Transition Services FOR SPECIALTY SCHOOL OR PROGRAM ENHANCEMENT
Released on = October 8, 2006, 10:53 am
Press Release Author = Dore E. Frances, Founder of Horizon Family Solutions, LLC
Industry = Education
Press Release Summary = An increasing number of struggling pre-teens, teens and young adults are finding support and learning important life lessons in specialty schools and programs.
Press Release Body = These might include: o High School residential emotional-growth schools o Middle School special-needs schools/programs o 'Therapeutic' boarding schools o Wilderness \'time-outs\' o Young adult transition programs
There are many fine programs that are saving young people every day from their own destructive actions.
As most adults know from their own experience, the period known as adolescence is probably the most difficult and unsettling period of adjustment in one\'s development. It is a time filled with emotional, physical, and social upheavals. When an adolescent leaves residential treatment, a parent experiences a sense of protective control over the adolescent\'s life.
This protective guidance normally involves educational, financial, medical, and social input to assist the adolescent\'s growth. When the adolescent leaves this residential setting, a parent undergoes a personal struggle in \"letting go.\" There is always a certain amount of apprehension associated with the adolescent\'s entrance into their new world, as the greater responsibility for adjustment now falls on the adolescent and the parent\'s role changes. For the adolescent leaving residential, this developmental period can be fraught with even greater apprehension, for a variety of reasons. Depending on the age of the adolescent, parents may play more of an ongoing role in their adolescent\'s life after he or she returns home. Depending on the competence (the capability to make reasoned decisions) of the adolescent, some parents may have to continue to make vital decisions affecting all aspects of their adolescent\'s lives; they need not shy away, thinking that they are being too overprotective.
On the other hand, the parents of adolescents that are older need to use all their energies to encourage the adolescent\'s steps toward independence. Since planning for the future of an adolescent returning home from residential treatment may arouse fear of the unknown, a parent may tend to delay addressing these issues, and instead focus only on the present. It is our belief, however, that working through these fears and thinking about the adolescent\'s best future interest will ensure a meaningful outcome. This transitional process will include many facets of planning for the future and may be fully understood by everyone concerned each step of the way. Planning for the future is an investment in a adolescent\'s well being and the purpose of this information is to help you understand all the aspects of this important time.
Overview of Transition Services
What important role Transition Services plays in your adolescent's life. There are two common "crises" in the lives of adolescents who enter residential treatment.
The first turning point is when they enter the residential treatment center. The second is when they leave it.
Transition Services is geared towards helping this population as they begin to prepare to leave the world of residential boarding. In order to make a successful transition from the residential atmosphere to the next phase; parents; you need to prepare for issues that need to be addressed well in advance. You need to become knowledgeable about resources that are available during the transition phase in order to assist your adolescent in this transition process. In the transition process there are issues that are global; common to all. However, there is also a great variety of specific personal needs which depend upon the interests, nature, and personality of your adolescent. This area of Transition has been developed to help you through the very difficult and confusing process of transitioning your adolescent from residential school to home and in some cases to adulthood. The process of transition and the services that are available have only recently been developed and recently utilized by some residential treatment centers.
Transition services are also new to some residential treatment centers and always changing. Schools and institutions are only required to provide transitional IEP's and services for these students and their families. However, many parents as well as residential treatment centers are unaware or uninformed about transition services. While many residential schools offer some information on transition, they only focus on local responsibilities and services. The purpose of this entire Transition Service is to provide you with an enormous reference source that includes family reunification, school responsibilities, and anything else that a parent would ever need to help ease you and your adolescent through this process. Parents of adolescents returning from residential programs face a very difficult task when it comes to maneuvering through all the options that are involved in the family reunification process. Nowhere is that procedure more intense and important than in the transition of adolescent\'s returning from a residential treatment center. Faced with a lack of information and responsibilities that they did not have to face while in residential, parents sometimes tend to become very anxious about what will occur when their adolescents leave the safety of their school. The transition process first begins when the adolescent is no less than 60 days away from transitioning home.
State of the Field
The last two decades have witnessed significant changes for adolescents in residential treatment.
At times these adolescents were thought of as "the invisible children." They were overlooked and "hidden away." They were embarrassments, and treated as objects of pity and shame. Now, these individuals are taking their place in an inclusive society.
Adolescents who have attended residential boarding schools are a presence in all the media, commercial advertising, and many forms of public life.
The implementation of transition services is a significant component of this pathway to acceptance. As most adults know from their own experience, the period in American society known as adolescence is probably the most difficult and unsettling period of adjustment in one's development. It is a time filled with emotional, physical, and social upheavals. When a child is in residential treatment, parents experience a sense of protective control over their child's life. This protective guidance normally involves educational, medical, and social input to assist their adolescent's growth. When the adolescent leaves this setting, there is a personal struggle on the part of parents in "letting go". There is always a normal amount of apprehension associated with the adolescent's entrance back into the family life. Now the greater responsibility for adjustment falls on the adolescent. This transition period can be fraught with even greater apprehension for a variety of reasons.
Depending on the age of the adolescent, some parents may have to continue to make vital decisions affecting all aspects of their child's life. On the other hand, the parents need to use all their energies to encourage their adolescent's steps towards independence.
Since planning for the future of an adolescent can arouse fear of the unknown, there may be a tendency for parents to delay addressing these issues and instead focus only on the present. However, it is our belief that working through these fears and thinking about the adolescent\'s best future interest will ensure a meaningful outcome.
Regardless of the circumstances, parents will be exposed to a transitional process during their adolescent\'s arrival home. This transitional process will include many facets of planning for the future and should be fully understood by everyone concerned each step of the way. Planning for the future is an investment in your adolescent's well being.
Definition of Transition Services
The latest definition of transition is fully explained in this section. For many years, parents have been concerned about the lack of success in an adolescent\'s life after they return home from residential treatment.
Research has shown that a large proportion of adolescents often did not receive additional services and support. As these adolescents arrived home, the families and their child felt that they were being dropped into a void. While there were many services out in the community, parents were left to their own devices and would find out about such services and supports by chance. The need for a collaborative, readily accessible transition service was obvious. What seemed to be missing was the bridge between an adolescent\'s residential program and home / school life. As a result, the concept of transitional services was developed to provide adolescents who have returned home from a residential program with a more structured path.
Simply put, transition is helping adolescents and family think about their life after residential treatment and identify long-range goals designing the experience to ensure that adolescents gain the skills and connections they need to achieve these goals.
Types of Services Covered Under Transition Services
Transition services are aimed at providing adolescents and their families with the practical and experiential skills and knowledge that will assist in a successful transition to community / home / school life. While transition services are provided in each of the following areas, it is important to understand that not every adolescent will need to receive all of these services. The available services included in the transition process are: . activities of daily living . coaching . community experiences . employment assistance . functional evaluations . school / school activities
More specifically, the intent of transition services is to explore and plan a variety of areas that will allow the adolescent to construct a useful and practical bridge to their new world. This planning is a process that must begin no less than 60 days prior to leaving their residential program. The suggested areas (depending on age) to be considered when one begins transition planning includes:
1) Vocational Education . Participation in education programs can provide important experiences and specific vocational training. 2) Post Secondary/Continuing Education . Starting in junior high school, the adolescent needs to have educational goals which prepare him/her for further education or vocational training. 3) Transportation The ability to use transportation options is crucial for independence. Inability to use transportation, or the lack of accessible transportation can seriously limit education, social and work opportunities. Specific areas include the following: . Transportation to work/school . Use of public transportation . Driver evaluation/training 4) Financial/Income Planning in advance is the best way to avoid difficulty at a latter time. Specific areas include the following: . Money management/budgeting . Work incentives 5) Personal Independence/Residential Independence is about self-determination. An adolescent can be independent while living with family. Specific areas include the following: . Personal care . Meal preparation . Household chores . Shopping . Time management . Banking . Decision making 6) Medical/Health Maintaining good health allows one to focus on life activities and goals that have been set. Specific areas include the following: . Medication . Ongoing medical care . Fitness and nutrition . Insurance 7) Employment It is important for one to consider all the work experience options when selecting a career. Specific areas include the following: . Competitive employment . Job seeking skills . Job related social skills . Supported employment . Employer support . Volunteering 8) Recreation/Leisure Everyone needs a break from work and school. Having fun is an important way to get mental and physical exercise. It is also a good way to meet people and to make new friends. Specific areas include the following: . Community recreation activities . Leisure time activities . Special interest areas . Explore hobbies 9) Other Support Needs An adolescent may need to develop a resource list of support that will help him or her make the transition home after residential. Specific areas include the following: . Support groups . Psychological services . Social peer groups . Rehabilitation counseling Some adolescents will need more extensive assistance for transition to family life. Together, the family makes decisions as well as shares responsibilities and resources. All this is based on what is needed by and in the best interest of each adolescent.
Transition Planning (A Team Effort)
This area provides ideas and information on how adolescents, families, school personnel, service providers, and others can work together to help students make a smooth transition. For those that will return home after completing high school, this is the beginning of adult life. Entitlement to public education ends, and young people and their families are faced with many options and decisions about the future. The most common choices for the future are pursuing vocational training or further academic education, getting a job, and living independently. For adolescents leaving a residential program, these choices may be more complex and may require a great deal of planning. Transition services are intended to prepare students to make the transition from the world of school to the world of adulthood. In planning what type of transition services an adolescent need to prepare for coming home; we consider areas such as education or vocational training, employment, family life, independent living, and community participation. The transition services themselves are a coordinated set of activities that are based on the adolescent\'s needs and that take into account his or her preferences and interests.
Transition services can include instruction, community experiences, the development of employment and other living objectives. The student and his or her family are expected to take an active role in preparing the adolescent to take responsibility for his or her own life once they leave their residential program.
Where once the residential school provided a centralized source of education, guidance, transportation, and even recreation; after adolescents leave the residential school, they need to organize their own lives and needs.
This may be a daunting task one for which the adolescent and his or her family need to be prepared.
Creating the Transition Plan
After we identify the adolescent\'s interests and preferences and identify the resources that may be helpful in planning the student\'s transition, it\'s time to sit down and figure out a way to make all the pieces fit together. This takes creativity, patience, and time, but the rewards are worth the effort. Remember that other people have done this before. Planning an effective transition can involve many different individuals.
Transition Planning Timeline
Any transition process must take into account all of the necessary procedures and issues that will facilitate the adolescent's transition to home. While this may vary from family to family, a practical timeline will assist you in helping both the adolescent and you, the parents are as prepared as possible. The adolescent\'s interests and skills help to determine which items are relevant.
We will identify who will be part of the transition team.
Responsibility for carrying out the specific transition activities will be determined at the first transition meeting.
Self-Determination (The ability to control one's destiny)
What it means and how to help your adolescent develop additional self determination. One of the most significant concepts to emerge in the last few decades is the awareness of the importance of self-determination in the life of an individual. For too long, professionals made decisions for people with little input from the individual or parents. While these decisions were motivated by good intentions, they may have overlooked the aspirations, desires, and hopes that remained hidden within the person. As our society has become more sensitive to the needs and rights of adolescents, we have moved to the concept of self-determination as a crucial element in the design of a life plan. Self-determination is a person\'s ability to control his or her own destiny. A crucial part of the concept of self-determination involves the combination of abilities and attitudes hat will lead adolescents to set goals for themselves, and to take the initiative to reach these goals. To do this one must be in charge, which is not necessarily the same thing as independence, self-sufficiency or make his or her own choices, learn to solve problems effectively, take control and responsibility for his or her life, learn to experience and cope with the consequences of making decisions on his or her own.
The Development of Self-Determination Skills
The development of self-determination skills is a process that begins in childhood and continues throughout one\'s life. It must be fully understood by parents when their adolescent is still in their residential program.
This process needs to begin early in their program, so that the adolescent learns how to grow up as a self-advocate and not be afraid to voice his or her needs, concerns, and opinions. Parents and programs interested in developing self-determination skills adolescents must help them learn to: . evaluate options . make choices practice self-determination experiences by offering opportunities for decision making, socialization, leisure activities . set goals . take an active role in the decisions that will determine their future--even if it means allowing them to make mistakes . work to achieve goals
Transition Home Plan Fee Schedule
This plan requires a minimum 3-month commitment with the option to extend on a monthly basis. The scheduled phone coaching sessions are each 45 to 55 minutes long and form the basis of our work together. This Plan is based on up to 2 calls per week with the option to contract for additional calls. Short between-session calls and emails are permitted as needed.
All-inclusive 3-month Transition Plan includes:
First meeting at residential treatment center no less than 60 days prior to leaving the program.
When this is not possible then an In-Home Visit for Home Contract preview and Family Workshop within one week after adolescent arrives home from treatment center.
$3000 (plus travel expenses for Residential / Home Visit)
2025
