Help topic · The future
Transition to adulthood, planned early
Graduation should not arrive as a cliff. Ilonka helps families plan work, independence, and adult life in yearly steps, starting in the early teens.
By age
What to focus on, and when.
Tap an age. Each stage has a short list. None of it is urgent at 14 and all of it is urgent at 18, which is why starting early feels so much calmer.
The services cliff
School ends. Adult life should already be taking shape.
While your child is in school, services arrive through the school door. After graduation or age 22, that door closes and adult services run on applications, eligibility, and waitlists. Families who plan early cross that gap on a bridge they built. Families who wait meet it as a cliff.
Her transition experience
At Heritage High School in Rogers, Ilonka worked as a transition and family guide: vocational rehabilitation, employment plans, life skills goals, and liaison work with Arkansas Rehabilitation Services.
Yearly steps, not panic
Coaching turns the big picture into a short list for each school year, reviewed and adjusted as your teenager grows.
Clear boundaries
Guardianship, benefits, and money decisions belong with licensed lawyers and professionals. Coaching prepares your family to use that advice well.
Questions
Before you start
When should transition planning start?
Start the conversation at 14. Federal law requires transition planning in the IEP by age 16, and the families who start earlier have more time to build skills, explore work, and join waitlists before school ends.
My teenager is already 17. Is it too late?
No. It means the work is triage instead of a slow build: the most important skills, the most urgent applications, and the first year after school planned first. Ilonka has guided exactly this work at Heritage High School in Rogers.
What does coaching do that the school does not?
The school plans for school. Coaching plans for the whole of your young adult's life: home, work, health, money basics, and independence, in yearly steps your family owns and keeps after graduation.
Initial assessment: $75 for one hour
Follow-ups: $50 for 40 minutes
Extra time: $10 per additional 10 minutes
See full feesStart with Ilonka
Plan the move into adult life early.
Email Ilonka to request the $75 initial assessment or ask whether coaching is the right fit.