This section describes what transition planning is all about by
talking about the following:
- Best practices – a discussion of things that makes transition
planning work well;
- Person-centred planning – an approach to including your
child in transition planning;
- Getting an early start – a discussion on the importance of
getting a handle on transition planning in the pre-teen years; and
- Managing the process – pointing out that much of the
responsibility for transition planning rests with parents.
Transitions are about change. The transition process is about looking
ahead to the future and preparing for one of the most significant times
in your child’s life – becoming an adult. For parents this may be a time of
many emotions. As your child grows up, you may suddenly realize that
they are becoming their own person with likes, dislikes, and their own
view of the world.
Exploring new interests, getting to know the community, starting new
programs, working with new service providers, establishing relationships with
new caregivers, leaving familiar surroundings and friends and making new
ones are some of the changes that lie ahead. Planning for these changes
takes time and so an early start is important. Realistically, it will require a
lot of preparation to develop a plan for the future that is positive and
practical and that best reflects the preferences and interests of your child.
The time of transition planning is about building your child’s self-reliance
skills. Your natural instinct is to protect your child and as a parent of a
child with developmental disabilities that instinct is likely even stronger.
However, it is important to not underestimate your child’s abilities. Find
ways to set expectations for your child and provide them with lots of
encouragement to do their best. Encourage them to expect the best from
themselves. Throughout the planning exercise, it will be important to
recognize opportunities to strengthen your child’s independence and
their ability to begin advocating on their own behalf – a skill they will
need as they become an adult.
Transition planning will mean making many decisions with your child
about various aspects of their life. It is important for you to begin preparing
for the time when your child is no longer in school everyday. You need
to consider things like living arrangements, community programs,
employment opportunities, further education opportunities, health care,
recreation and social activities. The transition planning activities will
help you look at each of the areas noted above to identify your child’s
strengths and opportunities for growth, identify things they want to pursue
and how they should go about pursuing them.
Not all of these changes need to happen at once. In fact, today many
adolescents with or without developmental disabilities continue to live at
home with their parents while attending post-secondary programs or
after entering the workforce. However, the difference is that as a parent
of a child with a development disability you may continue with many
parental responsibilities that other parents pass on to their children as
they reach adulthood.
Transition is about planning and preparing for the changes that adult life
will bring and then having your child do the things that other young
adults do. While some young adults with developmental disabilities may
require supports and services from their community to do those things,
adult life involves much more than receiving services. Becoming an
adult is about participating in community life and being a citizen – a
contributing member of society.
Tip # 1
More information on Best Practices is
available in Part 2: Tools & Resources under Tool 1.
Best Practices in Transition Planning
Best practices can be defined as programs, initiatives or activities which
are considered leading edge and can serve as exceptional models for others to
follow. Research studies on best practices in transition planning typically
identify a similar list of outcomes – person-centred or person-directed
planning, including others in developing the plan, identifying a coordinator,
and monitoring and updating the plan. Given their importance, many of
these issues will also be discussed throughout the document.
In addition, some good examples of best practices research can be found in
British Columbia at the Ministry of Children and Family Development,
the Alberta Central Region Community Board, and the “Transitions from
High School to Adult Life” project completed by the Saskatchewan
Association for Community Living. In the United States, several good
references are available through various states, including Washington,
California, North Dakota and Michigan.
Tip #2
More information on resources in other
jurisdictions is provided in Part 2: Tools & Resources under Transition Planning
Resources, Transition Planning Guides and Other Transition Planning Resources.
Person-Centred Planning
Your child will be at the centre of developing their transition plan for
their future. You and others close to your child need to find ways to
have your child take a leadership role in planning and decision-making
throughout the process to the extent that they are able. Involving your
child in this way is called person-centred planning.
This approach to planning is about understanding your child, their gifts,
their dreams, their interests and their preferences. It is about focusing on
enabling qualities – the positives – to bring plans to action. Person-centred
planning is based on the belief that each individual has strengths, has the
ability to express preferences and make contributions and choices. Again, it
is recognized that each child’s ability to contribute to the planning process
will be different but every contribution in whatever form is important.
You may already be familiar with person-centred planning from other
programs or activities as it is an approach that is not unique to transition
planning. Using a person-centred planning approach to develop the
transition plan is key to ensuring that your child will be the driving force
throughout, with you, the parent, playing a significant role as well.
Much has been written about person-centred planning and there are
many tools and exercises available to help those in your network better
understand your child. Of particular interest are two such tools – MAPS
(Making Action Plans) and PATH (Planning Alternative Tomorrows with
Hope). MAPS is a planning process that takes a look at a person’s story –
their history – to understand them and help them develop a plan to
move in the direction of their dreams. PATH takes a point in the future
and works back to the present, identifying the steps needed in between to
make a dream a reality.
Tip #3
Further information about these tools is available at
www.inclusion.com. They are also identified in Part 2: Tools & Resources under
Transition Planning Resources, Person-Centred Planning Tools.
Much of the person-centred literature suggests that families should engage
a facilitator to help through the planning process as is the case with the
MAPS and PATH tools. The facilitator does not have to be a service professional
but it is helpful if it is someone who has been trained in the use
of person-centred planning tools. The Central Alberta Community Board
has developed a set of person-centred planning tools so that families can
engage in the planning activities and manage the process on their own.
Many individuals, families, and service providers have been involved in
conceptualizing, designing, piloting, and evaluating the person-centered
planning process now being implemented in communities across the
Central Alberta region. A person-centred planning tool and guidebook
have been developed; a literature review and personal stories of success
are also available for review. In Ontario, the Individualized Funding
Coalition recently developed a person-directed planning guide, also available
in a plain language version.
Tip #4
The Alberta documents can all be accessed at
www.pdd.org/Central/resources/personcp.shtml and the Ontario
document is available at www.individualizedfunding.ca. More information is available
in Part 2: Tools & Resources under Transition Planning Resources,
Person-Centred Planning Tools.
Involving your child from the beginning to create a plan that best reflects
their interests and preferences is more likely to enhance the outcomes for
your child and lead to the development and implementation of a more
appropriate plan for the future. You should involve your child in ways
that make the most sense based on their abilities and circumstances.
Person-centred planning is a great way for your child to take ownership
of their plan and to feel in control of their lives. It also provides them
with an opportunity to begin advocating for themselves, an important
skill in building self-reliance.
Get an Early Start
Planning for an event helps to identify the things that need to be
done ahead of time, prepare for what is coming and think of
alternative strategies if things do not go exactly as planned.
Transition planning will help your child identify opportunities
and experiences during their school years to help prepare them
for life as an adult.
One of the most important aspects of transition planning is getting an
early start. By the time your child reaches the age of nine you can begin
with casual conversations about what they want to be when they grow
up. Talking about the future with your child will help them become
more comfortable with the whole notion of change. You will need to
prepare your child well in advance to make sure they are ready to be
involved and make decisions about the future. This is an important time
for them and one they may not be ready to participate in at first. Planning
allows both you and your child to prepare for the change ahead, to identify
concerns and questions and become emotionally prepared for the move
to adult life.
Through the education system, at age 14, your child will begin planning
for the future through the development of an Individual Education Plan
(IEP) and a Transition Plan. These plans will identify specific actions and
activities that will help move your child closer to achieving their goals
for the future. Further details about transition planning in the education
system in Ontario are discussed in Section 4.
However, you don’t need to wait for the education system to get started.
You can begin by keeping track of basic information about your child
(reports, records, certificates of achievement etc.) and your family to share
with various individuals as you go through the planning process.
Having your child help you complete these transition planning documents
that are found in Part 2 of this guide and discussed in Section 3 is a great
way to introduce them to becoming involved in the planning process.
Manage the Process
Transition planning is a partnership involving you, your child, other family
members, teachers, friends, community and adult service providers, employers
and any other individuals with a vested interest in your child. As parents,
your role will involve taking charge and effectively coordinating a set of
activities to develop a transition plan that best reflects the interests and
preferences of your child.
Transition planning is not an easy task and it is likely to be overwhelming
at times. But you do not have to face it alone. Early on you will want to
surround yourself with people who can help you. These people will
become your network of support that know and have a vested interest in
your child. Your network should be energizing and creative and will likely
include other members of your family, friends, peers, teachers, and/or
community support workers and even other parents of children with
developmental disabilities. Find ways to give people in your network the
opportunity to enjoy hospitality and to become familiar with one another.
This will help build strong and effective relationships and help build
commitment to your child. Many of the individuals in your network of
support may become part of your transition planning team – individuals
you select to help you put your plan together. While you are your child’s
best advocate, there are many other people involved in your lives – both
known to you and new to you – that can provide a wealth of information
from an objective and fresh perspective. Section 3 provides more details
on establishing this team.
You will encounter transition planning in the education system; it may
also come up through your involvement in the service system; and you
need to be thinking about transition planning activities at home as well.
However, this planning process is not going to happen on its own and
you cannot wait for someone else to start the ball rolling. It is going to
take your hard work and effort to do this. You will need to coordinate
your efforts across the community and education systems and build the
most effective transition planning process for you and your child. The
more prepared and knowledgeable you are, the more ready you will be to
take charge and coordinate these efforts successfully.
