Transition

National Center on Deaf-Blindness: Transition

Students with deaf-blindness face unique challenges when transitioning from school to college, employment, and/or community living. It’s important for school teams, including families, to begin thinking and preparing for transition as early as possible. Early recognition of the unique needs of students with deaf-blindness, the development of a good transition plan, that includes partnerships with state and community organizations, will result in promoting a more successful transition to adulthood.  Below are several resources which will provide information concerning the unique needs for students who are deaf-blind.

Making a change from one setting to another, or transitioning from one phase of life to another, can be challenging for anyone. It can be particularly difficult for youngsters who rely on routine and predictability to make up for the information they can not access through vision and hearing. This section explores information about how to plan for successful transitions for students who are deaf-blind.


READY Tool: Readiness Evaluation of Transition to Adulthood for Deaf-Blind Youth 

The READY Tool helps a transition team, composed of an individual who is deaf-blind, parents, and professionals, determine essential activities that must be carried out during the transition process. The completed tool should be used to generate a plan of action and develop goals and objectives for the IEP and transition plans.
 

The following are a list of resources from the Interdisceplanery Transition Team Initiative (ITTI):

The Interdisciplinary Transition Team Initiative (ITTI) provided focused support for school teams working with students with deaf-blindness around the secondary transition process.  While the formal ITTI process is no longer offered, PaTTAN Deaf-Blind Consultants continue to support students and teams, including families, in attaining successful secondary transition outcomes.

Secondary Transition for Students with Deaf-Blindness: Success Story Video (Video to come)

While the formal ITTI process is no longer offered, the lessons learned from the project are helpful to all students and teams, including families, in attaining successful secondary transition outcomes. This video provides you with a peek into ITTI by sharing interviews with family and educators involved in the ITTI process.

Deaf-Blind Pennsylvania Transition Timeline with Resources

The Transition Timeline is an inventory, broken down by age category (12-21), that students, families and educators can use to stay on target during the transition process. Embedded within the Timeline are resources complementary to each component. Families and professionals may use this document for easily locating those resources necessary to complete the good action planning associated with transition planning. These resources are matched to an original timeline created through the Interdisciplinary Transition Team Initiative (ITTI) as a “checklist” and corresponding to the various ages of transition planning. This transition timeline with resources is a living document and will be updated on an as needed basis. Please check back periodically to make sure you have the most up to date version, as new links and transition resources will be added as they are identified.

IEP Team Considerations that Impact Graduation and Secondary Transition Success for Students with Deaf-Blindness (Video)

The purpose of this webinar is to provide specific information regarding the graduation requirements and the various pathways to graduation in the State of Pennsylvania. A student with deaf-blindness has unique needs which are best served by careful, planful approach to secondary transition and merges the connections between educational and adult services.