About the guest blogger

Hi! My name is Mary Neisler. I have been a special education teacher for 16 years; 11 of those years have been spent teaching high school life skills and transition programming.

I am incredibly fortunate to work in a very supportive school district that highly values students of all abilities. For 20+ years, our district has had a very well-established and successful life skills special education program for students in high school; serving freshmen through young adults (22 years old). 

A few years ago, we moved to have separate programming for our 9th-12th grade life skills students and our 12+ (transition programming) students. Our district purchased and completely renovated a house just across the street from the main high school campus to our dream (and ADA) specifications where our transition students now learn, work (and have fun) each day.

We are also fortunate to be able to be out in the community for vocational work sites in the afternoon twice a week and shopping once a week in addition to full-day community outings once a month. Being able to generalize a wide range of skills into the community setting is crucial to student growth and independence.

Classroom Tour

This is the front room of our transition house. We have our morning meeting, large group activities/discussions, etc. It also acts as our “home base” for various transitions throughout the day. Our overall program is very social and communication skills oriented.

This is our sensory room space. We try to provide a variety of everyday tools that support daily sensory needs. Young adults are encouraged to independently use the sensory space by recognizing their own sensory needs—whether they feel overstimulated, anxious, or unfocused—and utilizing the calming or stimulating tools within the space, such as weighted blankets, yoga balls, trampoline, fidget toys, etc. when they need to self-regulate or refocus.

Our simulated bedroom has a bed, dresser, alarm clock, and two closets. Here, young adults practice caring for and putting away a variety of clothing items (including our community-based work uniforms), making a bed, and cleaning a bedroom. It is not in the picture, but this is also where my students have set up their big 1000+ piece puzzle for the semester. Note that the art pieces that are visible in the pictures around the house were created by students. I look forward to adding additional pieces to my art collection for the rest of my career. 🙂

Our washer and dryer setup is perfectly located right next to our kitchen. We went with front-loading appliances since they are more accessible to a wide range of individuals. Having plenty of storage space and electrical outlets was a big request of mine when we first began visions of the final plans for the house and that has been such a lifesaver.

Our kitchen is fully equipped with all of the everyday appliances including a microwave, oven, stove, dishwasher, refrigerator, air fryer, toaster oven, etc., and all the tools and supplies that go along with them. In planning for our kitchen needs, we were also mindful of making sure we had a wide variety of accessible tools as well as labeling everything to promote as much independence as possible. 

This is our dining room and recreational area. This is where we come together as a class family to enjoy meals, snacks, games, and each other’s company. In the recreational area, we provide a variety of age-respectful reading materials and games to support language, communication, social skills, fine motor skills, and independence.

Our backyard is huge and beautiful! We have an accessible back deck with space to work on outdoor projects or relax during recreational activities. We also have a variety of outdoor yard games which are not only a ton of fun, but promote communication, social, and teamwork skills. My long-term goal/hope is to partner with our school’s agriculture and woodworking classes to create accessible garden beds for the backyard.

Bank Simulation

We utilize a mock online back simulation with our students. They earn paychecks, have to pay bills and earn fines and bonuses. After their accounts are balanced each week, they are able to make a purchase at our class store for things such as individual bags of chips, and soda, being able to wear a hat to school, have extra recreational time, switch work sites, etc. 

Our behavior program works hand in hand with our mock online bank accounts. Students are able to earn quarters throughout the day for a payout for appropriate and professional behavior. There is also a magnetic whiteboard to the right of our behavior charts where we have our community-based instruction schedules, interactive bulletin boards as well as house chore assignments. Throughout the house, there are visual directions for all the chores to promote independence.

Resources featured in the photo

Vocational Lab

This is the vocational lab where we house our PAES (Practical Assessment Exploration System) Lab and other vocational skills activities and tools which are located in the renovated garage space. Here, students become employees and teachers become supervisors. PAES is a hands-on work simulation lab where student employees can practice over 250 different jobs in five different categories from consumer service to construction, technology, and more. 

Additional Info

It is not pictured, but we also have a huge fully ADA-accessible restroom with lots of space for adaptive equipment to move around. There is also a walk-in shower with a shower chair (note that students do not shower at school it is available to practice skills like checking water temperature, transferring from equipment to chair, etc.). In our office space (not pictured) is a small copy machine (a must since we are not on campus), desk, file cabinet, and Murphy-style mat table that can be used for student personal care needs and/or physical therapy.

My biggest takeaway from working in the life skills and transition field is to make my students and families active players in their transition plans. In turn, those transition plans and goals put together drive our day-to-day instruction.

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