APRIL/MAY 2003

Our project has plans to include the 0-5 year olds in our target population as we enter year 4 of our grant. What are some recommended best practices for transition from one set of service providers to the new service providers?

Service providers and administrators are in a unique position to facilitate the transition of young children with special needs and their families. However, transition planning is often implemented informally. Only 13% of schools have formal transition plans for the age-5 transition.

The literature presents a number of techniques to facilitate information exchange and training/staff development efforts. Researchers have stressed the importance of communication between sending and receiving service providers. The use of timelines, visits to programs, and participation in transition teams are advocated.

One staff-training model, by Rous, Hemmeter, and Schuster (1994), is Sequenced Transition to Education in the Public Schools (STEPS). This program emphasizes team building and the development of a community action plan. Team members also receive training on the topics of family involvement, child preparation, and interagency and administrative issues. Staff development and interdisciplinary training focus on building on family strengths, providing support to family, and understanding home and community variables.

Transition, the movement of the young child with disabilities from one service delivery system or program to the next, requires continued collaboration between families and service providers. Individualized intervention plans are a cornerstone of best practice. For transitions to be effective, receiving programs need to provide continuity for young children. The change from early intervention services to a preschool program necessitates a plan to promote child adjustment and the generalization of skills. After the identification and acquisition of preschool-related skills, young children with special needs often require continued opportunities for practice and reinforcement in the new environment. Regardless of the transition (age 3 or 5), support from families and service providers are critical. Successful adjustment to a new setting is a critical outcome of transition.

Including families in the implementation of transition can take the form of visiting the receiving program, becoming a volunteer in the child's new classroom, and maintaining continued communication and information exchange with service providers. Support is an additional consideration as families adjust to new services, personnel, and increased time away from their children.

The transition process requires a shared understanding among all participants. For service providers and other program personnel, implementation must build on family preferences, child needs, and goals and objectives identified in the child's IFSP or IEP.

The ultimate goal of transition development is an integrated system that addresses all critical issues as identified by individual communities. The evaluation of transition efforts must focus on meeting the needs of the communities and the families within them.*

*Excerpts from Technical Report #4, 2001, by Deborah A. Bruns and Susan A. Fowler, Transition is more than a change in services: The need for a multicultural perspective. For an in-depth review of the literature and further descriptions of best practice in transition planning for early childhood, go to http://www.clas.uiuc.edu/techreport/tech4.html#1c .

For more resources on Early Childhood, see Resources for April on the Education Web page!