What Happens After High School?
When you child is a teenager and nearing the point when he or she will leave high school, you have reached the period of transition. Transition refers to the time when a student leaves school and enters the adult community. This change presents important challenges for both you and your child.
Information excerpted from:
The Parents' Guide to Transition which is funded by the U.S.Department of Education through an agreement with Montana's Office of Public Instruction for the Montana Systems Change for Transition Services for Youth with Disabilities Project.
Various issuses will be addressed for consideration as families plan for their child's life post high school.
Parental involvement is key in the transition process. Though there are no specific guidelines for parents to follow, there are several roles for them to play, including(a) members of the IEP Team,(b) providers of information,(c) sources of values,(d) determiners of priorities,(e) case managers,(f) advocates,(g) role models,and (h) most importantly risk takers.
The most important role that parents have in transition is the gradual process of letting go. When a child has disabilities and has required a great deal of extra care and concern from parents, it is sometimes difficult for parents to let go of their children and allow them to grow up. There is, however, danger in restricting and protecting children with disabilities unnecessarily. Children with disabilities need experiences just as other children do. Parents have to be willing to take some risks and allow their children to experience frustration and failure so that they also have the chance to learn from their mistakes and become more competent adults.
Generally speaking ,parents have to jump start the transition process and plan ahead so that their children have the training and backround that they need to take over the responsibility for themselves. Parents need to help with the daily living skills, sex education, social skills development, and acquisition of good work habits. In order to be effective in planning for their children's transition, parents need to become familiar with the supports and services that adults with disabilities use to assist them in living and working in the community. As with any child, children with disabilities benefit from having parents who assume they will grow up and be on their own some day.
As high school graduation approaches, their are a number of decisions which only families and students can make about aspects of adult living. Educators and social agency personnel can be helpful in the informing parents about these issues, but parents and students themselves must be the ones to make the final decisions. It is helpful for families to face these issues head-on and take action, so that plans for transition into adult living can proceed in an orderly way. The following are the areas of decision-making which have to be addressed by parents and children togethter.
Independence As students with disabilities approach graduation from school, it is important for them and their families to consider how huch independence is realistic to expect that the students will be able to achieve. Sometimes parents of children with disabilities fall into the trap of being more protective of their children and doing more for them than is necessary. After all, each task that young adults with disabilities can perform for themselvesis one less that someone else may have to be paid one day to do.
School personnel can help parents teach their son or daughter skills that lead to independence, but ultimately parents have to decide how much they are willing and able to let go of their parental role and allow their children to be on their own.
Guardianship It sometimes comes as a stunning surprise to parents when they learn that under law, they have no legal responsibility or control over their child after he or she reaches the age 18, unless they apply for guardianship through the Court System. Not having power to act for an incapacitated child can be a problem for a variety of reasons, especially should the accasion arise that the incapacitated individual needs medical treatment aond cannot sign the medical release forms.
The guardianship issue should be considered carefully by families in the light of a specific child's needs. Guardianship may only be appointed to meet the actual mental and physical limitations of incapacitated persons. The guardianship must be designed to encourage the development of maxium independence of the ward and may be used only to promote and protect the well-being of the incapacitated person.
Driving Whether or not a teenager with disabilities can get a driver's license depends upon the instruction the student receives and the student's level of skill and judgement. In planning the transition from high school, it is important to discuss the realistic possibilities for a student to benefit from driving instruction and pass the driver's test. Driver evaluation and training can be arranged through VESID.
If a student is unlikely to be able to drive or pass a driving test, then plans should be made to assist the student in learning to use alternative means of transportation like public transportation.
Young adults with physical disabilities can learn to drive with appropriate mechanical modification of their automobiles. The local VESID office can supply information about hand controls and other such devices.
What Should Parents Do When a Child Cannot Get a Driver's License and Has No Form of Personal Identification?
Individuals may apply for a State Identification Card at any local Driver's Licensing Bureau. There are no age requirements.
Do Young Men with Disabilities Have to Sign Up for Selective Service?
All males are required to register for selective service within 30 days of their 18th birthday unless they are institutionalized or hospitalized. Registration can be accomplished by obtaining a registration form at a local post office.
