Transitions Considerations Checklist

Use this checklist to determine if your child's transition planning includes all of the components needed.

From NCLD's IDEA Parent Guide, Chapter 8: Transition

Early Transition Planning (for students in middle school)

• Have your child's strengths and interests been adequately identified? If not, what assessments are needed?
• Can your child's strengths and interests generate ideas for realistic goals or directions for the future?
• Can your child expect to graduate with a regular high school diploma?
• What would your child need to learn or be able to do in order to meet his or her goals?
• Does your child's courses of study contribute to meeting these goals?
• Is self-advocacy training included in your child's program?
• If needed, are functional skills (e.g., working with or managing money, shopping, using public transportation, and knowing how to be safe at home and in the community) included in your child's program?
• Are extracurricular activities relevant to your child's interests available?

Late Transition Planning (for students in last two years of high school)

All of the above questions are still relevant and additional ones need to be addressed:

• Can your child explain the specific nature of his or her disability? Does your child know when it is appropriate to disclose and discuss this disability and explain the accommodations it requires?
• Does your child know his or her legal rights?
• Have you and your child established working relationships with professionals from community service agencies who will be providing services after your child leaves high school?
• Are there natural supports available in your community (friends, clubs, religious organizations, etc.) to meet your child's needs and interests?
• If your child has been using assistive technology or software, what arrangements have been made to ensure that these will be available to him or her after high school?
• If your child has reached your state's age of majority, has he or she received a notice of the rights that transfer?

NCLD's Parent Center is made possible by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, NCLD's Board of Directors and other committed parents and supporters.