The goal of special education transition is to maximize a student’s opportunity for independence.  High-quality transition programs (for young adults ages 18-22) are designed for students who have completed their high school requirements and wish to further develop skills in academics, on-the- job training, independent living, and life skills while obtaining therapeutic services such as social work counseling, speech therapy and occupational therapy if needed. The instruction is individualized, based on each student’s needs, goals, employment and postsecondary aspirations.

After completion of the iCan Dream Center Transition Program, students obtain full time or part time employment, enroll in additional postsecondary programs such as community colleges, universities, career and technical schools, vocational programs, or day programs for further growth.

A Typical Day:

The Transition Program focuses on three specific areas of development:

• Vocational Training – Students participate in a variety of internship programs at local businesses and organizations throughout the community

• Independent Living – Students develop a variety of independent living skills for a successful transition to adulthood.

• Academic Skills & Related Services – Students receive individualized instruction in specific areas of need (math, reading, writing) as well as related services in speech therapy, occupational therapy, and social work counseling.

Vocational Training

Working at offsite locations, students participate in on-the-job training and skill development in the following areas:

• Development of positive work ethics and motivation
• Learning new hands-on skills
• Task prioritization and completion
• Work involving teamwork and cooperation
• Interpersonal communication and social skill development
• Organizational skill development
• Listening skills and ability to take direction
• Problem solving and decision making
• Providing a service to members of the public
• Understanding how businesses and organizations work

Students work one-on-one with a vocational specialist developing strategies to help them succeed at their job sites.

The vocational specialist:

• Observes students in their work environment
• Provides feedback to how students respond in certain situations
• Offers prompting or guidance when necessary
• Adjusts training based on student strengths and weaknesses
• Develops scripts for effective communication
• Provides performance and quality of work evaluations for measurements of success
• Provides positive constructive feedback

Participants in the iCan Dream Transition Program receive:

Academic Skills & Related Services

An individualized program of instruction is written for each student based upon his/her specific learning needs.

Reading

Word recognition, phonics, vocabulary development, fluency and rate, reading enrichment, study skills, meta comprehension techniques, critical and creative reading skills, and divergent thinking strategies.

Math

Students learn to apply mathematic knowledge to everyday consumer experiences. Students learn life skills math, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, decimals, percentages, time, and measurement. Students develop money management and budgeting skills by actively managing personal bank accounts at Chase Bank.

Social Work Counseling

Students receive services from the school Social Worker. The goal is to enhance the acquisition of social thinking. Sessions address areas such as self-regulation, friendship building, problem solving, and success in the workplace.

Speech & Language Therapy

Speech language pathology services provide the student with intervention and treatment of a variety of communication disorders, including cognitive aspects of communication (attention, memory, problem solving, executive functions), speech (articulation, voice, and fluency), receptive and expressive language skills, as well as pragmatic (social) language skills. iCan Dream Center partners with Lewis University offering eligible students robust speech and language services.

 

Occupational Therapy

The occupational therapist will work with the student in a number of areas to promote functional independence in the classroom and employment setting. The goal is to improve the student’s ability to perform tasks requiring visual perception skills, fine motor skills, gross motor skills, sensory processing skills, organization, and self-care. The occupational therapist aims to give the student the tools needed to successfully participate in a school and community setting.

Community Integration

• Link students to community agencies
• Provide information regarding postsecondary educational programs
• Tour local postsecondary colleges, community colleges and/or trade schools
• Link to volunteer/employment opportunities within the community

Our annual Adult Conference is coming up on Thursday, November 10^th!  If you are interested in more information, visit the Events section of our website!