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In this section, we have identified a number of things to consider that may add further value to the planning process and improve your teenager's learning outcomes.
These are provided as suggestions only.
Explicitly identify your teenager's current skill level
It is essential to determine and record what your teenager's current skill level is in relation to the learning goal at the start of each planning cycle. This helps to measure his/her progress and can help determine if a particular teaching strategy or approach is effective.
It is also imperative to have the Individual Learning Plan record your teenager's skill level at the end of the school year and to use this information to help determine appropriate goals for the subsequent year. Like many processes, the school planning follows an annual cycle. Effective transition planning, however, is a multi-year process. As a result, it is possible for planning to lose its focus and momentum with the changeover from closing out one annual planning document and starting the next. Explicitly identifying and documenting skill levels at the beginning and the end of each school year helps reduce this risk.
Include Non-School-directed Goals and Actions
This could include actions and responsibilities your teenager is focussing on at home and in the community. These may be goals, actions or activities that:
- reinforce a school-directed action
- are not explicitly linked to any particular school-directed action but build additional skills to support your teenager to achieve his/her goals.
- Non-school-directed goals, activities and actions are not required to be included in an Individual Learning Plan. Incorporating them may offer the following benefits:
- It encourages all parties to tap into the skills and knowledge of all involved and to work collaboratively, constructively, creatively & responsively together to support your teenager to achieve his/her goals
- It explicitly acknowledges that learning does not stop outside the school gates
- It provides an additional mechanism for parent/family/community-driven learning to be valued and acknowledged by the school and community agencies
- It allows the planning process to track, record and acknowledge your teenager's non-school-directed skills and achievements so that they are not overlooked when preparing portfolios, resumes and promoting your teenager's abilities to potential employers.
Explicitly identify the people who will have responsibility for each action
Have you ever been to a child's pool party? At first glance, it seemed as if the kids in the water were being well supervised as there are many adults standing around near the pool chatting to each other. However, quite often, no one was keeping watch over the kids in the pool and this could have led to a tragic accident. Each of the adults had assumed that one of the other adults had taken on the duties of lifeguard. No one took to time to explicitly identify what his or her responsibilities would be.
Your teenager will have multiple teachers at high school and college and it is important to be clear about who is responsible for each action and exactly which particular sections of the Individual Learning Plan they need to act upon. Quite often responsibility will rest with more than one person. If responsibilities are not explicitly identified, your teenager may not receive the appropriate support to reach their goals.
Determining levels of responsibility can also assist all parties to identify and agree upon expectations.
Discuss and identify ways to reinforce learning in multiple environments
Learning doesn't just happen at school. It also happens at home and in the community. Learning in multiple environments is especially important for students with an intellectual disability as they often find it challenging to generalise/transfer skills. That is, they may have learnt a certain set of skills at school but may not necessarily make the connection that will enable them to use this set of skills in a different though similar environment.
As part of the team developing and reviewing the Individual Learning Plan, discuss and identify ways to reinforce, compliment and generalise the identified learning at home and in the community. Consider the following questions:
- Are there any actions or activities that can be undertaken at home or in the community that can support the teacher/person with primary responsibility for a particular action?
- Are there any opportunities to use and practice the skill(s) learnt at school in real life/ everyday scenario?
- What activities might assist your teenager to maintain their skills? Perhaps your teenager could apply the skills they are learning in a home economics class by taking on additional meal preparation responsibilities at home
Consider ways to enhance and value the skills learnt. Supporting your teenager to generalise a school-learnt skill to a home environment in a way that increases their responsibilities at home not only increases your teenager's skill set, but it also has the ability to increase their self-esteem and independence. It provides another opportunity for them to see themselves (and be seen by others) as active and valuable participants in others' lives.
It is important not to leave these considerations to chance. Schedule time to discuss and develop reinforced learning strategies as part of the Individual Learning Plan process.
Consider ways that will make Individual Learning Plan meetings more welcoming
The structure of formal meetings can sometimes be intimidating for parents and young people. Look for ways to make the process more family friendly so that it supports a really collaborative process. This may include:
- Negotiating with school staff about the location or timing of the meeting
- Relocating to somewhere less formal such as a place with soft chairs and coffee tables (instead of meeting around a big table)
- Considering the number of people attending the meeting and keeping numbers low
- Including another young person in the meeting - a friend or sibling perhaps
Think outside the box. Even little things can make a big difference.
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