Other Health Impairments: ADD/ADHD

     I chose the article, Helping Students with Disabilities Transition to College, 21 Tips for Students With LD and/or ADD/ADHD, because a student with ADD/ADHD can be categorized under IDEA's Other Health Impairments category to receive special education services. The reason the author gives for the importance of this topic is the fact that statistics show an abnormally high percentage of students with ADD/ADHD do not complete any type of postsecondary education.  According to Connor, only 28% of these students manage to graduate, which is approximately half of the graduation rate for students without disabilities (Connor 2012).   
     The steps that Connor has listed are very practical and helpful steps to think about and take when making goals to be successful in a postsecondary school setting.  The steps are the following: 
(1) Be comfortable with the LD and/or ADD/ADHD classification
(2) Acknowledge Strengths and Areas of Need
(3) Learn About the College Disability Services Office
(4) Practice Making Decisions
(5) Read College Success Stories (6) Know Student Rights Before Attending College
(7) Know Student Responsibilities Before Attending College
(8) Take a College Course While in High School
(9) Participate in Precollege Academies (10) Develop Essential Skills
(11) Align Study Skills to Specific Classes 
(12) Make Connections Among Classes (13) Utilize Peer Tutor Services
(14) Use Informal Peer Mentors (15) Access Class Notes
(16) Evaluate Professor Before Taking Class (17) Use Benefits of Technology
(18) Consider the Benefits of Self-Disclosure (19) Take Responsibility for Your OWn Education
(20) Cultivate Individual Talent (21) Self-Advocate     (Connor 2012)

     This list seems long to list here but I feel it is very important because many of the steps that the article advocates are things that can be considered while the student is still in high school.  For instance, there are daily living or study skills goals that can be addressed within a student's IEP.  These goals I'm talking about can be responsibility and ownership of a student's learning, such as the student would be responsible for writing down assignments in a notebook and being accountable for them.  Students may be able to have a check in and check out to show they are doing this skill.  I will say that practicing these skills is so important because when the student's support is taken away, the student must be able to function in a school setting autonomously.
     A student can also work on issues of self awareness and acceptance if they receive social work services.  In my opinion, this speaks to numbers 1 and 2 that Connor listed.  If a student receives adequate support in school and at home, I would hope they would be encouraged to be comfortable with the diagnosis.  Rather than seeing it as a disability, it should be seen as a way that they process information differently (Connor 2012).  I believe it's possible to even work through this issue, as well as do an inventory of personal strengths and areas of need (which is #2 on the list).  Again, within a social work setting, this type of self analysis could be helpful for a student whose other health impairment is ADD/ADHD.
     I feel a challenge after reading about OHI in the textbook, the OHI website, and then Connor's article.  Teachers and parents have to work together to help students reach a point where they can feel, first of all, comfortable with their medical diagnosis.  Students and parents need to be made aware of the support networks that are available to them (there are a few websites and lists available in this article).  Finally, teachers of students with special needs and OHI, need to keep their student's futures at the forefront of their minds.  Even if we are teaching the younger grades, it's got to be The Essential Piece, when planning for these students to be successful.  What skills will they need when they leave me?  ...when they are years down the road.  I feel that we are laying the ground work and so helping these students and supporting them by providing practice in self management and even advocacy are detrimental to their success in the future.  

Connor, D. J. (2012). Helping students with disabilities transition to college: 21 tips for students with LD and/or ADD/ADHD.TEACHING Exceptional Children, 44(5), 16-25.

Autism Spectrum Disorders

     This article gave a very practical approach to develop effective transition plans for high school students with Autism Spectrum Disorder.  The 5 steps listed were to identify transition goals, link postsecondary goals with IEP goals, troubleshoot and adjust transition and IEP goals, provide opportunities to teach skills, and evaluate progress (Szidon et. al, 2015).
      This article was especially helpful to me because I have never written an IEP goal before.  It helped to know which areas of the student's development and plan need to be considered.  Under the first step (Identify Transition Goals), Szidon et. al, stated that transition goals should consider the student's needs in the areas of:  postsecondary education, employment, and independent living (Szidon 2015).  While I realize the focus was high school students with autism spectrum disorder, I also realize the 3 areas given would apply to other groups of students and help me to wrap my mind around what areas need to be considered.
     This article also listed the pitfalls for goal writing.  The pitfalls listed are passive participation, too specific to curriculum, and episodic events (Szidon 2015).  Passive participation was described as the need to distinguish between the goal and the supports needed to reach the goal.  "Too specific to curriculum" was explained by using the example of a student who is on a points system for good behavior.  Her IEP said that she needed to get 7 points a day to earn her reward.
     The speech of this goal doesn't sound like it prepares her for future employment.  Szidon et. al., stated a correction to this goal could be that she uses a self-monitoring checklist which helps her to problem solve and it's also an appropriate support to maintain workplace employment (Szidon 2015).  Episodic events refers to goals that can be measured over time (not just one time occurences that would be unnnecessary to include in an IEP.
      I found that this article was strong in that it gave many real life examples.  I think that it gives new educators or people with questions on a multidisciplinary team, a starting point and place to start planning from.  There are also resources given for national networks based on transition planning assessments (for social and adaptive skills) that help the multidisciplinary team in their decision making process.




Szidon, K., Ruppar, A., & Smith, L. (2015). Five steps for developing effective transition       
          plans for high school students with autism spectrum disorder. TEACHING 
          Exceptional Children, 47(3), 147-152.