School Age Services
What's On This Page
Client & Family Services Quick Links
- The Lanterman Act
- Working Together in Partnership
- Person Centered Planning
- Resolving Disagreements
- Your Legal Rights
- Receiving Quality and Effective Services and Supports
- Early Start – Birth to 3 Years
- Provisional Eligibility – Birth to 5 Years
- Transitioning from Early Childhood Services
This section is primarily focused on your child’s school years, education-related topics and working with the school district. Please also read the General Information section of the website as it covers many other equally important topics that relate to services and supports for your child and family.
Your Child’s School Years
Your child’s school years begin when he or she turns 3 and makes the very important transition into school. This is your child’s entry into a new era of growth and discovery, during which he or she will gain new skills and knowledge that will help your child develop academically and learn social and cultural behaviors and life skills that teach them how to be a part of their community. School also provides a natural place to foster friendships, independence, acceptance and inclusion.
This is also a time when you as parents set the foundation for your child’s adult years and prepare your child to take on responsibilities while yourself learning to effectively advocate for your child. As your child approaches age 16, the conversation and focus will begin looking towards your child’s transition out of school and into young adulthood.
We have a separate web section dedicated to early childhood that covers the specific transition that takes place at age 3, including what happens in the months prior to turning 3, as well as tips and strategies that will make this transition as smooth as possible; and also what ages 3 to 5 looks like for your child and family, including preschool and the transition to kindergarten.
Read more about what the school years look like during ages 3-5 >
About Your Child’s Education
The major change that occurs with your child’s transition from early intervention into school age is that the primary responsibility for many of the services your child receives shifts from the Regional Center to the local public school. During transition, the Individualized Education Program process is initiated to determine what services and supports the school will assume responsibility for providing to your child. Typically, by age 3, transition has completed and services are primarily provided through the schools as the generic resource rather than through the Regional Center.
What Your Child Should Learn and What Parents Can Do To Help Their Child
As was shared before, the purpose of special education is to prepare your child for everyday life, including accomplishing daily activities, learning to be social, and ultimately employment and independent living. Following are four crucial areas where the skills your child learns will contribute towards enhanced independence at home, greater access to his or her community and successful employment. Many of the issues discussed are appropriate to include as goals in the child’s IEP.
At the same time, as the parent of a child with a disability, you want to be an effective advocate for your child and support him or her in every way to develop important life skills. The Regional Center offers opportunities for parents to fine-tune the skills that will make them better able to help their child realize his or her potential.
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Social Rec, Camp and Other Services
It cannot be all about school and therapy all the time, there has to be time for fun too.
And that’s where Social Recreation Services can help individuals supported by regional centers to be more included in their communities, and to build social skills and personal relationships.