Transitions are part of everyone’s life. Some are predictable while others occur more spontaneously. Although this article is focused on thetransition from school to life after school, it is worthwhile to think about transitions as a lifelong reality (see Price & Patton, 2003), as dramatic transitions will occur early in life as well as later in life. Transition is a concept that implies change and movement. For students who are in school, change and movement occur throughout their school careers. Without question, many transitions occur on a daily basis (e.g., moving from one task to another within a classroom situation); other transitions involve major changes (e.g., moving from primary school to secondary school). While all of these transitions are worthy of discussion, this article will focus on one particular transition that we feel is especially important for special needs students. This transition is the one when formal schooling ends and life after school begins.The overall theme that is promoted in this article is the fact that, with appropriate transition assessment and planning, special needs students are more likely to have what is referred to as a "seamless" transition to adulthood. It is true that some students can achieve a successful transition from school to life after school without assistance provided by school-based personnel. Our point is that the probability of success is improved when we do not leave this important transition to chance.This article will cover the following topics. The first section presents ideas related to what "successful adult functioning" means. The second section provides a discussion of the basic concepts related to transition, as this concept applies to students who are about ready to leave school. The third part of the article reviews existing literature in terms of what we know about transition services. The fourth part of the article introduces a transition planning process that can serve as a framework for implementing a successful transition program for special needs students. This section offers a number of recommendations for school-based personnel to consider. The last section highlights the major points that we believe are key to the successful transition of youth to life when school ends.