NESCA offers a wide range of transition assessment services, designed to identify and cultivate a student’s postsecondary living, social, learning and vocational goals, and to determine the students related strengths and needs. It is recommended that all families schedule a one-hour parent intake and consultation before beginning the transition assessment process. The ultimate aim of transition assessment is to identify skills and services necessary to ready the student for the transition from high school to the next phase of life. NESCA’s transition assessment services are designed to support the needs of students, families, schools and professionals.

Transition Planning Assessment is the most commonly requested transition assessment at NESCA. TPA can be conducted as a standalone evaluation or an adjunct to a neuropsychological evaluation at NESCA. This is often a good starting point for a student who has not yet participated in a holistic transition assessment or for a school or family who is interested in gaining new data to explicitly inform the transition planning process. TPA is a comprehensive testing process that identifies a student’s measurable postsecondary goals and evaluates a student’s interests, preferences, needs and skills as they relate to the demands of current and future social/community, living, educational and work environments.

This assessment typically involves parent, student and school-based staff interviews as well as one to two office-based testing sessions with a transition specialist. Questionnaire data from the student, parent and educator(s) is critical to the process. TPA can help to determine short- and long-term planning goals, inform annual instructional needs, identify necessary educational and community services, support instructional programming decisions, provide information about present level of performance, and refine a student’s personal vision.

NESCA’s comprehensive transition assessment is comprised of a series of tests, interviews and questionnaires, as well as home, school, vocational and/or community-based observation. The assessment typically consists of an intake session with the parent, three to five hours of in-office assessment, two hours of observations outside of the office (e.g., at school, an internship site, in the community, etc.), and a feedback session. Comprehensive transition assessments may be conducted by a team, as we have found that when it comes to this type of assessment, “two sets of eyes are better than one.”

Best practice indicates that transition assessment should be thought of as a process conducted over a number of years beginning in middle school, rather than as a one-time evaluation. However, in the event that this process has not taken place (which is not particularly unusual, given that transition assessment and planning is relatively new to many clinicians, families, and schools), students in their sophomore, junior, senior or postgraduate years of high school might require a comprehensive transition assessment, in which the range of transition readiness areas (e.g. learning profile, daily living skills, social skills, coping skills, pre-vocational skills, etc.) is assessed within a compressed timeframe and functional observation data is incorporated. Typically, these types of transition assessments span a two to three-month period, from the initial intake session to the time the written report is finalized.

There is a countless number of formal and informal measures to choose from when assessing a student’s current performance level and skill-building capacity. Moreover, a number of assessments are performed throughout the education process but may not be documented or credited as transition assessment, or results may not be fully integrated into a students transition plan and educational program. NESCA staff frequently work in partnership with schools to evaluate current transition assessment practices, identify the best tools and strategies to support the needs of their student population, and provide training related to administration, scoring and interpretation of necessary assessment tools.

Vocational assessment carefully evaluates a student’s preferences, interests and aptitudes in relation to current and future employment through a variety of informal and formal evaluation tools. A critical component for evaluation of student abilities is situational assessment and/or observation of current work-related activities. Interviews with family, school and community providers familiar with the student’s strengths and needs are also crucial.

As with all transition assessment at NESCA, the vocational assessment process is highly individualized based on the student’s current programming and experience, or lack of experience, with employment. Individualized vocational assessment is often as relevant for a student who has a part-time job at a local supermarket as for a student who has not yet had their first volunteer experience. Regardless of prior experience, vocational assessment at NESCA includes a detailed written report with specific recommendations for supporting progress toward postsecondary employment goals including appropriate career exploration activities and initial or next work experiences.

Community-based Transition Assessment is a person-centered and highly individualized, community-based assessment developed to address questions regarding transition readiness. In response to the student’s articulated vision, this assessment includes observation in familiar and novel environment(s) in which they anticipate pursuing their postsecondary goals.

Assessments can be located in a wide range of settings; each unique to the student being assessed. Typical locations may include school, town centers, retail settings, college campuses, recreational settings, volunteer sites and vocational settings. Through a combination of structured activities and naturalistic observation, the CATS functionally assesses key abilities for postsecondary life, such as social communication, navigation, executive functioning, self-advocacy, self-determination, problem solving, stamina and use of technology in real-world environments.

CATS is a highly functional transition assessment that may be performed by a transition specialist, occupational therapist or team of clinicians. CATS traditionally includes a document review, student interview, two to three hours of observation and a written report with recommendations. Depending on the unique referral question and focus of evaluation, formal assessment of a specific area of concern (e.g., executive functioning, self-determination, adaptive functioning, college readiness, vocational aptitude, etc.) additional observation hours may be added.

As with other transition assessments at NESCA, CATS can be conducted as a standalone assessment or in combination with a neuropsychological evaluation. Please note, parent intake/consultation is not included in CATS and is a separate service that must be conducted prior. Parent intake/consultation is used to determine whether CATS is the most appropriate evaluation process for the student and to adequately plan the timing, setting and, if so, scope of the assessment. 

Transition consultation and planning involve understanding and nurturing an individual’s postsecondary vision and helping that individual and his or her family identify resources, services, skills and strategies necessary to realize it. We collaborate with families, schools and community members to optimize the use of the Transition Planning Form (TPF) to assure that it is closely aligned with the student’s vision and IEP goals.

However, transition planning often needs to go much further, complementing school-based programs and remaining available to a student through the entire transition period.

Following a parent intake and consultation appointment, the transition planning process generally begins with two to three tightly spaced student meetings to facilitate student input, the development of a relationship and strategic planning. In some cases, it may be advisable for the transition specialist to attend neuropsychological testing feedback sessions or perform school observation(s) to facilitate a common understanding and coordinated care.

Subsequent meetings will be scheduled as necessary to monitor and revise the transition plan. This is highly individualized and can range from monthly meetings to as few as two times per year.

What’s the most productive way to use the summer time? How can we create a meaningful gap year? What postsecondary transition programs in New England might be a fit for my child? What type of transition assessment does my child need? How do we know if the transition assessment we had was good? How do we navigate the transition from schools to adult human service supports? Short-term consultation may be appropriate for families who are looking to answer a specific question related to transition planning and/or are trying to decide whether ongoing planning and consultation services are appropriate for their needs. Short-term consultation is often as brief as a record review and hour-long parent consultation, but may also be as comprehensive as several parent and student intake sessions, culminating in a transition specialist participating in a TEAM meeting or completing a written report with updated transition planning recommendations.

Serving the individualized transition needs of students with widely varying social, emotional and cognitive needs within a school, summer or after-school program is a complex endeavor. With over a decade of experience designing transition-specific programming, our staff work collaboratively with schools to refine current services, design new classes and programs, develop skill-building curricula and train staff to effectively facilitate the development of independence skills for students.

Transition programs and services are constantly evolving; it seems like new opportunities are available every day. Still, it can be difficult to find one singular program that meets a student’s unique transitional needs. In these instances, we are available to work with schools and families to build a team of providers to deliver services for an individualized transition plan or postgraduate year program. NESCA will also facilitate the program to ensure coordination of care.

NESCA offers a wide variety of workshops providing both theoretical and practical information for supporting students with developmental, learning and/or emotional challenges. Below is a sampling of our most popular workshops related to transition-age youth. These and other trainings pertaining to students with learning differences may be tailored to meet the needs of your school or organization. Workshops typically range in length from one and a half to three hours but can be shortened or lengthened upon request.

• Only 12: Why and How to Begin Transition Planning
• Assessments: The Cornerstone of the Postsecondary Transition Process
• Venturing Outside of the Classroom: Community Supports for Effective Transition Planning
• Using the Transition Planning Form to Your Advantage
• Laws, Advisories and Guidance that Inform Transition Planning
• The ABCs of Agencies: A Brief Overview of State and Public Supports
• Strategies for Supporting Tweens, Teens and Young Adults with Social-cognitive Deficits
• Fostering Self-awareness and Self-advocacy in Youth with Social-cognitive Deficits