The law requires that these plans be in place by the time the adolescent is 16, or as early as 14, when appropriate. Students must be invited to any meeting where transition plans are discussed. Parents and school personnel, including a transition coordinator, also attend the meetings. The high school program for the adolescent with fragile X must still comply with the law's requirements for an appropriate education in the least restrictive environment. Parents and team members must decide at this age level what academic skills should continue to be a focus and what functional living skills should be emphasized.
Students receive high school credit for jobs in the community, under supervision.
Such jobs might be as varied as in-hospital mail delivery, landscaping, assisting at the zoo, working in a grocery store, preparing food, assisting in a nursing home, or cleaning and doing janitorial work. Students in such programs also receive specific vocational training at the school to educate them about important job-related behaviors, such as punctuality, grooming and communicating. Some boys with fragile X might also benefit from independent living classes. These might include skills such as handling cooking, laundry, housekeeping and public transportation. Girls with fragile X syndrome, who may have learning disabilities in math and pragmatic skills, also qualify for special education services at the middle and high school level.