When special education teachers or IEP teams think of transition services for students with disabilities around age 14-21, that typically would include filling out interest surveys, career placement activities, college tours, home activities such as practicing for a drivers liscense, preparing high school course schedules, going to career fairs, or something as simple as learning the difference between a debit card or credit card. When the pandemic started, teachers had to scramble to find online transition resources and activities with little 1-1 interaction or actual job experience. One consideration that many special education IEP teams do not take into account, that is also an excellent option for virtual, blended, or remote students, is that starting at the age of 13, students can start doing online freelancing work from home with parental permssion and earn actual income to become more prepared for work after high school. Income can be deposited through a checking account and in many cases, through services such as PayPal for students under 18. This includes data entry, graphic design (2D, 3D, and VR) closed captions, voiceovers on audio books, filling out online surveys, gaming (yes, gaming), reviewing products, and even creation of non-fungible tokens (NFT) that are leading the market in cryptocurrency sales. There are many work experiences and job oppurtunities available due to the increase in remote work that is also available to students. This and future generations are typically technologically savvy that they can actually be more proficient than older generations. If you have a student that loves technology and has a skill that would be beneficial to earning an income I challenge you to check out options online that can get special education students, especially twice-exceptional or 2e students, actual real world experience vs. single class activities.
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