Elise,
The transition planning actually starts at age 14 - a "page 6" is completed for the year your kid will turn 14, and it states what post HS plans are, living situation (group home, supported living, etc), jobs, leisure and recreation activities, the child's likes and dislikes, what supports the child will need (personal care attendant)etc. I've been researching it alot for Boo, and by age 16 there's also supposed to be an indication of what state agencies will be involved/providing funding.
Our kids are eligible for school services to age 21 *or* until they complete a HS diploma.
Part of the page 6 is also identifying what skills your kid will need in order to work, live. Does he need vocational ed skills? Life skills? That is actually part of the HS curriculum then.
I won't discuss how my reg ed HS district handles it (sore point, lol
), but in our Special Education cooperative they get the kids involved in various sheltered workshops, training programs around age 16. I just talked with- the transition specialist yesterday for Boo and there's apparently a new program sponsored by UCP that is a very high tech program to give the most severely involved kiddos real job skills.
We did thank you's first page 6 this year - kind of funny in a warped way - post high school plans range from college (which is possible) to totally supported living (another possibility). I bit my tongue and didn't suggest incarceration.
Since he'll be starting HS on his next IEP, I will be making sure that there are some very specific life skills IEP goals (sorry - IEP goals are written for every transition skill that is needed) for shopping, bill paying... all the nuts and bolts that he should be learning at home but can't since he's not here. Job training is, in my humble opinion, an important goal - how to apply for a job, how to hold one, etc.
Hope this makes sense - HMJ hasn't kicked in yet.