Title: Transition Happens
1Transition Happens!
- Hank Bersani Jr.
- Western Oregon University
- 503-383-8687
- bersanh_at_wou.edu
- www.wou.edu/bersanh
- GAPS March 31, 2009
2Three goals for my time
- 1) A shameless plug
- 2) A short exercise
- 3) Lessons Learned
3Shameless plugWOU offers
- Graduate programs in Special Education and
Rehabilitation Counseling always seeking
qualified applicants - For high school graduates with a standard diploma
we have some of the best supports for students
with disabilities in the state public or
private.
4A short exercise
- Totally voluntary
- You dont have to disclose anything too personal,
but play along as much as you are comfortable.
5How old were you when you first earned money for
work, and how much were you paid?
6What was your first job, and do you still do that
work today?
7How did you get that first job?
8From that first job, do you still use any of the
skills you learned on that job?
9How old were you when you left home?
- (married, college, kicked out, jail, ran off
with the circus.)
10At what age did you start learning how to drive?
11Between the ages of 14 and 24, did you
- crash a car, get picked up by the police, go into
debt, buy something you could not afford, flunk
out of school, get fired, hang out with the wrong
crowd.
12Yet, you are all here tonight
13Lessons Learned
14How old were you when you first earned money for
work, and how much were you paid?
15Paid work is a formative experience your work
experience is part of who you are today
16What was your first job, and do you still do that
work today?
17Your first job was just that, your FIRST job.
You learned a lot since then and have moved on.
18How did you get that first job?
- Many jobs (most first jobs) come from the
informal employment network.
19From that first job, do you still use any of the
skills you learned on that job?
20Job specific skills may not carry over, but the
basics of being a good employee do. They are
useful in future jobs
21How old were you when you left home? (married,
college, kicked out, jail.
22Most of us move out somewhere between age 16 and
age 24.
- Not everyone, not everywhere!
23At what age did you start learning how to drive?
24You begin learning adult skills even as a 2-3
year old it is a 20 year process that cant
wait until you are 21.
25Between the ages of 14 and 24, did youcrash a
car, get picked up by the police, go into debt,
buy something you could not afford, flunk out of
school, get fired, hang out with the wrong crowd.
26Even bad experiences have their value. We learn
from our troubles at least as much as from our
successes
27Transition Happens
- Transition from high school is difficult for
everyone. - It is even more difficult for students with
disabilities. - So its all the more important that it be a well
planned, coordinated set of activities that
include transition into all of the domains of
adult life employment, housing, friends,
continuing education, recreation, interpersonal
relationships, etc . - Planning needs to begin early not at age 20,
not at age 16.
28Transition Planning
- Not just a good idea, its the law