Tip 7: Integrate into life return to top
Immersion gives us all the connections and understanding about the possibilities and integration gives us individual-focused understanding and possibilities. To integrate means to “make it your own” which is exactly what we want to happen for our children and students. They need to listen to information, sort through it and see what makes sense for them. Then they can devise a plan based on who they are. Teachers and parents need to be able to ask the questions (which are sometimes difficult) and allow time for processing and failure (some of my best opportunities have came from my failures). As parents and teachers we need to gently guide and question. More importantly, however, we need to step back to let our young adult assume responsibility for their life. Integration means they are in charge! Hence the title: Your Life: Ready, Set, Go!
A booklet that contains additional ideas and reproducible visual handouts is in development now. Please check back for more information. If you have ideas you would like to share please email me at lmcdowell9@cinci.rr.com
Immersion gives us all the connections and understanding about the possibilities and integration gives us individual-focused understanding and possibilities. To integrate means to “make it your own” which is exactly what we want to happen for our children and students. They need to listen to information, sort through it and see what makes sense for them. Then they can devise a plan based on who they are. Teachers and parents need to be able to ask the questions (which are sometimes difficult) and allow time for processing and failure (some of my best opportunities have came from my failures). As parents and teachers we need to gently guide and question. More importantly, however, we need to step back to let our young adult assume responsibility for their life. Integration means they are in charge! Hence the title: Your Life: Ready, Set, Go!
A booklet that contains additional ideas and reproducible visual handouts is in development now. Please check back for more information. If you have ideas you would like to share please email me at lmcdowell9@cinci.rr.com
Tip 6: Practice Immersion return to top
Immersion is a skill parents and teachers use a lot with young children. Just think about how we teach our children to communicate. As parents, we coo and talk to our children as soon as they are born! We continued to talk, identify and label their world to give them words. We talk with our children about what we are doing everyday, where we are going and who we will see, what we need them to do, etc. Everything becomes about communication and teaching it through the world around them. Teachers use this same concept to teach reading.
We can use immersion to teach readiness skills for transition as well. Using the example of employment, we can identify and talk about the jobs we see in the community and what they need to start doing that type of work. (“Wonder if they need to go to college for this job?”, “Do you think you would like this work?”). We can talk about our own job and its struggles/successes. We can talk about service (friendly vs. unfriendly, competence, etc.), job quality (from clothes they wear, food they eat, etc.), ethics (discuss current events such as the law suits for pirated music), job and money (how much we earn determines our quality of life, where we eat, live, shop), etc.
When we use the world and our environment to talk about employment, it makes it real and happening now. We do this by carefully choosing the words we use. It is not necessarily about just getting a job, but there is a greater emphasis on what to do once you have a job.
Immersion is a skill parents and teachers use a lot with young children. Just think about how we teach our children to communicate. As parents, we coo and talk to our children as soon as they are born! We continued to talk, identify and label their world to give them words. We talk with our children about what we are doing everyday, where we are going and who we will see, what we need them to do, etc. Everything becomes about communication and teaching it through the world around them. Teachers use this same concept to teach reading.
We can use immersion to teach readiness skills for transition as well. Using the example of employment, we can identify and talk about the jobs we see in the community and what they need to start doing that type of work. (“Wonder if they need to go to college for this job?”, “Do you think you would like this work?”). We can talk about our own job and its struggles/successes. We can talk about service (friendly vs. unfriendly, competence, etc.), job quality (from clothes they wear, food they eat, etc.), ethics (discuss current events such as the law suits for pirated music), job and money (how much we earn determines our quality of life, where we eat, live, shop), etc.
When we use the world and our environment to talk about employment, it makes it real and happening now. We do this by carefully choosing the words we use. It is not necessarily about just getting a job, but there is a greater emphasis on what to do once you have a job.
Tip 5: Make it current return to top
Make it current simply means: take advantage of what is important in a student’s life. Once you identify the things that they like and are important to them, you can use these to teach what the student needs to learn. Important social reinforcement in teen culture includes peer and social relationships, technology (IPod, phones, computers, games, etc.) and independence. Teens are visual learners (they grew up with TV, games, etc.) and enjoy “doing”.
How do we use this knowledge to teach? Suggestions include creating a blog to discuss job related topics or the job problem of the week and using online tools to research types of jobs. You can also use cell phone applications such as calendars and alarms to manage time. Some other ideas include charting student progress with visual graphs, forming social groups such as job club or after school events for fun, discussion and learning. using prior graduates as mentors (either person to person or email). Whenever possible practice the rule: Action vs. Talk … visit the job site or college class, arrange transportation and a social activity, budget money (even if it is just lunch money for the week) instead of “talking” about it.
Make it current simply means: take advantage of what is important in a student’s life. Once you identify the things that they like and are important to them, you can use these to teach what the student needs to learn. Important social reinforcement in teen culture includes peer and social relationships, technology (IPod, phones, computers, games, etc.) and independence. Teens are visual learners (they grew up with TV, games, etc.) and enjoy “doing”.
How do we use this knowledge to teach? Suggestions include creating a blog to discuss job related topics or the job problem of the week and using online tools to research types of jobs. You can also use cell phone applications such as calendars and alarms to manage time. Some other ideas include charting student progress with visual graphs, forming social groups such as job club or after school events for fun, discussion and learning. using prior graduates as mentors (either person to person or email). Whenever possible practice the rule: Action vs. Talk … visit the job site or college class, arrange transportation and a social activity, budget money (even if it is just lunch money for the week) instead of “talking” about it.
Tip 4: Build Connections return to top
Let’s review something we already know: Learning doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It is only when we are able to connect what we know to our world that we are able to say we have truly “learned” it. We need to build these connections for our children and students in order for them to be able to make transition plans real. Otherwise, it is just words on paper. Using the example above here are a few suggestions to build connections.
At school:
Let’s review something we already know: Learning doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It is only when we are able to connect what we know to our world that we are able to say we have truly “learned” it. We need to build these connections for our children and students in order for them to be able to make transition plans real. Otherwise, it is just words on paper. Using the example above here are a few suggestions to build connections.
At school:
- Identify jobs at school (teacher, custodian, cafeteria worker, bus driver). Discuss what the consequences (for students) would be if the above workers came an hour late for work.
- Current “job” for student is their education at school and building a future. Talk about the importance of getting to school and classes on time, predicting time and behavior, etc. Discuss the importance of taking the opportunity to build the skills now at school (while there is still a safety net) so there will not be problems or severe consequences with employment later. Use a calendar to teach a skill of the week (i.e. focus employment). Students can track time/progress on same calendar.
- Vary the student schedule so students can “practice” modifying their behavior to meet the time requirements (by either speeding up or slowing down). This can be as simple as giving them another task to do before they go to class, etc.
- Have student predict time it will take them to complete various tasks that range from small to large tasks (read chapter, complete questions, research and complete essay, etc.). Make it a game and competition for everyone by charting their success and setting a target number of completed attempts.
At home:
- Let your child get ready for school (set the alarm, fix breakfast, catch bus) without your help and reminders if possible.
- When assigning chores to students or when they are doing homework, have them estimate the time for completion.
- Set curfews and hold them to it. This is time management and responsibility at its best! Just as they may want to stay out later at night there will also be times when they don’t want to go to work. Learning that sometimes we do things because we have to do them, not because we want to do them is a hard lesson. Managing our behavior to meet time deadlines when we may not like the task is just as difficult.
- Encourage your child to use a calendar for school and social events. Discuss and review weekly.
Tip 3: Think Backwards return to top
Okay, now that we know what to work on, all that remains is how to do it. I’m going to introduce you to a new concept: thinking backwards. It begins by asking what do I need to do first. It is really task analysis…thinking of all the smaller interrelated steps that are needed to complete the larger skill task successfully. So, if I have identified that getting to work on time is what is most important, I will need to know the obvious prerequisite step which is how to tell time. But I may be able to tell time and still not be able to get to work on time. So, if you think backwards to all the smaller interrelated tasks that affect getting to work on time, it might looks like this.
Each of these smaller tasks needs to be prioritized and transferred to the transition plan. They become the benchmarks for the overall goal and a concrete way to document progress.
Okay, now that we know what to work on, all that remains is how to do it. I’m going to introduce you to a new concept: thinking backwards. It begins by asking what do I need to do first. It is really task analysis…thinking of all the smaller interrelated steps that are needed to complete the larger skill task successfully. So, if I have identified that getting to work on time is what is most important, I will need to know the obvious prerequisite step which is how to tell time. But I may be able to tell time and still not be able to get to work on time. So, if you think backwards to all the smaller interrelated tasks that affect getting to work on time, it might looks like this.
| Question: What do I need to know to get to work on time? | Answer = skill or task |
| Tell time (and what do I need to know…) | Tell time to the hour, half hour, quarter hour, minute. Tell time on digital and analog clock. |
| Predict time and adjust behavior (what do I need to know…) | Manage behavior (speed up, slow down) to meet time deadlines. Predict time for completed task and time on task (i.e. focus). |
| Know and understand elapsed time (what do I need to know…) | Concrete and then abstract understanding of time and what it “feels” like (15 minutes vs. 1 hr, etc.) |
| Coordinate tasks such as transportation or getting ready for work (what do I need to know…) | Call or arrange for transportation, payment of same, know directions to work, time it will take, etc. Know how to set an alarm, get out of bed on time, stay focused and multi-task to get ready for work on time. |
Each of these smaller tasks needs to be prioritized and transferred to the transition plan. They become the benchmarks for the overall goal and a concrete way to document progress.
Tip 1: Assess skills return to top
This is the easiest step because all you have to do is follow the directions and play the game to assess skill levels! It is important to ensure that students and parents do not become discouraged when they see the large stack of red cards at the beginning of the game. Remind them that building transition skills is a big undertaking and takes time. A good plan makes it easy for real transition to be accomplished. The game is also helpful to help parents, students, and staff see previous student accomplishments that seemed insurmountable when being accomplished.
This is the easiest step because all you have to do is follow the directions and play the game to assess skill levels! It is important to ensure that students and parents do not become discouraged when they see the large stack of red cards at the beginning of the game. Remind them that building transition skills is a big undertaking and takes time. A good plan makes it easy for real transition to be accomplished. The game is also helpful to help parents, students, and staff see previous student accomplishments that seemed insurmountable when being accomplished.
Tip 2: Group and prioritize return to top
All right, now the work begins! Once you have played the card game with the student, you’ll need to group and prioritize the skills that the student needs.
Using the cards in the red stack, first group by skill level. But, once that is done, you’ll also need to prioritize the skills so you can develop a comprehensive transition plan. The question you need to ask is, “What is most important to learn at this time?” Skill development is sequential and you’ll need to identify the specific steps involved and find out where the student is on the continuum of development.
For example, getting to work on time may be one of the skills that has not been mastered by a student. However, this skill will not be the top priority if the student does not know and understand time or is unable to get themselves up in the morning and ready for work. Once these priorities have been identified, they can then be used as goals and benchmarks for the transition plan or IEP. This helps develop the long-term plan and clearly delineates the necessary steps along the way.
All right, now the work begins! Once you have played the card game with the student, you’ll need to group and prioritize the skills that the student needs.
Using the cards in the red stack, first group by skill level. But, once that is done, you’ll also need to prioritize the skills so you can develop a comprehensive transition plan. The question you need to ask is, “What is most important to learn at this time?” Skill development is sequential and you’ll need to identify the specific steps involved and find out where the student is on the continuum of development.
For example, getting to work on time may be one of the skills that has not been mastered by a student. However, this skill will not be the top priority if the student does not know and understand time or is unable to get themselves up in the morning and ready for work. Once these priorities have been identified, they can then be used as goals and benchmarks for the transition plan or IEP. This helps develop the long-term plan and clearly delineates the necessary steps along the way.
The Your Life: Ready, Set, Go card game and skill list was developed to be used for transition planning for students leaving high school. Here are six tips you can use to make the game successful:
1. Skills Assessment
2 .Group and prioritize
3. Think backwards
4. Build connections
5. Make it current
6. Practice Immersion
7. Integrate into life
1. Skills Assessment
2 .Group and prioritize
3. Think backwards
4. Build connections
5. Make it current
6. Practice Immersion
7. Integrate into life