Best Occupational Therapy Options for Transition Planning
Compare the best Occupational Therapy options for Transition Planning. Side-by-side features and verdict.
Planning from this article?
After signup, enter your IEP goal and accommodations manually to draft a lesson. Article content is not transferred. Review and adapt the draft before use.
Choosing the right occupational therapy option for transition planning depends on whether your team needs evaluation tools, life skills curriculum, sensory regulation support, or community-based practice resources. The strongest options help secondary special education teams connect IEP goals, accommodations, and daily living instruction to measurable postsecondary outcomes in employment, education, and independent living.
| Feature | Assessment of Motor and Process Skills (AMPS) | Brigance Transition Skills Inventory | Life Centered Education (LCE) | The Alert Program | Transition Planning Inventory-2 (TPI-2) | Zones of Regulation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transition-age focus | Applicable but not transition-specific | Yes | Yes | Adaptable | Yes | Can be adapted for secondary students |
| ADL and independent living support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Indirect | Yes | Indirect |
| IEP and progress monitoring alignment | Yes | Yes | Yes | Limited built-in documentation tools | Strong for planning, limited for ongoing data collection | Teacher-created tracking needed |
| Sensory or self-regulation tools | No | No | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| School team implementation | OT-led | Yes | Yes | Best with OT support | Yes | Yes |
Assessment of Motor and Process Skills (AMPS)
AMPS is a respected occupational therapy assessment that measures the quality of a student's performance in daily living tasks. For transition planning, it helps occupational therapists document how motor and process skill challenges affect independence in home, school, and community settings.
Capabilities
- +Highly relevant for authentic ADL performance and task analysis
- +Produces detailed information about independence and effort during real activities
- +Useful for justifying OT services and functional accommodations
Check before choosing
- -Requires specialized training and certification to administer
- -Best suited for OT professionals rather than general education or transition staff
Brigance Transition Skills Inventory
Brigance Transition Skills Inventory provides structured assessment of employment readiness, daily living, and functional academics for adolescents and young adults. It is especially helpful for identifying OT-related needs in routines such as personal care, home living, transportation, and workplace behaviors.
Capabilities
- +Strong coverage of functional life skills tied to postsecondary readiness
- +Helps teams pinpoint teachable skill gaps for transition services
- +Useful for documenting baseline performance in practical domains
Check before choosing
- -Less focused on sensory processing than some OT-specific tools
- -Can feel assessment-heavy if teams need immediate lesson materials
Life Centered Education (LCE)
Life Centered Education is a transition curriculum focused on daily living, self-determination, employment, and community participation. While not OT-specific, it aligns well with occupational therapy goals related to routines, functional independence, and adult living skills.
Capabilities
- +Comprehensive curriculum for real-world adult outcomes
- +Includes practical lessons on home living, personal management, and employment behaviors
- +Easy to align with transition IEP goals and community-based instruction
Check before choosing
- -Not a clinical OT assessment or intervention system
- -May require adaptation for students with significant motor or sensory needs
The Alert Program
The Alert Program teaches students to recognize and regulate their arousal levels using sensory-based strategies and practical self-management routines. It is often useful in transition settings where students need to maintain readiness for work tasks, travel training, and adult living responsibilities.
Capabilities
- +Strong fit for students with sensory modulation and attention challenges
- +Provides practical strategies that can carry into job sites and home routines
- +Can be paired with OT consultation and self-advocacy instruction
Check before choosing
- -Implementation quality varies depending on staff training
- -Less robust for formal transition assessment and documentation
Transition Planning Inventory-2 (TPI-2)
The TPI-2 is a widely used transition assessment that helps teams identify student strengths and needs across employment, education, daily living, and self-determination. Occupational therapists often use it to inform measurable transition goals tied to independent functioning and community participation.
Capabilities
- +Covers key transition domains relevant to IDEA-compliant planning
- +Supports collaborative input from student, family, and school staff
- +Useful for linking assessment data to postsecondary goals and service needs
Check before choosing
- -It is an assessment framework, not a hands-on intervention program
- -Requires staff time to score, interpret, and translate into instruction
Zones of Regulation
Zones of Regulation is a well-known self-regulation curriculum used to teach emotional awareness, sensory regulation, and coping strategies. In transition planning, it can support students whose regulation difficulties interfere with work experiences, community access, and independent living routines.
Capabilities
- +Provides concrete language for self-monitoring and regulation
- +Easy to integrate into job coaching, classroom routines, and community-based instruction
- +Helpful for students with autism, ADHD, emotional disability, and sensory needs
Check before choosing
- -Not designed as a comprehensive transition curriculum
- -Requires thoughtful generalization so students use strategies beyond posters and lessons
The Verdict
For teams that need formal transition assessment, the Transition Planning Inventory-2 and Brigance Transition Skills Inventory are the strongest starting points because they help connect student needs to measurable postsecondary goals and services. If your primary concern is functional daily living performance, AMPS offers the deepest OT-specific insight, while Zones of Regulation and The Alert Program are better for students whose sensory and self-regulation needs affect job success. Life Centered Education is the best fit for programs that want a practical curriculum to deliver day-to-day transition instruction alongside occupational therapy support.
Pro Tips
- *Choose an option that clearly supports measurable postsecondary goals in employment, education, or independent living rather than using a general OT tool alone.
- *Prioritize tools that help your team document present levels, accommodations, and progress data for IEP compliance and transition reporting.
- *Match the resource to your biggest barrier, such as ADL skill gaps, sensory regulation during work tasks, or lack of baseline assessment data.
- *Consider who will actually implement the option, because some tools are best for licensed occupational therapists while others work well for teachers, job coaches, and transition coordinators.
- *Look for resources that generalize beyond the classroom into community-based instruction, travel training, work sites, and home routines.