PART 4: 4 Hallmarks of Exceptional Transition Education for Students on the Autism Spectrum

Bill Mulcahy – Assistant Principal, League School or Greater Boston

The League School of Greater Boston is a model of Best Practice in Transition Education. We are a “best practice” school because of our ability to effectively integrate four important elements: a program team model, vocational programming, transitional planning, and a partnership for the transition process.  In this series of blog posts, we will take a closer look at each.

We conclude our series on optimizing the Transition Education process by examining League School’s approach to it.

Part 4 of 4 Hallmarks – Creating a Partnership for Transition Planning

At League School, we create a partnership for the transition process — “It Takes a Village.“ Our program teams advocate for students’ 688 referrals (eligibility for post-22 services), and Department of Developmental Services (DDS) or Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission (MRC) participation in the students’ team meetings. Teams also provide parents and guardians support throughout the transition process and keep parents and guardians focused on timely decision-making.

Another source of additional support is our Parent Advisory Council (PAC) sponsoring presentations on such topics as transition education, guardianship, living wills and trusts, and post-22 planning. We provide a questionnaire for parents and guardians to utilize when visiting and interviewing proposed post-22 placements. Students are brought to visit their post-22 placement prior to transitioning or graduating from League School. As the last step in our process, we schedule a final transition meeting to insure a successful handoff from League School to the post-22 adult services site.

At this final transition meeting is “the village” that has contributed to the success of the student and worked together as a team to develop the transition plan:  the student, parents/guardians, the local educational representative, the student’s League School team, DDS or MRC, and the receiving day and/or residential staff from the post-22 placement. For students earning a high school diploma, post-secondary education may be the next step in their transition.

League School continues to implement these Best Practices in Transition Education – if you have any questions about our methods or procedures, please contact us at 508-850-3900.