Goals for Transition

Transition-level students need goals to work on the next steps they will take after graduating from high school. What goals we give those students depend on what their next steps are, and of course, areas of need.

Goals for Independence

Many students benefit from working on goals that involve increasing their independence and time working independently. If students can work independently, they can take those skills to a workshop or work location after graduation and move to a job setting. Create a goal for your student to increase time spent working independently. 

Using a 3-drawer work system is a great way to build independence using assigned tasks and visuals. Read more about Life Skills Centers here.

Goals for Household Chores

Students not headed for work settings can work on goals that involve helping caretakers at home. Giving students household chore goals allows them to work on skills that will help them be contributors to their homes. There are many skills that students can practice, like wiping surfaces, cleaning windows, sweeping/vacuuming floors, washing dishes, washing and folding laundry, putting away laundry, and other tasks that students can take and use in their homes.

Goals for Self-Help Tasks

Some students contribute to their households by increasing self-help, hygiene, and personal care skills. A goal for students in transition can be working on personal self-help tasks like dressing themselves and taking care of personal hygiene tasks like brushing their teeth or being able to adequately bathe themselves.

Goals for Safety and Personal Information

Students transitioning from high school also need to know about safety in the community as they move on. Some students may benefit from focusing on being able to know what to do in emergencies or being able to tell others their personal information in the event they need assistance in the community. Students can use these Personal Information Flip Books to work on personal information like:

• Name
• Age
• Birth Date
• Address
• City
• State
• Zip Code
• Phone Number
• Email Address
• Hair Color
• Eye Color

Goals for Vocational Tasks

You can get creative in making vocational tasks for students. For those working on vocational tasks that can be transferred to the workplace or to a sheltered workshop, vocational task boxes are great practice! Check out these Simple Classroom Jobs from the shop, or create some of your own with resources that don’t cost a lot!

Goals for Transitioning into the Workforce

Students who need assistance with transitioning to new environments can work on slowly making the move to a new work location. Some transition-aged students in our self-contained life skills program make the transition with familiar adults by spending a portion of the school day at the school and a portion of the day in a workshop or other work location.

The ultimate goal is to ready your students for post-graduation, no matter what their plans are. Whether they are working on heading into the workforce, a day facility, or any other setting, you can write many different types of goals for transition.