Peter Dragula, M.Ed.
JAASEP 4(3) (2009) 58-62
Abstract
Under United States federal law, students who are in special education are guaranteed the right to attend school, but their education will vary depending upon their disability and their independent goals that are developed in a contract between the school and the parents called an Individual Educational Plan or IEP. Students with moderate/severe disabilities are guaranteed within their IEP a section that is devoted to helping them to transition from entitlement to eligibility services. This section is called the Individual Transition Plan or ITP. Ideally, these students are working on life, social, and work skills that will help them to take care of themselves as independently as possible. However, for most people who are unfamiliar with this population there are questions: (1) Why are we preparing students with moderate/severe disabilities for employment? (2) What is the curricular sequence of preparation for employment? (3) What are the common roadblocks? (4) Are there any possible solutions? and (5) What are the ideal solutions? This paper looks to answer these questions by looking at available research articles that have dealt with these issues in the past, as well as the author’s own past experiences working with the moderate/severely disabled in a Special Education Class for the past four years.
Keywords:Barriers, Special Education, Individualized Education Programs, Public Schools, Access to Education, Disabilities, Literature Reviews, Severity (of Disability), Job Training, Job Skills, Curriculum
DOI: https://doi.org/10.64546/jaasep.76
