Quick Notes:
IPP's/IEP's: The Transitions Section || Writing Difficulties: A Computer Peripheral May Be the Answer? || Career Competencies From Kindergarten to Grade Twelve || Communicative Competence: Far More than Language Arts!

IPP’s/IEP’s: The Transitions Section

It seems to be a popular notion that transition planning is done in preparation for the student’s leaving school. Wrong! Every Individual Program/Education Plan (IPP) must have a Transitions section. Below are a few points you may find of interest.

1. What exactly is a “transition”? A transition is any future change that may be significant to the student or that will affect the execution or direction of the IPP. In all examples below except the last, the transition revolves around a change in the physical location of the student, with all the concomitant changes in context, routine, rules, skills, expectations and people. In the last example, the child will have a change in routines and will require some skill-specific instruction—namely word processing.

  • the child will be moving from Grade Three to Grade Four in the same school
  • the child will be transitioning from home to kindergarten
  • the student will be transitioning from Grade Twelve to the work world
  • the child will no longer receive remedial sessions from the special needs teacher, or will no longer have full-time assistant support
  • the child will be moving to Dad’s house (besides the social and emotional ramifications, Petie will be taking the bus for the first time and will require after-school care)
  • because the child’s writing is so laborious, a computer peripheral is being considered (it’s sort of a miniature lap top—they’re wonderful).


    • 2. What does a transition plan include? Treat it as a mini-IPP. Describe the expected change(s)/transition(s), related goals, objectives, timelines, strategies and people/agencies involved. The expected transition may be quite minimal and require little time and few resources; for example, in June, the Grade Three child may simply visit the Grade Four classroom and be introduced to her upcoming Grade Four teacher. A formal shift in IPP involvement of the teachers would also occur in June at the IPP review meeting. On the other hand, the plan may be quite complex and be a focus of effort for several years, such as in the case of a moderately or severely handicapped student who is transitioning to kindergarten or to semi-independence and the work world.

    3. If you foresee that there may be a "small" transition, mention the possibility and simply indicate that if a need arises, it will be addressed by the special needs team or whomever is in charge of the child’s IPP. In other words, don’t leave the Transitions section blank!

    In future, the Transitions section of the IPP will increasingly come to the fore as an educational quality issue for students having special needs. Make sure you are adequately addressing it!