What Should Be in a Transition Plan?
Ages 14 - 22 Years
Do you have a teenager with an IEP? Has your school starting planning for your child's transition to adulthood? In all US states, students who receive Special Education must have a transition assessment and a transition plan by the time they are 16. In some states, this process starts earlier. Keep reading to understand your child's rights, and what should be included in the transition plan.
In this section
What is a Transition Plan?
A transition plan is a section of a young person's individualized education plan (IEP) that explains how the school will help to prepare the young person for their adult life.
Transition plans must always be based on the young person's own strengths, interests, and personal goals. Students have the right to be involved in the development of their own transition plan, and to participate in all transition meetings.
Transition plans vary widely from state to state, and from school district to school district, but must always include the following 3 elements:
&w=3840&q=75)
1. A Description of Student Strengths and Interests
Transition plans should include a description of the student's strengths and interests. This information should come from a comprehension transition assessment, which the school should complete before developing a transition plan.
This section of a transition plan may include information such as:
academic strengths and interests
life skills strengths and interests
job strengths and interests
social strengths and interests
recreational strengths and interests
&w=3840&q=75)
2. Student Goals
Transition plans must describe a student's goals for after they complete high school. It can be helpful for students to think about where they envision themselves at age 25-30, and then plan backwards from that point.
Depending on the student and their unique circumstances, goals could include:
attending a 4-year college
entering a particular profession
living in a group home
living independently
participating in certain leisure activities
performing certain life skills
As with all IEP goals, transition goals should be SMART:
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant
Time-bound
&w=3840&q=75)
3. Services
Transition plans must describe the services a student will receive. Services should be planned specifically to help the student meet their post-secondary goals.
When developing a plan for transition services, team members should use a backwards planning approach: start with the student's post-secondary goal, and then work backwards to determine what the student requires each year in order to meet that goal.
In some cases, services will end when a student is 18 and graduates. In other cases, services extend through age 22.
&w=3840&q=75)
The Goal of Transition Planning
Families and students should know their right to a robust and individualized transition plan, and should advocate for such a plan if they are not offered one.
High-quality transition planning gives students with disabilities the opportunity to use public education to meet their own goals. It respects their agency and their individuality, and grants them the capacity to determine how they want to live their lives.
This content was reviewed by a psychologist at Boston Children's Hospital.
Families local to Boston can seek transition assessments and guidance from the Cardiac Neurodevelopmental Program.
Want to Learn More?
Look below for related content, search resources by topic, or explore one of our custom guides.
Don't see what you're looking for? Let us know what you want to learn! We will try to add content to respond to your needs. Email CNPschedulingandquestions@childrens.harvard.edu