"The key is to look at all you already know," says Colleen Thoma, an assistant professor in the Department of Special Education at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. "Don't redo the same tests you've been doing. Identify what you need to know about the student."

Dr. Thoma offers the following guidelines for transition teachers:

Start with a student's goals for his or her future and then see what steps the student needs to take to enter that occupation or a similar one. To accomplish this, Dr. Thoma urges transition teachers to seek advice from "experts" who are employed in the field that a student would like to enter. This person's insight can help transition teams outline a student's plan. "We can't expect that we know everything outside of education, and we have to bring in experts from other fields," she notes.

Make sure that the students and their families are the focus. The information family members provide about the student's skills and cultural values is invaluable in the transition process. "The information they know about a student needs to be acknowledged and used, even if professionals have a different view of the student," Dr. Thoma emphasizes. "Teachers don't always know things that parents do." Examples include a student's ability to fix a meal or their experiences in outside activities, which directly relate to a student's life in the community.

To ensure that the transition process is truly person-centered, Dr. Thoma reminds teachers to "make sure that all people the student is comfortable with are involved," such as family members or close friends. Dr. Thoma also recommends holding meetings in a comfortable place, as opposed to an office that is unfamiliar to the student. Creating a graphic representation of what is discussed is a good idea.

Don't forget to prepare students to navigate the adult disability services system. "Teach students to either be their own advocates within that system or find their own advocate that they trust, " such as a parent or other relative, teacher, or other mentor.

Dr. Thoma is a co-author of "Transition Assessment: Wise Practices for Quality Lives," a book that shows readers how to use a range of assessment methods to guide young people with disabilities in the transition process.

Copyright (c) 2002 by Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.