Successful Transition Hi everyone, and welcome! I’m Eli. I can see that many of you require accommodations… as for myself…I have my own chair and did not need accommodations ;-) I am here to share my thoughts on how to help support students with disabilities achieve successful transition. As an individual with lifelong disabilities I plan to share my perspective on transition. What does it look like and how do students with disabilities get there? By Eli Ettinger, M.S. Disability Advocate

Success noun suc·cess \sək-ˈses\ Briefly defined: Success means favorable or desired outcome, the accomplishment of an aim or purpose Success looks very different from student to student. I personally am I product of PL94-142. Without it, I highly doubt I would be here as a speaker today. I very likely would not have gone off to University of Oregon for my undergraduate and graduate degrees.

What Is The Desired Outcome? The goal must be identified to determine if the student is on the road to success College ? Trade School (Vocational School) ? Independent Living ? In order to have a measure of success we need to (even broadly) identify the goal.

Students with Disabilities Multiple disabilities &/or complex health needs Frequent surgeries...on par with birthdays Missed school days Need for instructional assistance I have a lifelong disability, I was born with Spina Bifida. As a result I am a paraplegic. I also have hydrocephalus which is managed with a shunt (point to head) to drain the excess fluid. As a result I have learning differences. So how in the world was an individual like me- most definitely deemed “unlikely to succeed” based on the severity of my disabilities able to learn to advocate and achieve success? You can see that students with disabilities often have health needs, possibly hospitalizations that result in missed school days and the need for extra help. By the way I just recently had a birthday and at the age of 32 , I have finally reached the point where I have had more birthdays than surgeries.

Common Behaviors Reliance on others Inhibited from asking for anything “more” Avoidance of any additional attention Struggle in silence So what does this look like in terms of behaviors? For all the reasons listed and more… the result looks like this (Read from Slide) In the next few slides you will see the importance of understanding this slide….and the impact of behavior modification. Because in order to succeed the student with disabilities must do the opposite of what you see here in this slide.

SELF ADVOCACY Common to any plan This is key. The student with disabilities must practice self-advocacy to the best of their ability.

Self-Advocacy Where does one learn this important skill? By observing parents during childhood By being encouraged throughout K-12 By practice & trial and error I can tell you that navigating schools with a disability is no walk in the park! But it can be done and you can help! Parents who are strong advocates for their child with disabilities set examples for their children Teachers who encourage the practice of self advocacy and include it in the IEP are helping Teachers who can see a teachable moment and perhaps break from a tight schedule to foster the skill when it begins to emerge

Behaviors to Foster Self-reliance to the greatest extent possible Reaching out for help A disregard for what others might think of you Expression of what the needs are Students with disabilities will fare much better in career, higher ed, and independent living if they can successfully advocate for themselves by the time they leave the sheltered setting of K-12. Parents, aids, IEP’s are generally left behind when the student leaves the K-12 setting. Every opportunity to foster self reliance & self-advocacy to the greatest extent possible is of critical importance. If they are advancing to college they will work with Student Support Services where they will be expected to be self advocates If they advance to a trade, they will need to work with their work supervisors Whatever their path, the highest degree of self sufficiency will serve the individual best

Barriers to Success Support is inadequate or missing Lack of Confidence Attitude is poor Mentorship is deficient These are REAL! If you don’t think- for example Attitude can be a barrier- guess again! It’s hard to watch others succeed seemingly effortlessly- but keeping yourself grounded and surrounded by positive energy and supportive people and whenever possible Mentors will all be of great help!

Aim High Shoot for the Moon - if you miss you will still be among the Stars! Have high expectations of your students Let them know you believe in them Teach them that even failures are learning opportunities Seek mentors Look, I can tell you that I was probably among the LEAST likely to succeed! Mobility impairments, learning differences, absences… My parents believed in me and my teachers were supportive and encouraging. I was never turned away! I stayed close to those who I felt were sincere and supportive.

Questions Fire Away! I am happy to answer any questions you might have or engage in group discussion- or Feel free to reach out at a later date: eettinger212@msn.com