Transition Planning for autistic teens
One of the many roles we SpEd teachers play in managing our caseload of students is to create and manage their individual Transition Plan. Before we begin on what I do in managing them, here’s a bit of the what and why of the plans. Transition plans are a required component of Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for students with disabilities in the United States when they reach age 16. Doing a bit more than the law requires, my district requires them at the transition from primary school to middle school, then every year thereafter. I agree with the policy as being a good idea.
The purpose is to support students as they move from high school to postsecondary education, employment, independent living, and community participation. The plan outlines goals and services to help the student successfully transition out into the world away from a supportive school life.
Transition plans must include measurable postsecondary goals related to training, education, employment and independent living skills where appropriate. Goals are based on age-appropriate transition assessments - this is where I’m going with this piece. Hang on.
The plan spells out transition services and activities aimed at helping the student achieve those goals. This may include instruction, community experiences, developing employment and other adult living objectives, and if appropriate, acquiring daily living skills and functional vocational evaluation.
Outside agency representatives who may provide or pay for transition services may be invited to participate in the IEP meeting where the transition plan is developed. This can include vocational rehabilitation services, mental health services, developmental disabilities agencies, and other support providers.
Progress toward meeting transition plan goals is tracked and reviewed annually as part of the IEP, giving the team a chance to adjust the plans as needed to support the student's transition to life after high school.
The transition plan is a crucial roadmap designed to set students up for success after their K-12 education ends. The IEP team works closely with the student and family to tailor the plan to the individual's needs, preferences, and aspirations.
How it started
When I arrived at my current school, the staff were using a paper version of the RIASEC survey (here’s a link to the online version). The RIASEC survey, developed by psychologist John L. Holland, is a career assessment tool used to identify an individual’s interests and personality types in relation to work and careers. RIASEC stands for the six interest / personality types the theory proposes:
R - Realistic - Enjoy working with objects, tools, plants, animals, and machinery. Prefer practical, hands-on activities. Example careers: Mechanic, farmer, pilot.
I - Investigative - Interested in science, research, analysis, and intellectual curiosity. Enjoy thinking and solving complex problems. Example careers: Biologist, chemist, archaeologist.
A - Artistic - Enjoy creative expression through art, music, writing, dance, etc. Value aesthetics and communications. Example careers: Painter, musician, writer.
S - Social - Desire to serve, teach, counsel, help, and heal other people. Enjoy collaborating and helping with solutions. Example careers: Teacher, psychologist, nurse.
E - Enterprising - Motivated by leadership, business, politics, and entrepreneurship. Enjoy persuading people and making decisions. Example careers: Salesperson, manager, politician.
C - Conventional - Enjoy organizing information in a systematic way. Value efficiency and procedures. Example careers: Accountant, banker, administrator.
The RIASEC assessment asks a series of questions about an individual's interests, talents, and preferences. The responses produce a three-letter Holland Code indicating which three types are most dominant for that person's ideal work personality. This code helps match someone’s preferences to compatible occupations and work environments.
It’s very basic and impersonal.
Students didn’t respond well to the questions. They didn’t seem attuned to the campus and community’s culture. The results, similarly, didn’t inspire students. There were no “ah hah” moments. It was just another form, one that allowed us case managers to quickly tick the box that we’d performed the transition function.
Me being me, I wondered if there was a better way.
A questionnaire emerges
I wanted to engage in a conversation with students. I wanted to get to know them, but also for them to get to know themselves. Me being a gestalt processor, I needed to create my own set of reflective questions that delve deeper into my student’s core values, relationships, life fulfillment, and personal growth goals. I knew that I didn’t want to use the more surface-level focus of the RIASEC assessment. Where the RIASEC looks strictly at vocational preferences and interests to match a career area, I wanted questions that provide more subjective self-knowledge that gives context, meaning, and motivation to those interests.
For example, questions like “What do you love to do for, or give to others?” and “If life stopped today, what would you regret not doing?” require introspection into what fundamentally matters to someone. The answers relate to purpose, legacy, and human connection beyond matching skills to occupations. Or a question such as “What practical skills do you wish you had?” may reveal talents to develop or barriers to career goals not identified in the RIASEC.
The qualitative nature of a set of open-ended life reflection questions allows for a deeper dive into someone’s values, relationships, ideal future, life fulfillment, personal growth opportunities and more. This bridges the gap between simply identifying career interests, and understanding the whole person behind those interests. It provides rich perspective that puts one’s vocational preferences into a wider context of subjective life meaning and direction. With self-knowledge of not just what we want to do, but who we truly are, we are better equipped to lead more fulfilling working lives.
The Questionnaire
To begin with, these questions aren’t necessarily original. I’ve collected them from various sources. When I began, I had a list of ten. Now, my list has 25. I don’t want to tire students out. When I know students don’t have the stamina to work through the whole list, I can chunk the list into multiple sessions / conversations. Anyway, here’s the list.
What does your ideal day look like?
What did you want to be when you were younger?
Who are you most inspired by? Why?
Who would you love to meet? What would you ask?
What habit would you most like to break? What habit would you most like to start?
Think of a person you truly admire. What qualities do you like about that person?
How do you like to relax?
When was the last time you did something you were afraid of?
What are you most proud of?
What are you most afraid of?
If life stopped today, what would you regret not doing?
Who would you like to connect (or reconnect) with? Why?
What qualities do you admire in others?
What practical skills do you wish you had?
Imagine you're in your 90’s. What memories would you like to have? What stories do you want to tell?
What is your favorite book / movie / song? Why?
If you could make one change in the world, what would it be?
What do you love to do for, or give to others?
What excites you?
What do you wish you did more of?
Pretend money is no object. What would you do?
What area of your life, right now, makes you feel the best? Why?
Let’s jump forward a year. What would you like to have achieved in the past year?
What piece of advice would you give to five year old you?
How do you want to be remembered in life?
Results?
I believe these reflective questions help me gain valuable insight into my students beyond academic performance or career interests. Getting a better sense of who students are at their core positively impacts my relationships with my students.
Specifically, questions relating to fears, sources of inspiration, advice to their younger selves, or what they would change in the world may reveal self-doubt, personal challenges, perspectives and priorities that impact learning. Understanding these better allows me connect, tailor support more effectively, and address social-emotional development in addition to cognitive.
For students with disabilities transitioning into employment or further education, grasping their life fulfillment goals, relationships they wish to reconnect with, contributions they want to make to others, and more creates a foundation to build relevant, engaging transition plans. Rather than generic goals, I can co-create plans rooted in self-knowledge of students’ hopes, motivations, and authentic selves beyond their disability.
Overall, taking the time to foster such introspection is my way of showing genuine care and interest in my students as individuals. This questioning helps to build trust and rapport that improves openness to guidance. By tuning into their full identities and inner worlds, I am better equipped to help them flourish.
Better than RIASEC for autistic students?
But, Dr. H., the RIASEC is a widely used, valid survey for career interests.
Actually, no, it’s not … per se. It has not been validated for use amongst the neurodivergent population. Plus, autistic individuals were not specifically included in the normative data set used to develop the RIASEC occupational interest model.
The RIASEC is based on a seminal 1966 study examining how vocational interests correlated with occupational membership among a sample of 5,620 men. Whilst details are not fully spelled out, there is no way it could have been normed on autistic people given the development of neurodivergence within DSM criteria.
In subsequent validity studies of other instruments measuring RIASEC constructs like the Self-Directed Search, Strong Interest Inventory, and Dictionary of Holland Occupational Codes, participant samples appear to be representative of the general population. They are not stratified for disability status or neurodiversity characteristics.
The original RIASEC model was based on typical peer groups clustered in occupational settings. Autistic perspectives were not directly examined.
Follow up research establishing RIASEC assessments have not explicitly called out the inclusion of autistic respondents or other neurodivergent profiles in their norming.
Thus, it is doubtful the distinct cognitive and experiential realities common to those on the autism spectrum have shaped or been accounted for within the RIASEC framework as it presently exists.
So, yes, autistic students (and especially those gestalt processors, like me) stand to benefit greatly from exploring open-ended, reflective questions about life experiences and self-perception. Standardised career assessments often overlook the unique perspectives and insights we bring.
It is said that we autistics face social and emotional challenges as a core part of our neurotype. Asking us to share personal thoughts on inspirations, fears, future goals and advice to their younger selves can provide a platform to safely open up. A survey such as this gives teachers invaluable understanding that can build empathy and trust. It also aids autistics themselves in constructing self-knowledge, making sense of their inner landscape.
Additionally, autistic cognition frequently prioritises detail over interpreting the bigger picture. Wide-ranging reflective questions prompt students to make connections between different aspects of their lives. This matches the interconnectivity that gestalt processors intuitively see across situations most neurotypicals compartmentalise. Making space for holistic exploration allows autistics and other gestalt thinkers to tap into their wisdom in ways narrow career tests cannot.
Thus, open-ended life reflection fits harmoniously with both autistic and gestalt perspectives. The emphasis on subjective experiences honours the unique identity and worldview of my students. This contrasts with restrictive checklists that fail to capture them fully. Ultimately, taking this humanising approach helps my students chart their course through life’s journey with self-insight and self-advocacy.