Transition Planning and My Rights - Jenny

Hi. I'm Jenny. Welcome to the transition planning & My Rights video about the Texas Transition & Employment Guide or, as I like to call it, the Guide. I hope you take your time going through it because it will help you understand your rights and what transition planning means. Here's a little bit about me: I'm nineteen, born and raised in Dallas, Texas, and I'm a senior at Hilltop High School. And trust me, I know exactly what transition is because I have lived it. The videos in this series will show you and your family how to take charge of the transition planning process so you can prepare for the life that you want. So, What is transition planning anyway? Well, whether you want to go to college, trade school, or straight to work, It all takes planning. You are transitioning into adulthood. And in Texas, that planning has to start by the time you're fourteen. Let's take a look at the table of contents. It is color coded so you can easily find different sections and topics on the transition planning process. Transition planning helps the people in your life understand more about you and what you want to do with your life. The best part: you get to participate in this process every year until you graduate. In the transition planning section, you'll see a box of important acronyms you might hear during the transition process. Or in an ARD Committee meeting. By the way, ARD stands for admission, review, and dismissal. Take a copy of those acronyms into your ARD Committee meeting so you know what everybody is talking about. It definitely helped me. Even though transition planning has to begin by age fourteen in Texas, it's never too early to start. If you're going to be talking about transition at your next ARD Committee meeting. Check out the What to know about transition planning page. It highlights areas of transition planning, like student and family involvement, access to agencies, self-determination, goals, and more. You have a voice in what is happening in your life and the decisions that get made in this transition planning section. You will find helpful tools like checklists and questions to ask your ARD Committee. Reach out to a family member, teacher, or even a friend to help you prepare for your transition meeting using these easy tools. I always found it better to prepare even if it's going over my main talking points while waiting for the meeting to start. There are a lot of ways that young adults like us can get support in making decisions. The My Rights section of the Guide helps me understand the supported decision-making agreement, being assigned a legal guardian, or having an in-normal discussion with family and friends. During an ARD Committee meeting when I was seventeen, I signed a document called a Notice of Transfer of Rights. I didn't know what it was, and neither did my parents. My ARD Committee explained that when I turned eighteen, I would become an adult and be able to make all my own legal decisions. That meant I would be the one signing the necessary paperwork. Not my parents. Hello, adulthood. Just because I have a disability doesn't mean I'm not responsible for making my own decisions. I had no idea that so many things changed when I turned eighteen. This section also has helpful ways to plan and think about your rights, especially once you turn eighteen. Deciding what you want to do after you graduate and become an adult changes many things in your life. For me, I look forward to voting. Becoming an adult is super fun, but can also be scary sometimes. When you turn eighteen, make sure you are ready for the changes that will happen. Thank you for listening. I just threw a ton of information at you, but I hope it helps. Transitioning into adulthood already has enough unknowns. So, it's really nice to have the Texas Transition & Employment Guide by your side. To help you get going in the right direction. Don't forget to check out the other videos in this series to learn more about using the Guide to plan your transition. Good luck!