Transition Planning for Homeschool Students

I homeschooled my kids for many years. I taught them subjects like math, reading and science, just like in regular schools. But one of my favorite things about homeschooling was teaching them extra stuff that would help them when they grow up.

I taught my daughter, who has special health needs, how to take care of herself. This included doing her daily medical care, managing emergencies, and talking to doctors. 

When she was younger, it was hard to think she could do these things. But I knew if she learned small skills over time, she could do bigger tasks later. So, I made a list of the skills she would need, even the ones she wasn’t ready for yet. I put them in order from easy to hard, and we worked through it over the years.

What I did is called transition planning: breaking down big goals into small steps. Transition planning helps your child get ready for life as an adult. It usually considers:

• Plans for high school graduation and post-school activities like jobs, college or volunteer work.
• Medical care, like switching from pediatricians to general practitioners and learning to take care of their own health.
• Legal matters like insurance, benefits and future plans.
• Short-term and long-term housing decisions.
• The creation of a fulfilling social life.

Transition planning takes thought, but you don’t have to do it alone. There are multiple resources to help parents plan for their child’s transition to adulthood:  

• Texas Parent to Parent Pathways to Adulthood Program offers workshops and resources. The program has a transition timeline, and the transition inventory PDFs are especially helpful. 
• The Texas Education Agency provides information and resources about the transition to adulthood.
• SPED Tex also offers adulthood-planning resources for families with students who have disabilities.