Family Matters PTIC Podcast · Family Matters Parent Training and Information Center

On TRACC with Kim Harden

·55 min·3 clips

Every student in OnTrack leads their own IEP to the best extent they are able to.

Family Matters PTIC uses this October episode to explain what its podcast is for. The show introduces itself as a way to reach families and professionals in Illinois with information on disability support, special education advocacy, and navigation. It also pauses for the usual cautions. The hosts remind listeners that the podcast is not legal advice, that Family Matters is not a legal service, and that the contents were developed under a U.S. Department of Education grant without implying endorsement. From there, the conversation turns to transition. The guest focuses on students in their transition stage of life and on the skills that help them move toward adulthood with more confidence, especially when school services are shifting and family support has to become more intentional. Independent living sits near the center. The discussion names practical basics such as insurance and utilities, along with the everyday knowledge students may not have been taught yet but will need if they want to live on their own. Self-advocacy matters just as much. The guest keeps returning to the idea that students should be able to say what an advocate is, explain what self-advocacy means, and speak up for what they want and need for safety and personal goals. The episode also spends time on curriculum. Next Up is presented as the main tool in use: an online, video-based transition curriculum with built-in assessments, pre and post checks, and units that address independent living, social skills, and job readiness. It is built to be engaging. The materials include high-interest videos, including TikTok-style clips and animated segments, along with worksheets and extension activities that keep the work active instead of purely lecture-based. The curriculum is tied to standards. The guest says it is aligned to state standards, which helps the classroom work line up with what Illinois says students should be learning. The tone stays practical and encouraging. Instead of abstract policy talk, the episode keeps circling back to what schools can teach, what students can practice, and how families can use those lessons to prepare for life after graduation. It ends on a note of momentum. A special education coordinator in Shelbyville sounds eager to post the conversation, and that enthusiasm fits the episode's larger message: transition learning is useful, doable, and worth making visible to students who think school is already finished.

As heard by us

A practical transition guide centered on self-advocacy and the Next Up curriculum.

Transition planning is the throughline here, with steady attention to insurance, utilities, jobs, self-advocacy, and the practical skills students are often left to figure out on their own.

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Why you'd press play

Need a clear map from school services to adult independence?

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