Though training for students with special educational needs has come a long way in the last thirty or forty years, there is still much that can be done. Assisting a student with the transition from formal education to autonomic adult requires years of dedication and training, as well as strong partners who are willing to accept these exceptional people as they are and provide learning, living, and employment opportunities to insure the best quality of life possible.
Tracey has completed her time as a student and is transitioning from this stage of her life to one as an adult that will be living, learning, and working independently after a formal educational environment. Considering she has a diagnosis …show more content…
Environmental assessments would help discover triggers that initiate the actions. Overstimulation or new experiences are likely culprits. These situations may be unavoidable; however, she can be conditioned to react differently when such situations arise. Best practice will be to teach Tracey to show her delight, surprise, or anger in a non-harmful manner such as clapping her hands instead of grabbing or shoving. Another alternative to her behavior may be to reduce the number of people allowed in her personal space until she has control of the behavior. These side effects of her actions will limit the amount and type of work in the office environment that Tracey will be able to do. Teaching her to recognize, acknowledge and eventually to overcome these impulsive actions will allow for a greater quality of work life as well as a more autonomic capacity. Quarterly meetings with Tracey’s family, sponsors, work buddy and manager, as well as random verbal questionnaires with members of the community, and unbiased environmental assessments give snapshots of her progress with the Individualized Transition Plan. Since Tracey is able to read on a second grade level, having her log daily journal entries of her own will also offer insight as to how she feels her quality of life is