Narrator: If your child has been receiving
Birth to Three services for a while,
it can be hard to think about what comes next.
The first day I dropped Milo off at school, I cried.
I never left him off these hours
with anybody that I do not know.
How is my child going to be with them?
Is he going to be okay?
He's been by my side day one,
and then having this diagnosis
I've kind of hugged him a little tighter.
Narrator: What can you expect as you begin
the transition process?
What are the different steps?
And how can you prepare yourself and your child?
As the child gets closer to being two and a half,
we make a referral to the school district.
We reach out to the school district
with the parents’ permission,
and we talk about the two-step process
that we have to help transition the family
to the school district’s responsibility.
We are going to help you build a good relationship
with the next people.
This is what's so important.
Everything is about us all being able to communicate,
being able to be on board for your child.
Narrator: An early step in the transition process
is what’s called the transition meeting.
This informal meeting allows families and school
personnel to get to know each other
and begin preparing for later steps.
Donna Notti: The transition meeting takes place
with the public school, and the family,
and Birth to Three
and it is Birth to Three’s meeting.
So, it is our responsibility to prepare a family properly
for this meeting
and what is going to happen,
what is going to be discussed.
She prepared me to answer a lot of questions,
prepared me for what was going to happen.
Any question I had, she was right there.
Any concern I had, she was right there.
We're a team. We're going to do this together.
I'm here to help you,
and we're going to do what we can
to get that little person enrolled
in the right program that's a good fit.
Narrator: Families are able to make a choice about
where to hold the transition meeting.
So when we had the transition meeting,
we had three people come over to our house
and our service coordinator was there.
It was really great because
it was in my son's natural environment,
so they got to see him play and interact with me there
instead of me just explaining everything to them
Lisa Opert: Our transition meeting we chose to hold
at the public school.
I went in very nervous to that meeting,
but when we were there,
the people were so warm,
I was able to watch them interact with my child.
I was able to see that they were really good people,
which calmed my nerves.
Narrator: The next step is the Planning and Placement
Team Meeting, or the PPT.
This meeting is held at the school.
That's the eligibility PPT.
At that meeting, they will then either decide to accept
some evaluations from Birth to Three,
because they’re current,
or choose to do their own evaluations,
or a combination of both of those.
Solsairy Lopez: You won't go by yourself.
You'll have somebody that you know with you,
so that's the easy part.
Donna Notti: It is really our role to make sure the parent
can really represent their child the best.
Amy Doyle: She did teach me to kind of be
the lead voice there.
When we met with the school system,
I kind of knew what to expect
and knew which questions to ask,
so they really did help me prepare for that.
Lisa Opert: I had talked to my husband a bunch
and discussed what we thought
the school needed to know.
So, we literally went in with a checklist of things
we wanted to talk about, and as we talked about them,
we checked them off.
If you're little nervous about it, bring a family member
or friend to, if nothing else, just to sit with you.
They don't have to say anything
But, you as a parent, have a legal right
to bring whoever you would like to the PPT.
Narrator: The second PPT meeting will determine
whether a child is eligible
for special education services.
Andrea Brinnel: That team, which includes the parents
and it, also, includes a representative
from Birth to Three.
If they find at PPT 2, when they review the evaluations,
that the child does have a disability
and requires specialized instruction,
then they'll design an Individualized Education Program
Narrator: The Individualized Education Program, or IEP,
describes the special education services
an eligible child will receive.
John Durham: The IEPs are goals specifically for
your child, and the goals should be what's driving
the interaction with the staff and the child.
So, when the Birth to Three folks are interacting
with you, there are family goals.
That's the whole thing.
“How can we help you?”
And when you get to the school, it is
“How can we help your child?”
- Well, we have kind of pass the baton
so I'm able to build a relationship with that family
and provider, so that I can better assist them
with what the child is really going to need
in that classroom, and, you know,
what are some strengths and weaknesses.
And, I think it helps the classroom teacher,
also, just pick up that baton
and continue to have that great relationship.
You know, we want your child to become independent,
so that we are going to ask that you
take a little bit of a step back
and let us kind of develop the relationship
with your child on our own.
And we'll reach out, certainly.
We want you to be a part of it.
But the roles just shift a little bit.
Narrator: If it is determined that your child is not eligible
for special education services,
your Birth to Three provider can help connect you
with other community-based services
to help meet your child’s needs.
And just because you're not eligible
when you're two years nine months or three years old,
doesn't mean you're not going to want to
call your school district six months later
when something's changed.
And if you form those relationships
at a transition conference,
I think it's a little bit easier.
Narrator: Whether your child will be attending
public school or another type of program,
it’s critical to prepare your child for the transition.
This should include saying goodbye to your
Birth to Three providers
and visiting the new school or program.
We prepared for the goodbyes.
They made a picture book for Summer,
because we knew that she was going to miss them,
because she’s seen them all the time.
So my advice for the families that I work with
that I know the child struggles with transitions,
is social stories.
Donna Notti: We take pictures of the staff, the room,
so that the child gets the social storybook
prior to going to the preschool.
And we go through the book with them, and,
“You're going to have Miss Jen,” and
“Oh! She's going to read books to you,”
and build up that staff as well.
Amy Doyle: I would ask to kind of visit the new facility
that your child is going to ahead of time
to prepare them so they can meet their new teacher.
It's a big change for a small child,
and preparing them as much as you can
– it really is key.
Narrator: This transition will provide opportunities
for both you and your child to meet people
who can support your family in new ways.
When family do come in and we shake hand or say “Hi”
and we say “Hi” to the child.
They get to sense that they're
already wanted in the classroom.
I think that’s my role to make sure that
family feel as comfortable as they can
in the classroom, and welcome.
- I will go over the daily routine,
what usually happens in the classroom,
and what our policies and procedures are.
And then there's a lengthy amount of time
for the parent just to ask questions.
Because it's my chance to get to know them better.
Their chance to get to know me and the program better.
And for us to start establishing a trusting relationship.
Lisa Opert: One of the classroom teachers,
who is actually his teacher still,
she came out and played with him,
and she just came and just played
She put no demands on him.
And the principal came and popped her head in
and just to say, “Hey,” like “Hey,
welcome!
We're so happy to have him.
We can't wait for him to start.”
I left there thinking, “They love that kid already,”
you know?
So, it was it was such a relieving experience
when he walked out of there;
I remember being able to breathe again.
Brenna Chorzempa: I really feel like that
that peer engagement is going to be huge for him
and I'm very excited for that.
Natasha Akers: Honestly, just seeing her excel
so much more than I could have pictured for her.
With so many resources available
and so much help available.
Ana González: he comes happy home, and learning
and singing.
And you could see in his face.
And the to me as a parent, that's the best feeling!
Amy Doyle: It put my son in a better place,
and once you kind of realize that they're
on your team and they're on your side
to best help your child, it's a great success.
Lisa Opert: The day he went and got his own backpack,
because I said, “Let's go to school."
He went and got his backpack, and I said,
“Okay, you know, he's all set.
He loves school.”
So we did it right.