Transition Planning for Students with Down Syndrome

National Down Syndrome Societytransition planningWhat will change after high school?While in school, most, if not all, of the resources that make up astudent's principal support system of special education and relatedservices are mandated by law. Upon graduation, the student will nolonger be eligible for many of the services, and the responsibility ofidentifying, locating and coordinating appropriate resources will fallmainly upon the individuals and their families.With proper planning, many important resource links can already bein place by the time the student graduates. There are many optionsavailable to individuals with Down syndrome after high school, butthe best way to ensure a successful transition is to start planning forit long before graduation.3“Transition planning can never start tooearly. Children with Down syndrome wantthe same things in life as their typicalsiblings, such as moving away from homeinto their own housing, finding a job, orgoing to school. This was the expectationof our two sons with disabilities. Westarted planning early to make thetransition as smooth and successful as itcould be for everyone involved. Due toearly planning, both boys are participatingmembers of their community and have anenriched quality of life.”– Michael Remus, Director of SpecialEducation, Portland, OR,Public SchoolsWhat does transitionplanning involve?Transition planninginvolves looking towardsthe future and envisioningall the skills andpreparations that will beneeded to lead the mostfulfilling life possible.Looked at in this way, alltraining and educationreceived during childhoodand adolescence are partof transition planning.However, formal transitionplanning involves adocument called atransition plan, which isrequired by law to formpart of a student'sIndividualized EducationPlan (IEP) starting at age14.