Transition Planning for Students with Disabilities

     The article I read this week is titled "Career Development: Preparation, integration, and collaboration."  This article discussed the history of career development for adolescents with disabilities, different models of career development, essential components of career development, and how career development can be integrated into academics and the community. This article also mentions ideas for collaborative efforts that help in career development and the transition process.
      The article briefly mentions the history of career development is based off the reasoning that school and education should be connected to the real world. Learning is only meaningful in this way. This outlook on learning greatly impacted the transition process for students with disabilities. There are four themes associated with the transition process. These themes include personal development, personal learning, personal skills, and environmental influences. These four themes come into play when planning a transition for an adolescent with a disability.
     Integrating career development activities into academics is extremely important in the transition process. Students can practice job-related skills in the classroom to better prepare for post school life. It is also important to know and be aware of the accommodations that the student will need in the real world. Will this student be comfortable in a social setting? Will this student need any technological assistance performing a task?  Efforts to promote career development seem to be more successful when introduced early on; before the transition occurs. The earlier students start to work on the skills needed for a career, the easier the transition will become.
      Overall, I did enjoy reading the article. I find the transition process for students with disabilities very important and I enjoy reading about how it could be successful. I wish the article discussed a little more about integration of career development with academics.

Webb, K., Repetto, J., Seabrooks-Blackmore, J., Patterson, K. B., & Alderfer, K. (2014). Career development: preparation, integration, and collaboration. Journal Of Vocational Rehabilitation, 40(3), 231-238. doi:10.3233/JVR-140688