Michael Sluder-Brehm

SPED 508

Assessment & Individual Transition Plan

Individual Profile: The student selected for this case study; is a 17 year old male and is going

into his senior year of high school. The student is an English Language Learner and is a

Moderate/Severe student. The student is in self-contained classroom for 5 periods and has 1

elective class which is Art. The student participates in all schoolwide assemblies and activities,

lunch and passing periods. The student is very social and talkative with both his classmates and

teachers, as well as other students on campus. The student is very independent, and is a hard

worker while at school.

Away from school the student lives with mother and father, an older brother and a younger sister.

He is very active with his family, they have a very large extended family and are generally doing

something family related on the weekends. The student thoroughly enjoys working he prefers to

work where he can interact with people, as stated earlier he is very social. His parents are very

supportive and are involved in his education, and want to see him succeed.

Assessment Data: Assessment results used for this case study, was the student’s latest WJIV

scores. The student scored at a K.5 GE in reading comprehension, math and writing. Along

with the WJIV results, I also reviewed the student’s weekly spelling tests as well as weekly math

quizzes. The WJIV results provide an accurate representation of the student’s education level, he

is working on his reading decoding and letter sounds he also has limited vocabulary

understanding this also inhibits his comprehension. In math the student can add and subtract
most 2 digit x 2 digit numbers he does have difficulty with barrowing. With his weekly spelling

test and math quizzes, he scores in the 90%. I think this is due to the fact that he get to practice

all week, before taking the assessment.

School Map: The student attends a 4-year comprehensive high school grades 9-12, the school

has a population of just over 2,200 students. The school offers 16 sports and a variety of clubs

and organizations, as well as an after school program that offers tutoring and other activities for

student to do. Academically the school offers a variety of AP and honors courses, general Ed,

and mild/moderate and moderate/severe classes.

Community Map: The student lives in Apple Valley, CA the population of the town is

71,107(2015) the breakdown of the population is 66.5% White, 32.8% Hispanic, 9.2% Black,

American Indian 1.2%, Asian 3.2%, Pacific Islander .5%, some other race

13.7%.(www.applevalley.org) The median household income is 45,554 and the average income

is $62.760 and covers an area of 74.77 square miles. The town has 2 major shopping centers,

both of which are anchored by Target. The shopping centers host numerous other shops as well

as eating areas. At the town civic center they have a large park which also host an aquatics

center that the community can use. In the same area in the county library as well as the town

offices. Apple Valley has a rural setting most of the residential areas do not have sidewalks, and

most of the residential area is also zoned for livestock.

Post-Secondary Resources: Resources available for the students within a 1 hour driving radius

of Apple Valley, CA.

-District Adult Education Program the student can continue to attend public school until they age

out at 22.
-Victor Valley College, is a local community college and offers DSPS services.

http://www.vvc.edu/offices/disabled_student_program_services/

-Barstow Community College, is a local community college, they offer services for students with

disabilities they refer to it as ACCESS http://www.barstow.edu/Student%20Services-ACCESS.html

I contacted the DSPS office at Victor Valley College they were helpful in providing me

information and also where I could find the information on the website. I called them explained

who I was and what I was doing, they talked me through what they do and then walked me

through website and how to locate their page. Below is a list of the services they offer;

 Test-taking facilitation
 Assessment for learning disabilities
 Specialized counseling
 Interpreter services for hearing-impaired or deaf students
 Mobility assistance
 Note-taker services
 Reader services
 Alternate media services
 Access to adaptive technology
 Registration assistance

They also explained how a person qualifies for services, and how a person applies for DSPS

services.

Home Living Resources: I searched the internet for assisted living facilities for people with

disabilities. For the area I’m in numerous facilities populated in the search, after reviewing them

I found two facilities that offer services for people with disabilities https://peoplescare.com/ and

B.E.S.T Opportunities http://www.bestopportunities.org/ Both of the organizations offer day

programs that help with; employment training, education services, life skills, social skills,
managing money and community activities. Peoples care also has residential services, they have

6 residential houses in Apple Valley. Those are the only facilities in the high desert, they do

have other residential facilities in other areas of Southern California.

Vocational Agency Services: I contacted the Workability and WIOA coordinator for Apple

Valley Unified School District, Dennis Killion. Through the program the student will have

access to job training that includes interviewing, resume writing and other employment

documents. The program offers student 200 – 300 hours of paid work experience, meaning the

program pays for the student’s employment while they are in the program, so the various

worksites don’t have to pay the students. The overall goal is for the student to gain meaningful

employment before the training hours run out. The program works with all kinds of businesses

in the area from local mom and pop stores and restaurants, to big box stores and chains. The

students complete a week of training before employment starts, they also do an interest inventory

to find out what types of work they want to do. If a job location is not working out for some

reason, the student gets placed at another worksite that hopefully is a better fit for the student.

Employment Profile: Vocational interest for this student include; customer service, automotive,

food and working with animals. Assets the student has are; he’s very social he likes talking to

people both that he knows and new people. He’s a hard worker who tries, he is also dependable

he’s very aware if time and what time he needs to be at work. Challenges he is going to face is

the difficulty in task related to employment, because of his intellectual disability tasks involving

multiple steps are difficult. The student does best when the task involve three steps or less.

Another challenge that the student will face, is also one of his assets being social. He sometimes

spends too much time talking with people and it takes away from his working.
 Moving forward with the student to assist him in finding meaningful employment I

would look to place him in a entry level position at a pet store where he could feed the animals,

stock shelves, and help customers locate items in the store. I would also like to see him in a

restaurant setting, whether it’s an actual restaurant or fast food. He could work at an entry level

position as a bus person, or someone who helps prep food. He would need to obtain his food

handlers card, but that is something I feel he is capable of doing. This type of employment would

also allow him to interact with customers, while providing him with a task list that he can

manage and become familiar with.

I feel repetitive task are best with this student, something he does every time he comes in

to work something he is comfortable doing. Whether that’s stocking the same items in a store or

filling something in a restaurant. I would discuss with the employer his ability and what is the

best practice for him. To provide the student with a task list that he can manage, that is also

beneficial for the employer.

Transition Implementation Guide: Moving forward with a transition plan for this student, I

would have the student complete another interest inventory to make sure what came out of the

first on is still of interest to him. I would also look to get the student enrolled in elective courses

at the high school, which are in the student interest area. That way he can both gain work

experience and gain educational credit. I would also arrange for the student to go to the job site

and meet people that work there, and possible job shadow a person who does related work that

the student could possibly do. I would then spend some time teaching the student the skills he

will need for the tasks he is going to do, so he is familiar with it. I would also make certain that

the manager is aware of his disability, and how he best understands and interprets instructions so

there is less confusion for the student. Lastly I would ask the student if he has any questions, and
if things come up at work that he’s not sure about to ask questions to make sure he does the

correct things.