Transition IEPs - A Case Study: The Notebook series, part 6
For this week’s post on transition IEPs, we’re going to approach things a little differently: through the (fictional) lived experience of Jeong and his family as they navigate his big transition to preschool.
Welcome to The Notebook series! Every parent deserves to feel like an equal, important partner in their child’s education. That's why I created the IEP Notebook series: to help parents effectively navigate the IEP process and get the services and support their child needs to thrive. Each post will have helpful tools and information to ensure parents can approach IEP meetings with confidence, have more positive experiences working with their IEP team, and advocate for their child effectively.
The purpose of this case study is to examine how the transition process from family-centered services provided in the home environment (Part C) to child-centered services provided in a school environment (Part B) can be tailored to support a recently immigrated family with a toddler suspected of having a disability.
By highlighting the importance of combining the best of family-driven priorities, child-centered programming, and culturally responsive practices, this case study seeks to illustrate effective collaboration between a family and a transition team during the transition process.
In addition to the case study, this post contains the following sections:
Key practices for supporting families
Jeong and his family
Growing concerns about Jeong’s development
The transition team’s pre-meeting
Developing Jeong’s transition team
A diagnostic evaluation for ASD
Finalizing the transition IEP
Practices that make for a successful transition
Additional resources
Professional organizations to check out
Key practices for supporting families
Let’s kick things off with a quick look at key practices families should expect throughout their child’s transition process. Use this list to guide your efforts to ensure your child – and you! – are receiving the best support possible:
Using collaboration and communication to ensure families are informed, confident, and prepared for the transition.
Employing clear and consistent bidirectional communication with the family.
Facilitating a supportive transition by introducing the family to the new program through school visits, staff introductions, and opportunities to participate in summer activities.
Ensuring families are familiar with the new program’s expectations.
Ensuring children are familiar with the new classroom’s routines.
Using affirming strategies to engage families as active members of the transition team.
Incorporating the family’s cultural and linguistic backgrounds into transition planning and communication to ensure they align with the child’s needs and family priorities.
Ensuring the development of the Individualized Education Program (IEP) is a continuation of the Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) while using data-driven decisions to support the child’s unique strengths.
Jeong and his family
This case study follows the story of Jeong (33 months) and his family as they begin the transition process from Part C services to Part B services. Case studies like this one provide an opportunity to review key steps in the transition process as well as a glimpse into concerns and questions a family may have going into and during the transition process. While this family may be fictional, their questions, concerns, and needs are very real for many families.
Let’s start with a quick breakdown of the difference between Part C and Part B services and why they’re both important to the transition process.
Part C services are typically early intervention (EI) services centered around families for children ages 0-3 who have been assessed to have a significant developmental delay or disability.
Part B services are typically early childhood special education (ECSE) services provided in a school environment for students who meet eligibility requirements under a disability category (or categories) ages 3-22.
The current team who have provided EI or Part C services is one half of a transition team. The new team who will provide ECSE or Part B services make up the other half of the team. Both halves of the team bring unique knowledge, skills, and support. Ideally, communication and collaboration flow bidirectionally between the halves throughout the transition process.
The core of every transition team – or the center – should be the family. Jeong’s family consists of his mother, Bora (33); his father, Joon (34); and his older brother, Hwan (5). The family moved to the United States a little less than a year ago from South Korea. Joon was given the opportunity to relocate for work, and he and Bora had some family already living in Los Angeles. After temporarily residing with Bora’s aunt and uncle, Eunji (72) and Chul (88), for a few months, they recently moved to a new home nearby.
Jeong was born prematurely and underwent multiple surgeries due to a congenital heart disease (CHD) diagnosis following his birth. CHD is a birth defect that impacts how blood flows through the heart. He also spent two months in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
Joon and Bora moved their family to the US just before Jeong’s second birthday. After arriving in the US, the family met with a pediatrician who referred them to EI services. That referral led to Jeong being found eligible for EI services – primarily due to his CHD diagnosis, his extended NICU stay, and his low birth weight.
Growing concerns about Jeong’s development
Ideally, parents moving through a transition are working with a team they feel comfortable sharing questions and concerns with as they come up. However, this is not always the case. For some families, like Joon and Bora, they initially feel hesitant to voice their concerns too strongly. This could be due to cultural norms that call for respecting educators as professionals and experts, or it could be the result of not being given opportunities to be heard.
Over the last nine months since Jeong first started receiving EI services, Bora and Joon – being the resilient and proactive parents they are – have been consistent with providers’ recommendations for supporting Jeong at home, all while continuing to research ways to support Jeong’s overall development as he gets closer to starting school.
Throughout their journey with Jeong’s EI team, the family has had several concerns about supporting their child. Although Joon and Bora know that they have limited knowledge about autism spectrum disorder (ASD), they have noticed behaviors in Jeong that they suspect may align with an autism diagnosis. They are concerned about:
his play behavior
his lack of engagement with the family
his language development – despite consistent speech services, he still speaks only a few words
Jeong prefers to play alone and with the same few toys. When he is encouraged to play with his brother or one of his older cousins, he becomes upset and runs into another room. If his preferred toys are taken away in an effort to get him to play with other new toys, he will cry – and sometimes scream – until his favorite toys are returned to him.
In addition to their concerns about Jeong’s play behavior, Joon and Bora are very concerned about how little he engages with them and the family. He generally likes being left alone and seldom seeks attention from his parents or brother. When he is called by his name to get his attention, he only ever responds with one word answers.
They have had concerns about these behaviors since Jeong was initially found eligible for EI services, and they have consistently brought these concerns to the EI team’s attention but have yet to receive a diagnosis.
More recently, they have shared a new behavior with his EI Specialist. With the family settling into their new home, there have been changes in their routine, and Jeong has been nearly inconsolable for over a week – he cries at random times, screams when woken up from his nap, and refuses to eat. The family is growing increasingly concerned.
The transition team’s pre-meeting
Pre-meetings play an important role in the transition process. If your child’s team doesn’t automatically offer to schedule and hold a pre-meeting, it is within your rights to request one. These meetings can be used as a time during the transition process for you to ask questions, share concerns, and gather information. It can be helpful to have these meetings before the actual transition meeting to ensure you feel prepared and comfortable with any next steps.
The EI team met to discuss Jeong’s progress and outcomes as described in his current Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP). His team consists of Anna, an Early Intervention (EI) Specialist and his family’s Primary Service Provider (PSP), Nicole, a Physical Therapist (PT), Jessica, an Occupational Therapist (OT), and Margite, the Speech Language Pathologist (SLP).
Recently, the team conducted a pre-transition assessment to provide updated present levels and to confirm his eligibility for Part B services. The results of the assessment process confirmed Jeong qualified for Part B services. The next step for his team was to develop a transition plan to aid in this transition from Part C (i.e., EI) to Part B (i.e., early childhood special education, ECSE) services.
As Jeong is currently 2 years and 9 months, the team decided it was time to start finalizing his transition plan. Anna, the EI Specialist – and Jeong’s Case Manager – arranged a pre-meeting with Jeong’s family to begin this process. Joon has been working full-time since they arrived from South Korea, and Bora more recently began working part-time at a new company. Not wanting to take time off from work, they requested a phone call during their lunch breaks.
While meeting with Joon and Bora over the phone, Anna emphasized the importance of centering the family’s priorities and ensuring that Jeong’s developmental needs would be addressed in the plans for his transition.
“As Jeong approaches his third birthday, we think it’s the perfect time to start thinking about his transition to preschool,” Anna said warmly. “Our goal is to ensure a smooth and effective transition, focusing on Jeong’s developmental needs and your family’s priorities.”
“Transitions can feel overwhelming,” Anna acknowledged. “Our role is to work with your family to ensure this process is smooth and focused on Jeong’s strengths and your family’s priorities.”
“Yes, Joon and I began talking about Jeong starting school.” Bora replied, “We want to ensure Jeong gets the support he needs when the time comes.”
Joon and Bora shared their hopes for Jeong’s preschool experience, including:
a desire for an inclusive classroom setting
push-in services tailored to his needs
time for Jeong to be with his peers
They also raised concerns about Jeong’s ongoing speech delays and play/social behaviors they felt were signs of his being autistic. Joon added, “We’ve been reading what we can to learn more about the possibility of Jeong having autism. It’s something we’ve become more and more concerned about. We would like to know your thoughts on him getting diagnosed.”
Anna paused for a moment to consider how to respond. When she spoke, she gently said, “We have been monitoring Jeong’s speech and overall development, and we wanted to wait and see if with intervention, we would see change.”
Hesitantly, Bora pushed back saying, “But we think it’s time to explore that possibility. Now.”
Anna agreed, and Bora and Joon both breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you,” Bora said. “We’ve been doing our own research, and as parents, we just have that instinct that something more might be going on. With the new behaviors he’s been showing after moving into our house, we’re getting really concerned.”
“It's a long journey,” Anna said, “but we will support you throughout it all.”
Developing Jeong’s transition team
An interdisciplinary team consists of team members from various services and, for a transition, the child’s current team and team members from their prospective new program. This team plays a vital role throughout the transition process. Establishing communication and collaboration across all team members is critical to the success of the transition.
Jeong’s transition team included:
Nadine, the ECSE teacher from the new program
Ronald, the school psychologist for the new preschool
Anna, the current EI Specialist
Nicole, the current PT
Jessica, the current OT
Margite, the current SLP
Dr. Kim, the family's pediatrician
The family – Bora, Joon, and Gounah, Bora’s sister
The purpose of any IFSP/IEP team – but in this case, the transition team – is to share their perspectives and expertise to collaboratively find the appropriate support and services tailored to Jeong’s needs. The team met to discuss initial plans to ensure Jeon’s successful transition.
Key Takeaways from this initial meeting included:
The current EI team plans to coordinate with the receiving preschool program to ensure inclusive classroom environments with pull-in services.
Plans to engage in a consistent exchange of information between the EI team, family, and new preschool staff to ensure Jeong’s initial adjustment.
The EI and ECSE team are scheduling 2 visits to the receiving preschool, so Jeong and his family are familiar with the environment and routine.
The transition team provides the family with resources about their rights and available services under IDEA Part B.
The preschool team will develop an IEP that is a continuum of the IFSP, builds on family’s priorities, and addresses the child’s needs.
Ensuring all resources and support are tailored to the family’s culture and Jeong’s needs and priorities.
A diagnostic evaluation for ASD
Some families seek additional evaluations by developmental behavioral pediatricians (DBPs). These specialists conduct diagnostic evaluations for individuals as young as 15 months, including evaluations and assessments to determine if a child meets eligibility for autism.
In the weeks following the pre-meeting to begin making plans for Jeong’s transition, the process of exploring Jeong’s ASD diagnosis commenced. Once they received the referral, Joon and Bora called immediately to schedule a diagnostic evaluation at their local clinic. To the family's surprise, the waitlist was over 6 months long.
During Jeong’s next session, Bora and Joon visibly looked upset as Anna entered the home. They expressed frustration as they felt like their concerns were heard too late and Jeong would have to wait longer to receive the diagnosis and adequate services.
“We’ve been concerned about this for over a year,” Bora said, “We mentioned these concerns during sessions. It feels like no one took us seriously until now. If we had started this process early, we may have already had some answers.”
Joon continued, “We’re worried that this delay will affect the services Jeong needs when school starts. It just feels like we’ve been waiting and waiting.”
“You are absolutely right. We should have listened and responded to your concerns when you first shared them” Anna responded empathetically. She added, “It’s frustrating that these delays can make an already difficult situation even harder. I’m so sorry this wasn’t addressed earlier. Let’s work together to find solutions so Jeong doesn’t lose out on the services he deserves.”
The family felt reassured by Anna who had become trusted partners throughout Jeong’s EI journey. Over time, Anna had built a strong, supportive relationship with the family by respecting their cultural values and consistently involving them in every decision.
Bora and Joon chose to move past their frustrations and rely on the existing relationships they had established with these two providers. “You’ve been with us every step of the way,” Bora smiled. “We know you’ll continue to help us navigate this.”
After the meeting, Anna updated the transition team. The team acknowledged how harmful the wait and see approach can be for many families in receiving access to appropriate services. The team advocated on the family’s behalf, contacting the local diagnostic clinic to explore options for an expedited evaluation. The team collaboratively began researching other resources and programs for evaluations.
Through these efforts, Jeong was referred to a university-based clinic with a shorter waitlist. The family was able to schedule an evaluation within four weeks. During the evaluation process, the developmental specialist confirmed that Jeong met the criteria for autism spectrum disorder.
Finalizing the transition IEP
Once the transition IEP has been held and the transition plan has been reviewed, discussed, and agreed to, the final steps in the transition process take place. This part of the transition process is critical for the child and their family. The transition team should remain in communication and collaboration to ensure the transition is completed successfully.
In preparation for the start of the new school year and Jeong’s transition to preschool, the team planned two visits to the preschool to support Jeong’s transition.
During the first visit, Jeong’s parents, Anna – the EI Specialist – and Nadine – the ECSE teacher – spent time exploring the classroom environment together, collaborating on how the environment could be adapted to meet Jeong’s needs. During the visit, the family shared Jeong’s strengths, routines, and preferences with Nadine.
The second visit consisted of Jeong, his classmates, and all the families. During this visit, Bora and Joon met some of the other parents as the children explored the classroom. Through these visits, Bora and Joon felt a sense of relief and confidence boost. They began to feel comfortable and ready for their transition.
Throughout the transition conferences, the team utilized the data collected throughout various assessment methods and family interviews to determine the child’s needs in the ECSE context.
Bora and Joon advocated throughout the transition conferences for an inclusive preschool classroom with push-in services. The team collaboratively developed Jeong’s IEP, ensuring it reflected the family’s goals and priorities.
By Jeong’s third birthday, his IEP was finalized, incorporating push-in speech therapy, occupational therapy, and a peer-to-peer intervention in an inclusive preschool classroom. The IEP also outlined strategies and accommodations for supporting Jeong in an inclusive classroom environment.
During the final EI meeting, Bora and Joon expressed relief and gratitude. “This process felt overwhelming at first,” Joon reflected, “but we always felt supported by you all. We feel confident Jeong has the support he needs to succeed.”
Anna smiled, “You’ve been incredible advocates for Jeong. We are sure Jeong is going to thrive with the support you’ve worked so hard to secure.”
Practices that make for a successful transition
Both current providers and new providers consistently work together within their interdisciplinary teams and welcome and engage families in meaningful ways as partners and co-designers throughout the transition process.
Provide families with accessible resources and tools that create and open channels of communication and opportunities to share observations, concerns, strengths, goals, and challenges for their child at the outset of the transition process.
Program administrators and providers engage with and participate in community meetings and events with the goal being to increase the administrators’ and providers’ capacity to respond to the needs and interests of all families.
Interdisciplinary transition teams communicate and collaborate with families to coordinate services for children as they prepare to transition to a new program.
Ensure families have access to opportunities to share their expertise and engage as knowledge producers/contributors while receiving training they have identified as important and needed to develop skills that will support their child’s transition.
Additional Resources
To deepen your understanding of the transition process, here are some additional resources:
This short but helpful resource for families looking to be involved in their child’s transition from Part C to Part B services.
A brief about supporting immigrant families to access infant and early childhood services.
An article on the experiences of racially and ethnically diverse families whose children were in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs).
This resource on supporting families with transitions within early childhood intervention (ECI) environments.
This resource covers case studies, milestones, and helpful handouts developed by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
What is a diagnostic evaluation? This resource provides key takeaways about what to expect during a diagnostic evaluation conducted by a developmental behavioral pediatrician (DBP).
An article on inclusive preschool classrooms with push-in services.
A podcast about listening to family voices in early childhood programs.
A video about preparing for the transition from EI to Preschool.
A checklist aimed at engaging families during IFSP and other meetings related to EI.
A resource about IFSPs and transition planning, how to prepare, and what to expect.
What is a diagnostic evaluation? This resource provides key takeaways about what to expect during a diagnostic evaluation conducted by a developmental pediatrician (DP).
This resource covers case studies, milestones, and helpful handouts developed by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
This article on the importance of communicating with families using a strengths-based approach.
This article is about why the “wait-and-see" method can be harmful for children and also for relationship-building with families.
A video and information about building relationships with families.
A comprehensive resource on the transition from early childhood intervention to preschool.
Professional organizations to check out
Early Head Start (EHS)
I’d love to hear about your journey, questions and concerns you may have about your child’s development or program, and your story as a parent and advocate for your child. This case study highlights some of the positive aspects of the transition process and some difficult moments and conversations that come up along the way. I’m here to celebrate the positives and help you navigate the negatives. The website will be live soon (yay!), but until then, feel free to send me a message.
Stay centered out there, friends!
Mischa
