This paper addresses the transition of young children from preschool programs that provide special education services to kindergarten or alternative elementary school placements. The roles of the child, family, and service providers in transition preparation, planning, implementation, and evaluation are described. Components of successful…

This paper examines learning-disabled students' change in legal status as they leave high school, which is structured by Public Law 94-142, and enter college settings structured by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The paper discusses implications of the change, transition programs, and guidelines for developing legal transition…

Describes a principal's efforts to help staff restructure an Arizona junior high school's entire curriculum while struggling to achieve a successful transition to middle school status. The most traumatic change for staff involved a radical scheduling change from one-hour classes to two-hour time blocks with alternating subjects from quarter to…

Services provided to 12 young adults with visual impairments moving from school to work by either an educationally based or rehabilitation-based transition program were compared. No differences were found in types or number of services provided by the two programs. Both programs cooperated with other agencies and involved subjects and parents in…

This paper conceptualizes transition as an outcome-oriented process leading to quality of life for individuals with disabilities. The paper discusses theoretical issues pertaining to the definition and conceptualization of quality of life, research findings in this area, and issues that should be addressed in the future. (Author/JDD)

This article reviews five categories of critical characteristics of high-quality secondary-level vocational instruction programs that increase the likelihood that students with severe disabilities will obtain paid community employment upon graduation. Categories include location of instruction, curriculum, instructional strategies, transition…

The research literature is reviewed for transitions from birth to eight years. A model describes transition as a change in ecocultural niche, requiring accommodations in daily routines for a child, family, and service providers and transition impact measures the number of accommodations required and the sustainability of daily routines.…

Discharging the premature infant from the hospital calls for provision of support to families in such areas as capitalizing on family strengths and resources, empowering parents to make informed decisions, creating opportunities for parent-to-parent contact, focusing intervention goals on parent-identified needs, and providing services to families…

A blind individual offers career education guidelines concerning helping blind children make realistic vocational choices, providing job awareness, setting up work-experience programs, and developing special job-seeking skills. (DB)

Examined relationship of first-year intervention to institutional integration, academic success, and persistence of resident and commuter first-year students (n=629) at predominantly nonresidential university. Found group differences on social integration and gender differences on academic success. Higher percentage of intervention participants…

Describes a transition program at the Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind that helps 18- to 21-year olds bridge the gap between high school and adult life. Through multi-agency collaboration, students can take advantage of a community college educational program and learn independent living skills. (CR)

Troy Academy at Green Mountain College, in Pultney, Vermont, was a three-year experiment that allowed responsible area high-school juniors and seniors to take challenging college-level courses in a supportive environment providing for their needs. Despite the program's unqualified success, Green Mountain ended the arrangement because of financial…

Discusses facilitating culturally sensitive transition plans for young children transitioning to kindergarten and their families. Addresses transition roles for families and adapting transition roles for culturally diverse families. Stresses the need for transition teams to emphasize continuity, communication, collaboration, and family concerns.…

At a policy forum on transition, 30 participants addressed special education, rehabilitation, and the School-to-Work Initiative. Recommendations were made in the following areas: considering transition as a pre-kindergarten through age 16 issue, promoting schools' responsibility for all students, cultivating leadership, working effectively with…

Many schools host kindergarten roundups to facilitate children's transition from home to formal education. Roundups should not assess school readiness, but could be a valuable tool to help teachers' meet students' diverse needs. Roundups should open up parent-teacher communications, check for correctable learning impairments, and share meaningful…