Is Your Kid with a Disability
Really Ready to Graduate?
Some Top Tips for Assessing Whether
The Student Is Ready to Graduate!
Written by Matt Cohen
Many parents with children with disabilities have high expectations for the ability of their children to function as normally as possible after graduation. Some students with disabilities have sufficiently severe disabilities that both parents and school assume that the child may require special education services beyond their senior year. On the other hand, many students with disabilities have the capability of functioning with greater independence and may have met the graduation requirements by the end of senior year. Many parents are unaware that even children with less severe disabilities may be eligible for services from the public school system beyond their senior year. A student could be doing great academically, but have great difficulty with social skills, organizational skills or other life skills. A student may be functioning academically but have significant emotional or behavioral issues that impede their ability to function independently. A student could have good grades, but the grades are based on a modified grading system or just the efforts of teachers to pass them along and don't really reflect mastery of needed skills. A student may even be able to do well in the high school, but have great difficulty generalizing those skills at home and in the community.
Does your student even understand his or her disability and recognize both their abilities and the kind of help they may need in the future? If not, is it realistic for them to graduate, even if they have met graduation requirements? The whole point of special education is to promote the ability of students with disabilities to function as independently as possible as adults. Grades, achievement test scores and even mastery of IEP goals do not automatically mean that the student's special education needs have been met.
All this is supposed to be discussed during the transition planning process. Transition planning is supposed to start no later than 16 under federal law and earlier under some state laws. Transition planning should begin with evaluation of the student's academic needs, vocational needs, and other needs that may relate to their ability to function in the world as adults. It should also address their aptitudes and interests. All this information must lead to the development of a ........
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We will be offering a free workshop relating to these same issues on May 9 in our Chicago office.
The Second Semester Senior Year Surprise: Is Your Kid with a Disability Really Ready to Graduate?
A free workshop on things Parents and Clinicians should know to decide if your kid is ready to graduate and strategies for dealing with the educational, functional, legal and EMOTIONAL issues surrounding transition from high school. Presented by Matt Cohen, Matt Cohen & Associates.
Please click here for more information.
