Transition for Children with Down Syndrome from School to Community

Abstract

This article is an outgrowth of an early intervention study called Project EDGE (Expanding Developmental Growth through Education) at the University of Minnesota. The project provided family-based early intervention designed to improve the language skills of children with Down syndrome and whole family development. It turned out to be a longitudinal study from birth to adulthood. The purpose of this article is to provide some accurate, practical, research-based, cutting-edge information for parents and professionals dealing with recreation and leisure. As a student with Down syndrome approaches high school graduation day, the family shifts its attention from school-based concerns to community-based concerns. This "one foot in school, one foot in the community" phase often is referred to as transitioning, an event or defined period during which substantial change is occurring (or should occur) in the lives of the individual with Down syndrome and his or her parents and siblings. An example of a transitioning period is the year of halfway house training that precedes the day when a young adult with Down syndrome moves out of the family home into an apartment in a semi-independent living setting. The transitioning event is the day the person actually moves. The transitioning period leading up to graduation is a major one for the individual and his or her family. As graduation approaches, parents become anxious because of the unpredictability of the post-school period. Adding to parents' general anxiety is their uncertainty about whether the school has prepared their child to hold a job, make good use of free time, invite and maintain friendships, and live as independently as possible outside the parental home. Then, too, they wonder if the school has prepared their child sufficiently in socialization and literacy. On top of all this, they worry about their child's health and physical well-being.