Secondary Transition: Interagency Collaboration

Assessment

Take some time now to answer the following questions. Please note that the IRIS Center does not collect your Assessment responses. If this is a course assignment, turn it in using your professor’s preferred method. If you have trouble answering any of the questions, go back and review the Perspectives & Resources pages in this module.

1. Describe at least two ways that services and supports for adults with disabilities differ from those provided to high school students.
2. Define interagency collaboration.
3. When engaging in transition planning for a student with a disability, explain the primary role of:
   1. The IEP team
   2. The transition coordinator
   3. Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) agency
   4. One other relevant agency or organization
4. Mr. Vance is a high school teacher who is taking on a new position as a dedicated transition coordinator. He recognizes the importance of partnering with external agencies for his students’ success, but there is not yet a culture of interagency collaboration in the school.
   1. List the four stages that Mr. Vance can expect to experience as he establishes and strengthens interagency collaboration.
   2. For each stage, identify one specific way that Mr. Vance might engage with students, families, and external agencies.
5. Mr. Vance is leading the transition planning for Zeke, a high school sophomore with autism. Zeke excels academically but is still building his social, time-management, and self-advocacy skills. He is passionate about history and interested in pursuing a career working with historical documents in a museum or library. He is also eager to live on his own in a dorm or apartment.
   1. Identify two external agencies or organizations that Mr. Vance might involve in Zeke’s transition planning and explain what services or supports each could provide.
   2. Describe two activities that Zeke’s IEP team could engage in to help him bridge high school and post-school environments.
   3. Explain why interagency collaboration would be essential for Zeke to experience a seamless transition.