1. Transition Assessment for Students with Severe & Multiple Disabilities
Jim Martin
University of Oklahoma
Zarrow Center
Web:

2. ASK QUESTIONS ALONG THE WAY!
Agenda
Introductions
Part I
Descriptions
Recognizing abilities and expectations
What is a Satisfying Life?
Part II - Three-Part Transition Assessment Process
Independent Living Assessments & the IEP
Career Interests/Skills & the IEP
Self-Determination Assessments & the IEP
Part III - Pulling It All Together
ASK QUESTIONS ALONG THE WAY!

3. Web Links
Handout lists all the web sites used today
Easy to read

4. Description of Students with Severe and Multiple Disabilities
Demonstrate diverse skills, strengths, limits, and support needs
Multiple system impairments that impact the student, family, community participation, and severity of associated health conditions
Two or more simultaneously occurring impairments
Supports are usually pervasive and extensive in order to achieve community living, employment, and self-sufficiency.
Who are we talking about today?

5. Description - continued
Severity Continuum
Severity Supports
Communication issues - frequently
Self-care issues – almost always
Intellectual issues – often, but not always
“Multiple” systems - always
Mild Moderate Severe Profound

6. Description - continued
Everyone you meet today has a diagnosis of severe and multiple developmental disabilities (and some have profound impairments);
Some can more readily communicate their thoughts, desires, needs; and
They give voice to those that cannot speak for themselves or are not with us today.

7. Recognizing Ability Sherri Tolby – 18 years old
Unrecognized potential and ability in public school can result in wasted time, and delayed or NO access to postsecondary dreams and goals…
Meet Sherri and Tolby. See their impairments and needs; LOOK for their abilities. Sherri post-high school and Tolby is still in high school. Different outcomes???
Sherri
Tolby – 18 years old

8. Abilities and Expectations
What did you see in Tolby?
What did you see in Sherri?
Expectations for Tolby?
Expectations for Sherri?
Expectations for YOUR student…today

9. The Purpose of SPED 2004 IDEA Changed Secondary SPED
. . . a free appropriate public education that emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet students’ unique needs and to prepare them for further education, employment, and independent living.
Lauren, did your special education program prepare you for college, employment, or independent living? Keep it short.
2004 IDEA Changed Secondary SPED

10. IDEA 2004 Post-Secondary Goals
IEPs must include appropriate measurable postsecondary goals
based upon age-appropriate transition assessments
related to training, education, employment, and when appropriate, independent living

11. Student Transition Questions
Postschool Goal Questions
Where do I want to live
Where do I want to work?
Where do I want to learn?
Annual Transition Goal Question
What do I need to learn now to live where I want?
What do I need to learn now to do the career I want?
What do I need to learn now to be able to learn where I want?
Greene, G., & Kochhar-Bryant, C. A. (2003). Pathways to successful transition for youth with disabilities. New Jersey: Merrill Prentice Hall.

12. Transition Assessment Results help Answer Students’ Questions
Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Educational Performance
Current assessment data
Transition strengths and needs
Address with transition goals
Transition Assessment Results
Name of assessment, date given, and results
Used to develop postsecondary goals and transition goals

13. What is a satisfying life for you?
What is a satisfying life for people with disabilities?
Have the audience talk about what makes a satisfying life for them. Then have Lauren speak.

14. A Satisfying Life is…
Home, career, social life, community lifestyle, spiritual well being (Romer, Frantangelo, & Fanjoy, 2009)
Personal Fulfillment?
Right mix of opportunities and support to nourish the presence and contribution of a human being (Kendrick, 2009)
Outcome of high quality supports
A life that is uniquely ones own! (Simpson, 2009)
Research says…..Satisfaction in work Determined by a balance of barriers and resources (van Camen & Cardol, 2009).

15. Satisfying Participation in Life includes…
realizing societal roles, with or without support, in a meaningful and satisfying way Work participation and being satisfied with life is broader than just job satisfaction… (Van Campen & Cardol, 2007) Four years after high school, youth with multiple disabilities were least engaged in their communities (NLTS-2)

16. Tolby’s satisfying life…
Healthy
Be with his family
Communicate what’s going on in his head with others
Consistent care
Operable equipment

17. What’s a satisfying life for Sherri?
Sherri’s satisfying life
Josh’s satisfying life

18. Lauren’s Satisfying Life…

19. Guiding Questions for Secondary Transition Planning for Youth with Significant Disabilities
Can the young adult express interests? If no, get information from parents and caregivers to develop transition plan.
What are special health care needs?
What are needs/challenges preventing the young adult from working outside the home?
Lauren: Are these valid questions?

20. Guiding Questions for Secondary Transition Planning for Youth with Significant Disabilities
Who can provide education/training to assist the young adult?
What can the young adult accomplish without assistance?
What else could the young adult accomplish if assistance were provided by a job coach, habilitation training specialist (HTS), or other caregiver?
Were these questions asked when you were planning for life after high school? Do they make sense?

21. \Sample Scenarios and Postsecondary Goals
Tolby
Tolby has DD, CP, multiple disabilities, no fine motor skills, dependent on others for mobility in and out of his manual wheelchair; requires full-time assistance for all daily personal needs. He is non-verbal; it is difficult understanding what he needs, wants and knows. Tolby enjoys interacting with children, especially his cousins. Tolby’s mom wants him to be able to communicate things to her…what’s going on in his head, safety, etc. She wants him to remain healthy, and she wants to care for him, with help.
Lauren: Again, Tolby is a lot like Nate….if you want to make a brief comment here that’s ok.

22. Tolby’s Postsecondary Goals
Tolby will live at home with his mother, and with the support of a job coach, will volunteer at a local childcare facility where play music during dance and nap times.

23. Sample Scenarios and Postsecondary Goals
Clarification Tolby’s Case
Although Tolby may not earn an hourly wage for his job work experience at a childcare facility, he is still accomplishing something he set out to do in terms of employment.
Although Tolby requires assistance and support with everything, staying healthy and helping at home with his cousins and nieces/nephews contributes to achieving his adult living goal, and it engages his employment goal.

24. NSTTAC can help!
National Secondary Transition Technical Assistance Center (NSTTAC) has good and not so good examples of postsecondary goals. Go to:

25. OK’s Sample Scenarios and Postsecondary Goals
Scenario 2 - John
John D. is a 21-year-old who has a severe intellectual disability, is blind, and exhibits self-stimulatory behavior. John loves balloons and the squeaking sounds they make when they are inflated and touched, or rubbed. Due to John’s significant health care needs, he lives with his parents and has a part-time assistant who comes to his home to help with daily personal needs. John likes traveling in a vehicle. He wants to earn his own money so he does not have to rely so heavily on his parents. John’s expressive verbal skills are low, so it is difficult to get information from John. Discussions with his parents revealed John’s love of balloons, car travel, and desire to earn money. \

26. OK’s Sample Scenarios and Postsecondary Goals
Scenario 2 – John’s Real Postsecondary Goals
Education/Training: John will participate in on-the-job training at flower shops or Party Galaxy to learn how to properly inflate balloons.
Employment: With the help of a job coach, John will develop and operate a home-based balloon business.
Independent/Adult Living: While living at home with his parents, John will maintain a checkbook and pay for his purchases with the assistance of his parent(s) or assistant.
Screen Shot for IEP

27. Three-Part Transition Assessment Model

28. Transition Assessment Model Components
Independent Living Assessment
Vocational Interest and Skills Assessment
Self-Determination Assessment
Use information gathered from
multiple sources and settings!

29. Independent Living Assessments
Part 1 of the 3-Part Transition Assessment Model
This is the area that oftentimes impacts so many other postsecondary pursuits for students with severe and multiple disabilities.

30. Our Belief
The law states that an independent living goal be addressed “when appropriate.”
We believe that to determine if an independent living goal needs to be written, an adaptive behavior assessment needs to be given. This provides evidence of needing an independent living goal or not. How else would a team determine if an independent living goal is needed?
Lauren, give a brief comment about the importance of addressing an INDEPENDENT LIVING GOAL for you while in high school. Did you?

31. Independent Living Assessments – We‘ll Focus on Four
Personal Preference Indicators (PPI)
Postsecondary applications of PPI
Enderle-Severson Transition Rating Form
Great tool for students with significant support needs
Life Skills Inventory
Informal and free
Casey Life Skills

32. Personal Preference Indicators
Interview format
Family members, friends, professionals who know student well
Designed for students with significant support needs
Likes, dislikes, social indicators, choices
Health, body clock, future
Cost: free
Use the results in PLEP

33. Enderle-Severson Transition Rating Form
ESTR-J
Students with mild disabilities
Parent (available in Spanish) and Teacher version
Five Transition areas
ESTR-III
Students with “more” disabilities
Parent and Teacher version
ESTR-S
Students with severe/multiple impairments
Parent and Teacher (on-line only) versions
Employment, Rec/leisure, home living, community participation, and adult life
Estr.net (each costs $2.00)

34. ESTR-S Automatic Scoring
Sample Report From Estr-S

35. Life Skills Inventory 15 domains (money, hygiene, safety, etc)
Four levels: basic, intermediate, advanced, exceptional
Must know 3 of 5 to advance from basic to intermediate
Must know the person or have family member complete
Cost: free
Available at:

36. Casey Life Skills Web based
Spanish, French or English, with numerous supplemental assessments
Youth and caregiver formats
Automatically scored and sent to you
Provides different levels of questions for students across functioning levels
Level 1 basic skills
Level 4 complex skills
Caution: It over-estimates skills for students with the most disabilities
Cost: free
Available at:

38. Tolby’s Assessment Results

39. Career Interest and Skill Assessment
Part 2 of the 3-Part Transition Assessment Process

41. Belief Work benefits individuals emotionally and socially
Enables individuals to contribute to society and to their own well being
Can be done without fear of losing social security or other benefits
Adds meaning to life

42. Employment Options Individual Competitive Employment
Individual Supported Employment
Group Supported Employment
At Home or Community-Based Entrepreneurial Jobs

43. Functional Vocational Assessment
Most Effective Method for Many Students with Severe and Multiple Disabilities

44. What does the law say? When to consider what’s appropriate?
. . . and when appropriate functional vocational evaluation.
When to consider what’s appropriate?
When paper-pencil or computer-based interest inventories simply do not work
What is it?
Tools that student’s use to make a job match.

45. Functional Assessment Process
Over time
Repeated Measures Situational Assessment
Apply what you
already know –
Information from other
Assessments…Personal
Preference Indicators and postsecondary
Applications.

46. Discrepancy Problems
Logical choice making occurs when chosen preferences match available jobs.
Discrepancy problems occur when
Chosen job, task, and characteristics do not match specific jobs
Discrepancy problems diminish when job site characteristics match preferences
Task is to provide ample opportunities for students to determine matches and non-matches.

47. Personal Preference Indicators
Use Supplemental Preference Form
Interview format
Family members, friends, professionals who know student well
Likes, dislikes, social indicators, choices
Health, body clock, future
Cost: free
Use the results in PLEP

48. Vocational Assessment Software
Choose and Take Action
Vocational Assessment Software
Use of a software program and community experiences to identify entry-level job interests

49. Target Population
Secondary students and adults with moderate to significant cognitive needs who:
Have difficulty getting information from print
Can attend to a computer screen
Can follow simple 1 or 2 step directions
Have limited to no previous work experience

50. CTA Constructs • Vocational Choice Making • Planning
Characteristics
Setting
Activities (jobs)
• Planning
• Community Experience
Watch Do
• Self-Evaluation
• Choose Again with Adjustment

51. CTA Choice Factors
14 entry-level vocational settings found in most communities
15 job activities repeated across two settings
Care for animals in a vet’s office
Care for animals in a retail store
12 characteristics repeated across two or three activities
Working in a factory where it is inside and noisy

52. CTA Features
A navigator to give instructions and guide user through the program
Restricted mouse movements
Highlight critical features as navigator says them
Record made of all choices
Input options may include user installed touch screen

53. Format designed so teachers can add comments on student performance
Teacher can set number of video clips student can see in one trial
Pair of video clips presented together
Minimum teacher control over available video choices

54. Settings
Activities
Characteristics
Car repair shop
Bag items/bring carts
Big open space
Child care center
Care for animals
Small space
Construction site
Care for people
Clean
Factory
Care for plants
Messy
Greenhouse
Clean-up
Few people
Grocery store
Clear tables
Many people
Hospital
Filing
Inside
Hotel
Handle materials
Outside
Janitorial service
Heavy cleaning
Noisy
Landscape Company
Laundry
Quiet
Office
Move things
Wear own clothes
Restaurant
Do paperwork
Wear a uniform
Store
Stock shelves
Vet Office
Wash dishes
Yard work

59. Publisher Choose and Take Action: Finding a Job for You Sopris West
4093 Specialty Place
Longmont, CO 80504

60. Job Characteristics I Like
Teach Job Characteristics
Introduces Match Concept between
What I like
What’s at their job
Computes % of Matches

61. Key: Determine Match Between What I Like and What’s At Their Site

62. Each time student chooses a characteristic one more cell on the graph is marked

63. Characteristics I Like vs Here
Compares initial preferences to those experienced at a particular job site.

64. Job Duties I Like Identifies job duties
Based upon current job or work experience
Assess preferences for job duties
Calculate % of Job Duties I Like

65. What Do I Like?

67. Job Duties - How I Did Job duties identified and written onto form
Student evaluates speed, independent performance, and accuracy
Supervisor evaluates speed, independent performance, and accuracy
Match made between student and supervisor

68. Uses self-evaluation methodology to teach job performance skills and to assess job duty skills

69. Work, Social, & Personal Skills
Student rates performance
Supervisor or teacher rate performance
Calculates what supervisor thinks
Calculates match between worker and supervisor

70. Personal Improvement Contract

71. Self-Determination Contracts to solve on-the job problems

72. My Employment Plan

73. Build Forms Few vocational illustrations exists
Cut and paste the SDSE illustrations to make forms
Go to:
Use these with Pages or In-Design page layout program to build own forms electronically

74. Choosing Goals
Quick means for students to develop goals

75. Zeke’s Example

76. Illustrations Take From
Self-Directed Employment
Paul Brookes Publishing
Baltimore
Download free illustrations
Can use words or illustrations
Can do the same with digital pictures from your own camera

77. Vocational Interests via Career Exploration - For Those Who Can Read
Choosing Employment Goals
Sopris West Publishers (
Requires reading and writing skills

78. Career Awareness & Exploration via Video
Video by Job Clusters
Video
Provides numerous videos for students to watch
English or Spanish
Job cluster and skill categories
Horse Training
Coast Guard Assistant
Construction Workers

79. Reading Free Interest Inventory
Published by Pro Ed
Price: $110

83. COPS-PIC Non-Verbal Assessment of Occupational Interest
EDITS / P.O. Box 7234 / San Diego, CA 92167
/ / Fax
25 copies for $50.90

84. Self-Determination & Self-Advocacy Assessments
Part 3 of the 3-Part Transition Assessment Model

85. Self-Determination Constructs
• Self-awareness
• Self-advocacy
• Self-efficacy
• Decision-making
• Use of self-management strategies to attain plan
• Self-evaluation
• Adjustment

86. Why SD Assessment? Improved postsecondary outcomes
Goal setting during early adolescence
Awareness of disability
Goal attainment
Improved academic performance
Limited studies so far

87. Guide to Assessing College Readiness
Landmark College “Parent” Assessment
Read each item with student and discuss
Provides Assessment for Self-Advocacy to include in annual transition goals
Five Domains
Academic Skills
Self-Understanding
Self-Advocacy
Executive Functioning
Motivation and Confidence

88. AIR Self-Determination Assessment
Parent Version
Teacher Version
Student Version
Available at
Cost: free

90. Example Present Level of Achievement Using the AIR Self Determination Assessment
Strengths
Knows own ability and limitation and can express these
Set goals
Change plan to accomplish goals
Anticipated Effects
When provided the opportunity to set and express goals at his next IEP meeting, Bill can engage in this activity.
Needs
Opportunities at school and home to learn and practice additional SD skills
Current Assessment Data
Bill obtained a 48% on the AIR Educator Self-Determination Assessment given on
Objective Statement
Bill has about half of the overall SD skills and opportunities needed to master these skills. He needs increased school and home opportunities to develop and master additional SD skills for success in welding school.

91. Annual Transition Goal: Education/Training
Bill will increase his overall self-determination score from 48% to 75% as measured on the AIR self-determination assessment.
Objective/Benchmark
To demonstrate leadership at IEP meetings, Bill will increase his scores on the Expressing Goals section of the ChoiceMaker Self-Determination Assessment from 20% to 90%.
Bill will develop and implement a weekly goal attainment plan to attain two or more IEP goals by successfully completing 90% or more of the Take Action Goal Attainment process.

92. Annual Education/Training Coordinated Activities
Bill will share his weekly goal attainment plan with his family.
Bill will build his SOP with his family to share at the IEP meeting.
Responsible Parties
Bill and special education teacher
Bill and parents

93. Self-Advocacy Checklists
Self-Advocacy crucial self-determination concept
Students speak and act on their own behalf
Several Self-Advocacy Checklist exits
Self-Determination and Self-Advocacy Skills Questionnaire
Student form
Parent form
Teacher forms (A & B)

94. ARC Self-Determination Assessment
Student version
Must use the manual to score
Cost: free
Available at

95. Collaborative Effort Creative Thinking Produces Job Matches Lauren:
Here’s where you have the group do the pipe cleaner activity again…have them create something that tells us how they think of that student they addressed at the beginning…what’s their future like now??
They will also likely ask you lots of questions…and maybe some of the rest of us too!
Creative Thinking Produces Job Matches

97. For More Information Contact
Jim Martin, Ph.D.
University of Oklahoma
Zarrow Center for Learning Enrichment
338 Cate Center Drive, Room 190
Norman, OK 73019
Phone:
Web: