Community Social Skills Checklist” there were not many checks on
interaction initiative skills and interaction response skills which affirms the need to address her
communication skills with others.

When interviewing Lillian, I found out that she does not know much about jobs. She only knows
where her parents work but not what they do or why they work. When I asked what she hoped to
be when she grew up Lillian stated she did not know but guessed she would do whatever her
mom did.

Post-Secondary Goals and Annual Goals:

Goal #1:Education/Training

After leaving elementary school, Lillian will have a group of close friends that she continually
hangs out with/chats with.

Annual Goal: Given strategies for relationship-building skills from our social worker,
Lillian will be able to maintain age-appropriate relationships (at least 3) by the end of
fifth grade.
Annual Goal: Given problem-solving strategies from teachers, Lillian will be able to
work through disagreements with friends on her own (90% of the time), by the end of
fifth grade.

Goal #2: Employment

After leaving elementary school, Lillian will have at least one future job aspiration and know
what their role in the community is.

Annual Goal: Given time with teachers and counselors, Lillian will self-identify areas she
likes and feels confident in (at least three) by the end of fifth grade.
Annual Goal: Given resources from teachers and counselors, Lillian will identify future
jobs that interest her (at least one) by the end of fifth grade.
Goal #3: Independent Living

After leaving elementary school, Lillian will self-advocate for herself when she needs additional
support.

Annual Goal: Given modeling such as roleplay, Lillian will ask for help (75%) of the
time before showing signs of frustration, by the end of fifth grade.
Annual Goal: Given strategies such as a feelings chart, Lillian will be able to self-identify
her feelings to others (90%) of the time by the end of fifth grade.

Transition Services & Activities:

Independent Living/Training

In order for Lillian to improve her social skills and communication with adults for assistance she
will continue to meet with our school social workers one on one and in a group setting. In the
group setting they will focus on relationship building and empathy and individually they will
work on vocalizing frustration and asking for help. In the general education classroom, all
students will receive skills on improving problem-solving skills and communication skills.
Additionally, Lillian will continue in outside school activities such as her soccer team to have an
interpersonal web of friendships.

Education/Instruction and Related Services:

In order for Lillian to succeed in her educational goals she will continue to be pulled out for
district testing to ensure she is performing to her best ability without distractions. The special
education teacher will continue as her case worker for her IEP and work with the general
education teacher to check in on Lillian’s progress and determine any new needs/assistance that
might occur.

Teachers will use Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) when Lillian uses her
words to describe her feelings and preferences in an appropriate manner. In the classroom, there
will be pictures of emotions that Lillian can easily point to as an additional way to communicate
her feelings. Teachers will also provide Lillian with ways to express herself through writing
since she excels in that area.
Employment

In order for Lillian to learn more about available future careers Lillian’s parents will each take
time to show her what they do for their work. Lillian’s parents will also introduce money to their
daughter; why they need it, what things cost, and earning money for the chores she does.

In order for Lillian to have future career goals, teachers will continue to introduce Lillian to
community jobs and their purpose. Lillian will continue in general education to continually
develop her reading, writing, and math skills which are important for any career. Teachers will
frequently monitor Lillian’s strengths and weaknesses and communicate with Lillian and her
parents on their own observations as well. As a result of identifying strengths and weaknesses as
well as gaining Lillian’s interests, teachers will introduce Lillian to specific jobs that match the
criteria gathered.

Collaboration Plan:
A key part of a transition plan is moving toward student goals and ambitions. For this to occur
there needs to be a strong collaboration with the student, parents, and any other adult that
supports Lillian in her education and personal achievements. To ensure this happens, I will
continue to stay in contact with parents through email and meetings to stay up to date on
Lillian’s progress at home and they can hear about her progress at school. We will continue to
meet once a year to review Lillian’s IEP and make any necessary changes.

The resource room teacher is key in her academic achievements by pulling her out for any
district assessments and communicating with the general education teacher to see if they need
support in their classroom to help Lillian meet her goals. Lillian meets with the social worker
both individually and in a group to work on her communication skills and feelings, because of
this, the social worker needs to remain constant in their meetings and update the special
education teacher, parents, and general education teacher of any new ways to support Lillian or
any problems that occur. Lillian meets with an ABA therapist outside of school, so it is important
to include their notes from their time and include the therapist in the IEP goals to better unify the
support.

As Lillian grows and advances in her communication skills and in her understanding of careers it
is important for Lillian to be able to express her future ambitions and receive assistance towards
that. This assistance is required from all the personnel working with her and can appear in
different ways; positive reinforcements, additional outside classes/sports, books, etc.

For unification, there needs to be guidelines and expectations. Therefore, there will be meetings
with the parents and all school personnel working with Lillian three times a year. It would be
beneficial to have the ABA therapist as well but understandably it is situational. The first
meeting will be in September to go over Lillian’s IEP, here we will assess the goals for the
upcoming year while referring to the annual goals of education and careers to see if they align
and are still appropriate. The second and third meetings will be parent-teacher conferences which
Lillian is encouraged to attend as well, one in October and one in March. At these points in the
school year are the middle of semesters and the general education teacher can provide a progress
report. Using data from the progress report as well as any additional background from parents,
school personnel, or from the ABA therapist, the team will be able to assess if the current plan is
working and any additional support she may need.
 References

Cline, R., Halverson, D., Petersen, B., & Rohrbach, B. (2005). doc. Transition Services Liaison
Project.

South Bend Community School Corporation. (2021, April 21). Transition assessments and
activities. Retrieved April 9, 2023, from
http://www.sped.sbcsc.k12.in.us/ppm/transitionplanning/transitionassessments.html#downl
oads
Assessments