August 2023
Welcome Back!
The beginning of the school year holds much excitement for everyone. Students eager to re-connect with friends and teachers. Caregivers excited to see their loved one’s growth over the next several months. Teachers ready to develop students and lifelong learners. As we return to the routine of our school days, be sure you have the tools needed to support your students or child. See some of our most used tools below, intended for educators, County Board of DD SSAs, OOD counselors, caregivers, and anyone supporting transition age youth.
Age-Appropriate Transition Assessment Planning Guide
Throughout this guide, you will be introduced to the planning process for transition assessment. It is important we intentionally plan for transition assessment to ensure we reduce duplication, build on a student’s progress, and identify individualized assessment to build the youth’s profile in relationship to those skills needed for their adult life goals.
Each stage of the planning process will include webpages to explain parts of the process -- incorporating videos, showing examples, offering reminders, and suggesting tools to help you each step of the way. Click any of the stages of the planning process to ‘open’ that section of the guide and additional webpages.
Employability/Life Skills Assessment (ELSA)
It is never too early or too late to focus on employability and life skills. This assessment can be used with children, youth and adults of any age – with or without a disability. These skills are important for all aspects of a meaningful life: living, learning and working in the community. This assessment is used to gauge the child/youth’s ability to perform Employability/Life Skills (ELSA) against the standards expected of adults – and give education teams an area of focus for instruction, services, and goals.
Vocational Planning Tool
The Vocational Planning Tool can help identify the conditions for success in employment and targets for skill development during employment preparation based on preferences, interests, needs and strengths. This tool has worked best when every team member or provider supporting the student agree to use it for each vocational assessment, job trial, volunteer opportunity, or other employment experience. Information collected through this tool can be reflected in the person’s Individualized Education Program (IEP), Age Appropriate Transition Assessment (AATA), Individual Plan for Employment (IPE), Individual Service Plan (ISP), Discovery Profile, and more!
County Board of DD School Spotlight: Charting the LifeCourse
September 14, 2023
Join us to learn more about Charting the LifeCourse and how other County Board Schools and families are using these tools to help create a plan for transition. You will have an opportunity to dig a little deeper with your colleagues and see how they plan to incorporate Charting the LifeCourse in their practice.
New Resource!
Supported Decision-Making Network of Ohio
Did you know... we All likely use Supported Decision-Making in our lives. Questions about car troubles, doing your taxes, buying a house, or healthcare? You have likely asked a family member or close friend for advice or support in making an informed decision for yourself. Well, people with disabilities need the same support making informed decisions for themselves – just maybe in additional or different areas than you.
- Check out the new one-pager on Supported Decision-Making to help you understand the myths about guardianship and how you can help your students, people served, or child develop a support system to help them make informed decisions.
- Learn more about the Supported Decision-Making Network of Ohio and their work to promote people with diverse needs to have control over their decisions and the support they need to make them.
Preparing FOR THE ISP/IEP Are You Ready?
Presented by: Tracey Manz, Project Manager for Family Resource Network of Ohio
Learn about the key components to Ohio's Individualized Service Plan or ISP. Use the six life domains from Charting the LifeCourse to guide your plan and see how a youth IEP can help guide the ISP!
Adult Literacy Ohio, Gain life skills for reading in your local Ohio Community!
Presented by: Rachel Berens Heiber, Program Manager of Adult Literacy Ohio
Have you recently graduated in the years 2020, 2021, or 2022? Want to gain more reading skills for adult life? The Adult Literacy Ohio Reading program is for you. Sign up today!
Early Transition Planning Webpage
Explore Employment First’s latest webpage – Early Transition Planning – where families and educators of elementary school students with disabilities can learn to ease into the transition planning process at a young age. With two buckets of resources titled, Start Talking and Connect for Support, there is a resource for everyone!