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Age-Appropriate Transition Assessment Planning Guide

Organizing a Student's PINS


The Profile summarizes what the team collectively knows about the youth's PINS (Preferences, Interests, Needs and Skills). It is useful to organize what is known about the youth into these four broad PINS categories.

Question Two: Youth Profile

What are the Youth's Preferences, Interests, Needs and Skills? (PINS)

Unlike eligibility processes that tend to focus on current deficits and needed supports, the transition assessment planning process and resulting Youth Profile are:

  • Strength Based
    discovering what the youth can and likes to do
  • Future Focused
    creating a profile of the youth that is relevant to being a future adult
  • Youth Centered
    building a profile of the youth's current skills as they relate to the skills necessary to achieve her/his adult life goals
  • Team Oriented
    coordinating with agency partners to conduct, analyze and summarize transition assessment from a variety of perspectives


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