Every comprehensive transition evaluation should include direct input from both the student and the family (as well as the school team). Parents, in many cases, will serve as the exclusive “agency” for students with disabilities who do not qualify for adult service funding and support. Therefore, it is very important to discuss with the parents what they see as the trajectory for their child. In over 25 years of working in special education I have never once had a parent state that the vision for their child was to have him/her at home, sitting on the couch, playing video games, eating junk food and endlessly trolling social media platforms. Yet, unfortunately some variation of the above worst case scenario comes to pass all too often.
From the beginning of my foray into the black forest of transition planning, I have always started off with a parent interview. For many years, this was done in person, since the alternative back then was a phone conversation. One of the life altering changes of the pandemic was that we became both knowledgeable and comfortable with engaging face-to-face over the internet. For the most part, this switch to meeting virtually has made things easier in terms of scheduling and coordinating parents/guardians to be available at the same time. To make the best use of everyone’s time, I use a semi-structured interview to gather the most important information and to help keep everyone on track. Prior to this meeting, I initiate a phone conversation to explain the evaluation process so that parents know what to expect; often parents assume that they will bring their child to my office for some sort of testing, which is not the case at all (I don’t even have an official office).
So here’s what’s important to learn when meeting with parents. Essentially, what is the end goal as they see it? This gives me insight into what parents are thinking and offers the opportunity to assess what track they think the train is on. Next I ask parents to describe their child’s strengths; often this leads to a pregnant pause followed by a recitation of a number of character attributes. This is usually the shortest part of the conversation. I follow that by asking for concerns, although at this point I have probably heard the headliners. When I get the sense that the end game is just a tad short of a total transformation (e.g. cure) I ask the parent to identify the two most important areas to be addressed going forward. This helps to put things into perspective for myself and often for the parents. At some point in the discussion (sooner rather than later) it’s important to ask the parents what they hope to learn from the evaluation, this way you can clear up any notions that you are not able to address.
In addition to the parent interview I also send parents a number of assessments to complete. Some of my “go-tos” are:
The Parent Transition Survey offers a structured format for parents/guardians to provide general information about their thoughts/preferences for their child’s future. Available in both English and Spanish . This is a free resource from The Transition Coalition It is suggested that the parent complete this and return it prior to the interview to help guide the discussion.
Enderle-Severson Transition Rating Scale yields information on the student’s knowledge of and exposure to the transition planning areas. There are several different versions available for various levels of disability from mild to significant. Some forms are suitable for self-assessment. See website for specifics and pricing.
I also include adaptive rating scales such as the Vineland Adaptive Rating Scales or the Adaptive Behaviors Assessment System however, these instruments require training and have restrictions on the level of clinical training necessary to access them.
To sum up, parent input is important and should not be overlooked. To do so can cause problems down the road when it comes time to make programming recommendations and decisions.