You school is supposed to provide a transition plan. Your team members need to be contacted.
@rose_23, this is where you bring in your parents.
They can contact the Department of Rehabilitation, in your county, and sign you up as a client. You don’t have to wait for the school to contact them. In fact, we had students who started their transition plan at the age of 16 because a number of them wanted to work and wanted to drive.
Are you comfortable telling us what state you are from?
I agree. Our students, at 16, were trained on how to run their meetings and were helped by staff to formulate questions prior to their meetings. Our non-verbal students were also participants.
You are typically the manager at your transitional meetings.
Edited to add: Our local community college has classes for people in transition. You can go to school and if you need help, the help is there. All you have to do is ask.
Why do you want to go to college?
Do you have any jobs in mind for when you complete your education?
Have you spoken to your school case manager and counselor? Why are they suggesting college might not be a good choice for you?
Is there a community college near your home? CCs have open enrollment. You can take courses there. The staff there will work with you in terms of appropriate course selections.
Are you in a regular diploma program where all the required high school courses for college are being taken? What are your grades like?
What are your interests?
ETA…there are plenty of students with special needs who attend college.
@aunt_bea well i live in vermont but go to school in new york
Do,you attend a private boarding school? If so, please talk to your college counselors there. They are usually well versed on post high school options for their special needs students.
no i don’t
well i did want to go to to be cop but im not sure anymore, and my grades are good
Go for it!
@Bill_Marsh you think i should?
If that’s what you want, then sure.
Please explain how you live in Vermont but attend a school in New York.
If you are in NY, I agree with @aunt_bea said, you need to be meeting with your transition team and a transition plan must be part of your IEP.
talk to your counselor/transition linkage coordinator about ACCES-VR Services
You can start the process now as a junior this spring (you will be a rising senior). MInimally you can get your testing done for your 504 plan, which you will need after you graduate high school and your IEP expires
@sybbie719 the student says they live in Vermont but attend school in NY state. Would this student (as a resident of Vermont) contact NY vocational rehab or Vermont vocational rehab.
I do agree…regardless of where this student resides or attends school…unless home schooled…they would have a transition plan as part of an IEP…if they have an IEP.
You can definitely go to college if you want. Please don’t let teachers discourage you, it is very wrong of them. As others have said there are colleges focused on helping students with special needs and there are colleges that are very supportive. The path may be different or it may take longer but it will be worth it. My good friend shared that his son’s teachers said the same thing to them when he was in elementary school, however his son has now graduated from college - with a computer science degree from UMD and is working full time. His son transferred into UMD after his first year, did not get in as a senior but he still got there eventually. You can do it- don’t let others negatively influence you.
@thumper1 because we don’t have a high school around where i live so i go to ny for high school
So your local schools are sending you there?
If you have an IEP, please look at your transition plan.
well my parents chose the school
What do your parents think, since they’ll probably be paying for it. Do they support your idea?
@BornMe well i’ve told them about whats going on and my stepmom said that i could go
@rose_23 It sounds like some key details are missing. More information about these details may clarify more about the teachers’ comments and overall situation, allowing persons viewing this thread to give more helpful comments. I have some related questions:
Can you provide more detail about the “special needs” program. What is the name of the program? What types of students are in the program? What types of “special needs” do you have?
What types of classes have you taken? For example, what is the name of your current math, science, and language class? Will you be on pace to have taken 4 years of math and science after graduating next year? Are you on pace to get a local degree from your HS next year at age 18, rather than a regents degree?
What types of careers are you considering? Do you have any specific colleges or types of colleges in mind that may interest you?