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Dare to Dream (LeDerick R. (LeDerick R. Horne)Horne)We are gathered here today

to bear witness,to bear witness to the unionof two beautiful peopleYes, today is the day we mergewho you are with who you want to be, making the vision and the reality – oneAn integrationBorn of communicationAnd made tangible By your commitment to yourself.

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Universal Design for Transition (UDT) Purpose: to bridge the perceived

discrepancies between ◦ Preparing students to meet academic standards

and their transition outcomes ◦ Universal and Individual instructional goals.

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Based on ◦ Principles of Universal Design

The design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design.” (Center for

Universal Design, 2007). ◦ Educational Applications

Universal Design for Instruction and Universal Design for Learning characterize efforts to create universal access to

education for all students including those with cognitive, physical, and emotional disabilities

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Universal Design Architecture/product design

Access for all

Universal Design for Instruction

Education: teaching strategies

Access to what is being taught

Universal Design for Learning

Education: teaching, learning, and assessment

Access to learning that seeks to assure that methods, materials, and assessment/engagement are all accessible

Universal Design for Transition

Special Education Access to preferred adult lifestyles through a process of self-determined planning, instruction, collaboration, and support services

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“Multiple means of representation, to give learners various ways of acquiring information and knowledge,

Multiple means of expression, to provide learners alternatives for demonstrating what they know,

Multiple means of engagement, to tap into learners' interests, offer appropriate challenges, and increase motivation.” (Cast, 2007)

These principles assure that products, environments, instruction and learning opportunities “are usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialist design” (Center for Universal Design, 1997).

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Equitable Use Flexible Use Simple and Intuitive Use Perceptible Information Tolerance for Error Low Physical Effort Size and Space

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UDT expands the concepts of barrier free methods and design to include its application to the design, delivery, and assessment of educational services related to the transition from school to post-school for students with disabilities.

UDT requires that additional characteristics are included to match the approach to evidence-based practices for transition services.  ◦ multiple life/transition domains◦ multiple means of assessment◦ student self-determination and ◦ multiple resources/perspectives

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Transition Planning

Employment

Community Living

Community Integration

Recreation/Leisure Post-secondary

Education

Transportation

Self-determination

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Transition assessment: information gathering designed to determine student preferences and interests for their adult lives and the supports, services, and instruction necessary to help students achieve those life goals. 

UDT approach to transition assessment:◦ starts with general education curriculum, identifying

authentic, real-world tasks that can be linked to the instruction of those standards

◦ Creates links between academics and transition outcomes through assessment

◦ Characteristics of UDL applied to assessment process 

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Self-determination is a critical component of quality transition planning ◦ The focus is on a student’s preferences and interests for an

adult lifestyle. Focus on self-determination throughout the

curriculum-identify links in standards and objectives

Provide opportunities through UDT in the classroom-creates links in transition process

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Universal design for transition◦ Multiple perspectives beyond school and immediate

student family must be included in the planning process (who has the information necessary for the team to make decisions)

Person-centered planning and Student-directed planning procedures to invite participation of non-school personnel in the educational planning process helps the planning team think "outside the box"

Links to curriculum and others involved in academic planning can create additional supports in transition process

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Multiple Life Domains

Multiple means of Assessments

Individual self-determination

Multiple means of representation

Multiple means of engagement

Multiple means of expression

Multiple resources/ perspectives

Focus is on the transition to a complete, integrated plan for life rather than on multiple, divided life segments

Focus on collecting an array of information about the student that provides holistic data upon which decisions are made

Student is the focus of the process, with their preferences and interests serving as the basic upon which transition services are based. Student is the causal agent.

Transition planning and services are developed so that they include materials, services and instruction that include a range of methods.

Transition planning and services are developed to assure that there are multiple ways that students can be involved in the process

Transition planning and services are developed to assure that students can communicate their preferences and interests, and demonstrate progress in multiple ways.

Transition planning and services are developed collaboratively, pooling resources (financial, human, and/or material), using natural supports and/or generic community services as well as disability-specific ones.

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Includes a focus on the typical transition/life domains of employment, community living, post-secondary education, transportation, recreation and leisure and community integration; but supports are examined for the range of applicability.

Assessments include a range of methods, and are chosen based on the students’ needs and the disparity between student long range goals and the current information on student strengths/needs and abilities.

Students do not need to do it all themselves, but self-determination needs to be a focus for the entire transition planning team, assuring that the student chooses needed supports that achieve their long range adult life goals.

Methods employ a variety of instructional strategies, including the use of authentic learning objectives (that is, tasks that adults perform in their lives and on the job).

Instructional design provides opportunities for individuals to be engaged in many different ways to meet multiple objectives. For instance, by involving students in developing a movie, they can demonstrate their knowledge of academic content (in the details of the story line) as well as functional skills like communication, working with others, and using technology.

Assessment of student progress can occur in multiple ways, assuring that students with disabilities are able to demonstrate what they know. These options, when incorporated into transition planning and services assures that we clearly understand an individual’s plans for an adult life and provide a means for assuring he or she is the causal agent in the process.

Transition planning and services reflect the range of supports available to individuals with and without disabilities, and the best of collaborative planning where stakeholders work together to break down barriers and silos to provide appropriate supports.

Multiple Life Domains

Multiple means of Assessments

Individual self-determination

Multiple means of representation

Multiple means of engagement

Multiple means of expression

Multiple resources/ perspectives

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Recent college graduate◦ First year educator

Educational supports while in high school & college

Struggles and success

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Focus similar to that of peers…◦ Post-secondary education dreams◦ Post-secondary education plans (SATs)

Focus dissimilar to that of peers…◦ Disclose disability to others? Who? When?

How?◦ Accommodations & modifications (note-

takers/access to information)◦ College disability services

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Mother Guidance counselor High school Case

Manager

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Hidden disability◦ perception of friends (social)

Getting started (coordinating services, meetings, forms, procedures)

Assistive technology◦ Learned about supports in high

school / this aided in college

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Secondary Special Educator◦ Self contained &

collaborative◦ Open with

students/colleagues/

◦ parents

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Finances Friends/Family

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Assure that students have thought about all areas of their lives, and how they impact each other

Find ways to collect assessment data in many of these transition domain areas

Be sure that you are addressing student preferences and use that as a starting point!

Link the transition areas to academic requirements and other aspects of participating in the school environment.

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Prepare the student for participation in the meeting◦ Organizing the meeting (inviting others, choosing

day/time)◦ Practice introducing others, and other steps of the

process◦ Work with peers to organize graphic organizers

Use person-centered planning, student-led or directed IEP processes for the meeting itself

Involve student in the implementation process Use the SDLMI to help the student prepare and

share information in the meeting.

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Use good decisions for choosing assessments that collect the information you need

Find ways to change the assessment so that it can be used with a variety of students who have a variety of needs.

Make sure that you summarize information you have from being with students throughout the day. Assessments are happening all the time…recognize and document them!

Have student organize assessment/work to share with others at meeting

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Complete the necessary paperwork, but also consider:◦ Videotaped examples of work performance◦ Use large paper to record meeting

discussion/information using pictures, words, colors, etc. to illustrate and express thoughts and feelings

◦ Students can express ideas and feeling during or prior to meeting through pictures, collages, video/multimedia, scrapbooks, or other digital tools

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Real participation:◦ Participation according to comfort level of student◦ Powerpoint presentation can be read by student or

other student, or use animated/recorded voice.◦ Inviting individuals to the meeting (phone calls,

emails, paper invitations, contacting outside agencies, e-vites).

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For students to communicate preferences, needs, feelings during the meeting, you or the student may need….◦ To pre-record or preprogram augmentative

communication systems to include all possible options needed for the meeting

◦ Student can collaborate with teacher on the powerpoint presentation for meeting

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Identify people who are most likely to contribute necessary information( creative thinkers, problem-solvers, “why not” rather than “yes, but” people

This allows for more creative solutions such as◦ Grant funding or donations◦ Job opportunities and job creation◦ Supporting dreams◦ Focusing on strengths

Class website to update student files/progress data and to alert parents to necessary information.

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Identify authentic tasks that are connected to the academic standards you need to teach.

Use teaching models that provide flexibility in teaching so that more than one goal can be accomplished.

Recognize the opportunities to meet academic, functional, and post-school goals

Scaffold community-based learning opportunities so that age-appropriate skills can be learned in these settings.

Find resources that expose students to real world experiences and mentors outside the school building

Address aspects of transition planning by allowing students to be involved Target the most important lesson(s) and re-design them using the principles of

UDT Think broadly Check your resources and identify a range of resources that could be

available.

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Plan based on Strength,interests & needs of Students

Assessments-transition and

academicLinks and practices

Life domains and

academics addressed

Link between current

opportunities and needed opportunities

ResourcesAvailable

and Resources

Used

Student involvementAcademics

and Transition

STUDENTTRANSITIONGOALS and

UDT

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We’ve covered a great deal of information today….let’s summarize a few of the points

UDT is a strategy for applying the principles of UDL to the transition planning, implementation and assessment process.

There are 7 components: multiple transition domains, self-determination, multiple assessments, multiple means of representation, multiple means of engagement, multiple means of expression, and multiple resources/perspectives.

It is an approach that creates connections between disparate goals: transition and academics, individual and group, self-determination and team planning.