050. Empowered Beginnings Pt. 1 - Updates for Middle & Onto Freshman Year

Welcome. This is the Post Secondary Transition podcast, we have conversations around this process for families of students with disabilities, and I'm one of the co-hosts; my name is Patrick Cadigan. I'm a public school special education teacher and who is my co host?

general. But for those who have had pages on the IEP transitions, now more embedded throughout the IEP, as per the state of Maryland, they want to make sure that it's considered by everybody, not just like a transition coordinator, or one person on the team, they want case managers, related service providers, obviously, parents, everyone involved to be aware of transition and planning for that post secondary world. So moving forward, the transition part will actually be appearing on

the present level pages. So underneath where you might have like a reading, present level, written language, math, there's going to be secondary transition. And that will be updated every year, based off of those interviews that are completed, which we'll talk a little bit more about with your

student. But it can also include information from other people on the team, there might be feedback from teachers, feedback from parents, there'll be information about things that are occurring, you know, throughout the year, like test scores, if they took the PSATs, any service learning, just a whole variety of thing to kind of show the student as a whole as you're starting to plan that post secondary path. So that's the big change, and then there will be other, there still be

the other transition pages. But again, it's just a little more updated to make sure it flows into what else is going on in their daily routine, it transition isn't just a separate page or separate box to think about, we have to think about it all around. Because you can't just look at one piece of a student, you have to look at the whole person.

was really a lot in there. But to walk this back, let's start with idea, right? The federal law that talks about the requirement for special education, so a student hits 14. And part of IDEA says that that at age 14 is when those transitions transition requirements are triggered. Now, there are some states who had actually is younger than that. However, in most cases, or at least where we are, it is still the age of 14. So with this new change, like Megan was saying in

the Plath. There are now delineated out two separate areas for transition, which is going to be education and employment. I will tell you what

I have done with this based on the feedback and the information that we have gotten. And where I always start is the student interview. And we've talked about student interviews before because then they also play into the digital portfolios and things like that like this is when I do a student interview. I'm asking them about interests. If you like to read what books do you like to read the If you like to cook, and if you do like to cook, what do you cook? And

why do you like that? And then TV and movies and the same thing? Or essentially, each one of these interview questions in the best of circumstances is going to lead to even more information that paints a snapshot in time, if you will, of where they are. And that is, that's where we're essentially starting.

am? They're like, tiptoeing around, well, can I really tell her what I think? And then it'll come out, like, I really don't like the teacher. And you know, we'll be like, Okay, well, what, what is it that you don't like about not this or the teacher, but the structure of the class. And it might be that the teacher is talking too much, or, you know, the work goes too quickly. So it helps to kind of pinpoint

some of those things. Okay, so you're telling me that you really prefer a class that has more visuals, not just the auditory piece or so I kind of lead them down that path to get more information out of them? And then I always like to ask them, you know, what kind of activities or clubs? Are you a part of at school? How about upside of school? You know, do you have any jobs or volunteering? What do you do for

fun? And then I start into the hole, what do you want to be when you grow up, because you know, at that point, they're, they're older than the middle school crew, and they might have an idea, or they've gone and toured some schools with siblings or thought about where

they might want to go. But you're, like you've said, it's just about crud, trying to lead them into more questions to kind of get a feel for what they are thinking without them realizing they've been thinking they, they might have an interest in and showing them how they can explore that more.

And again, like Megan was saying, like, that's gonna lead into, you know, more questions. And you know, because a lot of times the kids are thinking very general. And they're like, Well, what does that mean? Well, like, you know, would you want to be a doctor? Would you want to be a nurse? I have a lot of times, what I'll get is, I want to be a YouTuber. But again, yeah, I'm recording all of that and stuff

in there. And then the final piece of that, for me is then asking the big question in terms of, again, that snapshot in time. What are you thinking about? When you think about life after high school? Is college something that you're thinking about? Do you are you interested in that? Depending on the student that the responses can be? It's it just definitely depends on the student.

it. And I have a lot of students who it's hard to look at the big picture of things they're so focused on, I gotta get this assignment done, or I gotta get back to this class and do this. And I also find that with a lot of families, too, and, you know, like you were saying, Patrick, when they're thinking of going into ninth grade, at those transition meetings, rather than questions like, What is DORS? Or what is DDA? I know, the questions are more geared to her, what's their schedule going

to be like? Where's their locker? You know, what's this going to look like? So it's more of the here and now rather than the big picture. And I get that, but I think one of the things we hope that the conversations that we're doing is that you can start thinking, you know, on your own, about those bigger picture, things that can help hopefully guide you through those day to day things.

component part. What are you Your thoughts on high school like what are you hoping for for high school over the course of the next four years? And then again, within the with the intent of starting the conversation? What are you thinking about in terms of employment? Like, what are you seeing? Like, one of the things that Megan impressed upon me, was one of the questions that I always ask parents now is, Does your child do chores in the house? And if they do, what are

those chores? Like be specific when you go to the supermarket? Are they shopping on their own? Are you shopping with it? Like, what does that look like? It always gleaned a lot of really interesting information, at least for me, because like I said, I'm recording all of it, and then putting it in that in those in those present levels.

told me. And if they align, and if they don't, I'm trying to have that conversation, you know, in a safe zone zone, like the IEP meeting about, you know, this is what the your child's saying they're interested in, and maybe we can talk about, you know, ways to get to give them more experience to explore whether that's something and it's okay, if they have this thought now, it could change or just, just to put it all out in

the open. Yes, I think one of the worst things is when we get to one of those final meetings, and the parents still thinks the child's go into college to be a doctor, and the child wants to go to you know, trade school to be a mechanic or something like that. It's just it's very hard for everybody.

do want to throw out a disclaimer that you know, obviously the the conversation up until this point, we are talking about students who when we are interacting with them, verbally, and then they are responding verbally, but make no mistake, there is absolutely ways to talk with students who are nonverbal. They are they can be indirect, it can be direct, again, you we are always thinking of it in terms of

environment. So, nonverbal students have just as much to say and offer, however, we just kind of have to look at it a little bit differently. So, to that point, one of the tools that I have used, and Megan, I think you and I've talked about this before, so you probably use it as well as it's what's referred to as a photographic inventory, right? These are effectively pictures of jobs, different activities, and we're looking for feedback from the

student. And also and again, this is where the family is also help. And the teachers as well. And even with our diploma-bound friends, I am going to the teachers as well. And I'm saying, hey, look, when I'm thinking about this kid's future, this is what I'm thinking, what do you think, and then they'll, again, they'll throw out strengths, needs, challenges, you know, what they think all of that is valuable, great information. And again, I'm I'm tacking it all in there.

give a variety. So it's not the same one every year to because it's so interesting to see when they're presented with different types of pictures, what they might select. And I know parents have often asked, and I think we've addressed this before, well, it's just the picture like they, they don't show any interest in actually cooking.

I'm like, Yeah, but there's something there, like something drew drew them to that picture of whether it's the food, whether it's the action of cooking, they have some kind of like for that. So obviously, observations is so important to whether it be in the school setting, if we put them in a foods class to see if they really like it. And if they do what it is they like, or if you're having them help at home and getting that information. So again, it's such a collaborative

approach. And there's such a variety that can be used to find that information. I think we just need to make sure that we're doing all that.

absolutely. So then approaching them with that specific information is a little more motivating, you know, and get that conversation going. So definitely call on your resources.

exists. I've never actually like, known anyone to go through it. But it is it's a program that it's called bridges. It is through the Marriott Corporation. And I know about it, because I have a friend of mine who works for Marriott and, but it is designed and intended for people with disabilities to be able to get jobs within the hotel industry. And so I sent that along to the parent. And I said, this may not apply now, but just stored away somewhere. You never know. Things might

change. But I thought that was really good.

high school? So the answer to that question is, Meghan..?

individualized. So we definitely recommend you checking out all the information to see which bits and pieces would apply for your situation. Because, for example, starting with the freshman year, for a non diploma student, we really encourage that they are participating in their IEP meeting. And that goes for all students with an IEP, even our ones who are nonverbal, they all should be in attendance, because the

information is about them. And I think sometimes we get carried away and forget why we're all there and who were there for actually had a family once this mother would bring a picture of her daughter and put it on the table. During the meeting, her daughter was more severely disabled. And so although she could have been at the meeting, and she didn't show up for the beginning of the meeting, just to make an appearance, she went

back to class. But the mother kept the picture there for the whole meeting so that we remembered who we were talking about. So when things got heated and things, you know, people were kind of digging their heels or whatever that may be. She's the reason we were here. So I like that idea. But just the participation in any form. Something else that applies for all students is to get a state

issued ID card. And I have some families with students who are exiting this year who are doing just that when their nonverbal students but it is so important, because they have their Id just like everyone else has their information, it keeps them safe. It's you know, just something that they should get used to carrying, and hopefully can give everyone a peace of mind. Moving

forward. We always encourage the transition coordinators, particularly about applying for your state's Developmental Disabilities agency, and your state's vocational rehabilitation agency around age 14. Now, I know it gets a little confusing about what are all these acronyms and what are

these terms? Well, the Developmental Disabilities Administration in Maryland or DDA is that long term funding, who usually is there to serve those individuals with more severe disabilities that really need those help with functioning and you know, trying to live as independently as they can after they leave the school system.

DORS the Division of Rehabilitation Services is typically more short term funding, and that can be for anyone with a documented disability age 14 and up and they'll give you different things and we've talked about it and other conversations we've had. But there are two different agencies that have outside of school resources and supports that we definitely encourage you exploring Seeing if it's a good

fit for your child. And then something that everyone should be doing even before age 14 is just having that at home file for your child. And you know before 14 conclude any the IEP documents that are received any assessments like a psychological evaluation or educational report that's been completed any documentation that you might have, if you've been with the autism waiver, you can keep your

information there. But as you get to transition age, I like to have make sure families have a transition specific file for applications for DDA, any information from DORS they receive, and just moving forward, I have families as they get towards like age 18, and they start talking about you know, guardianship, or receiving SSI, they keep it all on this one place. Because you never know, especially with some of our state funded agencies, I know, we know sometimes paperwork and get lost and

things get mixed up. So it's good to have all those information in one place so that you have a record of it.

and definitions. Now, we always throw out there that it's not a full and complete list because of course, transition is so individualized. However, in anticipation of that, we have some friends over at service coordination, and they have a glossary page that has even more definitions. So there is a link on our acronyms and definitions page to that, that if there is something perhaps that you're not finding, I would be willing to bet that you're going to find it there with service

coordination. So give it a look, it's a good one, that resource. So one of the other things that I wanted to throw out there for our high school friends was, you know, kind of as Megan was digging in, to our friends who are non diploma-bound, with the making sure to work closely with the School Special Education team, to make sure that that updated that that IEP gets

updated. And that's going to include those post secondary goals, and starting the process of researching and understanding the accommodations that are available at the post secondary level. Now, again, this is not necessarily something that you're going to have to worry about right away in freshman year. But just something to keep in mind Goodstart kind of familiarize yourself with that vocabulary and some of those things that, you know, you might have to deal with down the road.

being pulled out. But when it comes time to talk about what their disability is, they're like, I don't know, I'm like, Okay, well, let's talk about what you have, you know, specific accommodations for and moving forward, but you might need at the college level, or wherever you go. And they kind of just shrug their shoulders.

So it's so important. And I see a lot of case managers who sit with the students on their caseload, and really go through it with a fine tooth comb so that they can fully understand it. Because on the intern, they can fully advocate for themselves when they know what they need. And it's such a good thing for them to learn how to do at the high school level, as they move forward in life, even outside of the next, you know,

college or trade school. And when they get into a job, they need to learn how to be able to advocate for themselves.

And that, you know, they'll be like, oh, yeah, my mom's friend has her own office, I'm like, great. Ask if you can go shadow or sit down and talk to her about it. Just, you know, it's great when they have those formal internships or job shadowing opportunities, especially if they go through the vocational rehabilitation

services. But even just through family, your people that they know, if they have, if they know someone who has a career that they can, you know, Shadow informally or just talk to him about it, he really gives them a leg up to fully understand if that is something that they are

interested in pursuing. And then just thinking in general, and this goes for all our families, just making sure you build that support network with other parents, others, other organizations, there's so many resources out there in our state, for those families of students with disabilities. I mean, I can't stress enough, especially when you're approaching that graduation or exit year, how important it is to lean on others who might have gone through the process already, or who were going

through the process with you. I know a number of families from my one school that we would go visit agencies, and then they would go out for coffee together and talk amongst themselves. I think it just makes everyone feel so supported. It's so important to remember that you are not alone in all of this. There's teams of people out there that you can lean on.

reality of the situation is. So you know, there needs to flexibility as far as I'm concerned. keeping an open mind in this part, can be can be more of a challenge than one might think.

conversation there. Because people now have a long journey for their freshman year, and we'll be able to get into what to consider for sophomore year and then junior year and senior year, but all to be had at a later time. All right, well...

channel. We've done some the legwork for you by curating videos of topics that revolve around transition. We have playlists, we cover guardianship alternatives to guardianship ABLE accounts. And there's still more to come as we find more videos that we think will be valuable to use. So please be sure to subscribe there as well. And then finally, check out our redesigned website which is full of information around the transition process. You can find our contact information there

too. So make sure to go to www dot post secondary transition.com