Where will I work? What will I do? How will I get there? Where will I live? Big life decisions like these ones are never easy, but they can be even tougher when we try to figure them out all alone. That's where PATH comes in. It's a process of planning for the future that involves creating a team of supporters for ourselves, a team who can take part in the process and help to make the path a little less rocky. PATH: Planning Alternative Tomorrows with Hope was created to promote successful transitions for students who have special needs. The process has been a useful model for all students contemplating their school-to-work transitions. PATH begins by bringing together a support network for every individual. Students invite their friends, parents, teachers, counsellors, Elders and other community members to a meeting and the group takes part in an eight-step planning process. The outcome is an "individual transition plan" -- kind of a road map that identifies goals and, most importantly, the routes to get there. Kylie Bjune-Militello, 18, is a student at Reynolds Secondary School in Saanich, BC, who recently went through the PATH process. The program, she says, helped her feel "that there are people helping" her, and that she "isn't alone" in planning for a career she hopes will involve "caring for children either in a preschool, daycare, or classroom setting." "Kylie's had that dream as long as she's been in my care, which is about eight years," says Betty Kuypers, Bjune-Militello's foster mother. "Through PATH it became a reality. Before, it was all talk and no action, but this was an action committee when we did it together." As a result of PATH, Bjune-Militello has decided to take a Children's Services career prep course over the next two years in Grades 11 and 12. Bjune-Militello and the others involved in her PATH process got together several months after the first meeting for a follow-up. "We talked about what we had done," says Kuypers, "and some new steps came out of that. A follow-up is a good thing -- just a half hour is all that's needed." Bev Kissinger, who facilitated Bjune-Militello's PATH, works in Family and Personal Support for the Victoria Association for Community Living, and facilitates PATH processes mostly for high school students with special needs. "PATH is a positive process," says Kissinger, "because people leave with an idea of where they want to go, what they need to get there, and who is there to help them." Identify dreams for the future Set positive and possible goals Discuss where the student is now in relation to future goals Name support people and resources available to the student List what is needed to strengthen each person's contribution to the goals Map out a 3 to 6 month action plan Establish an action plan for the next month Reaffirm everyone's commitment to the first steps For more information or to obtain the PATH student, parent and team workbooks, please contact: Bill Standeven Coordinator, Special Education Branch BC Ministry of Education, Skills and Training Ph: (604) 356-2341 Fax: (604) 356-7631 E-mail: bstandev@mail.educ.gov.bc.ca Rick Freeze University of Manitoba Ph: (204) 474-6904 Fax: (204) 275-5962 E-mail: freeze@bldgeduc.lan1.umanitoba.ca Bev Kissinger Family and Personal Support Victoria Association for Community Living Ph: (250) 477-7231. A handbook of best practices for promotion of transitions is available from: The Council for Exceptional Children Phone: (613) 747-9226 [ Career Planning ] [ Feedback ]