When a student reaches 14 years of age, their educational team starts to look ahead to life after school. Will the student wish to pursue college? Trade school? Enter the work force? Are these even options for children with Usher syndrome? Of course! This is the time when your child should start to take the reigns on learning to advocate for themselves, if they haven't already.

  • A Student-Directed Transition Program helps students develop essential skills in planning and decision-making. Developed for use with middle school and high school deaf and hard of hearing students, DecisionMaker includes a teacher/facilitator handbook, lessons, student journals, and a teacher orientation videotape. DecisionMaker can be used with students individually or in classrooms, counseling groups, dormitory groups, or other school activities. It provides teachers, transition specialists, and other educators with a structured approach to teaching decision-making through a series of group and individual activities in a six-step DecisionMaker model.

  • From Wright's Law - for parents of and advocates for children with special needs, explains how to develop a relationship with a school, monitor a child's progress, understand relevant legislation, and document correspondence and conversations.

  • A replicable family support program that embodies the mission and vision of Hands & Voices ™, which is to provide unbiased support to families with children who are deaf or hard of hearing. Guide By Your Side (GBYS) does this through specially trained parents of children who are deaf or hard of hearing. These parents work as “Guides” directly with families who have just learned of their child’s hearing condition, or who have older children and are in need of the unique support that comes from someone else who has walked this path him/herself and can share from direct experience and wisdom. GBYS programs can also include an option for Deaf/Hard of Hearing Guides (DHH Guides) who are deaf or hard of hearing adults and specially trained to provide support to families.

  • The mission of this federally-funded technical assistance project is to close the substantial gaps in education and employment for deaf people in the United States and its territories. Website is full of resources.

  • Resources on transition for parents

  • This tool was created to meet the needs of all young adults with deaf-blindness regardless of individual characteristics or cause of deaf-blindness. The use of the tool should result in an accurate assessment of best practices that have and have not been addressed and help to identify areas where additional planning and programming are needed.

  • Empowerment Through Partnership. A Sharing Ideas series paper by the Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center

  • Published by Gallaudet University

  • Describes articles, law and regulations, and tips about how to get quality services in your child's IEP

  • This guide will help deaf students understand their rights, options for effective accommodations, and considerations for accessibility across different settings. captioned media that meets quality standards.

  • This specialized curriculum is devoted to teaching deaf individuals to self-advocate for effective interpreting services.