Transition Program Reflection

I first visited with a teacher who is in charge of the post-secondary transition program at Serrano High School. The program services students age eighteen to twenty-two years of age. The program was created to help students gain different work skills that can be transitioned into real life skills or occupational skills, as well as employment. The first step of the program was described to me as student assessment. This was to figure out what the students are interested in, what strengths they have, and what their backgrounds are. This is connected to job analysis discussed in the Transition Education and Services text; it states how job analysis is the part of the assessment process that matches up the student’s strengths, needs, preferences

This is also referred to as B.E.S.T. This program helps those with disabilities over the age of eighteen. There are two locations one in Barstow, and another in Apple Valley. This program was created in 1981 to help disabled individuals in the community. The purpose of this program is to “promote the independence, productivity, and integration of disabled adults into the community” (http://www.bestopportunities.org/). They are actively involved in the community, and the opportunities they give to their clients is on a volunteer basis only. This type of program would be best described as a “community-based opportunity” (p. 143, Transition Education and Services). This is because they are integrating their clients into the community for the purpose of gaining employment or life skills. Even though their clients only volunteer, there are times when some clients may obtain employment through the process. Although this is not their main focus, it is making sure their clients gain

I really like how they do not have an age limit, since there are so little services out there for our students once they leave school. When our students become adults they still need assistance, guidance, and care and it is facilities like B.E.S.T that provide that. I think there needs to be more programs in the high desert that provide such services. I plan to visit this facility again in the future. A service I would like to see more often from facilities in the High Desert for young adults with disabilities are sex education classes, and self-defense classes. I think these are important for our adults because they need to understand it, as well as understand if they are a victim of assault how to fend off an attack and get to safety. I hear stories about students with disabilities getting taken advantage of or assaulted because of their disability and I think we need to not only educate our young adults, but also provide them with the knowledge and skill set to protect