Independent Living and Community Engagement

Planning for Future Living Arrangements

An important planning consideration is where a student is going to live as an adult. There are many factors to consider when working through this goal in a student’s transition plan. Skills needed for adult living may need to be explicitly taught.

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Planning for Future Living Arrangements

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To plan for future living, transition teams can teach students:

  • How to ask for help, make decisions, and solve problems
  • The skills to live independently, such as managing healthcare and medicine, and being safe in the home
  • Ways to budget, manage money, and use banks
  • How to explore living options focused on where they want to live
  • Strategies for identifying needed supports
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PACER Center has a great video for preparing for housing needs!

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Planning for Future Living Arrangements

Transition teams should help students prepare for the future by assessing and instructing in the following areas:

  • Communication
  • Interpersonal skills
  • Self-advocacy and self-determination
  • Daily living skills
  • Health
  • Community participation
  • Leisure
  • Transportation
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What Can Planning for Future Living Arrangements Do For Students?

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Communication and Interpersonal Skills

Communication skills involve the ability to give clear instructions, communicate ideas, and to be able to convey them in a way that others can understand them. Interpersonal skills are the ability to communicate with and interact with other people.

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Self Advocacy and Self Determination

Self-Advocacy is the ability to speak up and appropriately request accommodations. Self-Determination is knowing and believing in oneself and using the right resources to get wants and needs met.

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Health and Daily Living Skills

Health and Daily living skills include knowing personal hygiene, how to prepare meals, how to use different transportation options, how to get along with others and being able to advocate for oneself. It also involves the ability to be able to perform routine daily activities and effectively use community resources.

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Leisure, Community Participation, and Transportation

Community participation is being involved in community life such as shopping at local stores, joining clubs or groups, volunteering for activities, going to the doctors or dentists and participating in leisure activities. Learning the skills to travel independently and safely in the community will include understanding public transportation, learning how to drive, and becoming aware of surroundings.

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Resources

Video Topic: Independent Living (PACER’s National Parent Center on Transition and Employment)

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