The general education curriculum comprises more than just the academic courses students take. The wide range of extracurricular clubs, sports teams, performing arts programs, student government positions, career development activities, service-learning projects, and other school-sponsored activities offered in middle and high schools provide a…

This article describes the use of a transition portfolio to help a student with severe, multiple disabilities make the transition from middle school to high school. It describes the information gathering process and desirable portfolio components including personal and medical information, positioning, educational programming, adaptations and…

The article describes a process for use in high-school transition programs to promote student independence within the context of vocational training. Strategies described include: evaluating student independence in community-based settings, teaching student adaptability, and transferring control of student independence to work-related stimuli. A…

A transition planning process that focuses on quality-of-life outcomes is presented. The process, which views employment not as an outcome but as a vehicle for the attainment of quality of life, involves six steps: orientation, personal profile development, identification of employment outcomes, measurement system, compatibility process, and…

A self contained behavior management classroom, an intensive program for children with multiple behavior impairments, is described. The classroom is designed to transfer the student back to the special education classroom for severely and trainable mentally impaired and autistic children. Typical behavior problems are considered, along with…

The handbook was developed by the 3-year Valley Transitional School Project, serving Augusta, Staunton, and Waynesboro schools, all located in Augusta County, Virginia. The purpose of the project was to develop and validate a model which would assist school youth with severe disabilities to make the transition from school to employment, in the…

The booklet describes studies undertaken by the Washington Research Organization (UWRO) to examine generalization processes with severely handicapped students. Section one provides background information on the UWRO, including UWRO's advisory committee, communication with other institutes for research in education of the severely handicapped, and…

The monograph describes 11 exemplary programs selected in 1987 by the J. M. (Jeremiah Milbank) Foundation from 154 programs providing vocational services to persons with disabilities. Programs were selected in four categories: community-based work adjustment, consortium-based transition, supported work in small communities, and work services for…

This paper reviews problems and recommendations related to the transition of youth from school to work following special education programs in Minnesota. The results of several state-wide studies are reported. The studies include: (1) a review of the employment status of former special education students, (2) a survey of needs, (3) a study of the…

The report describes the first 3 years of the Homecoming Project, which was designed to return disabled students in regional special education programs to regular classes in 26 local Vermont schools. Fifty-eight such students (of whom 45% were moderately or severely handicapped) were transitioned into regular classes and 19 other students at risk…

The purpose of Project COMPETE is to use previous research and exemplary practices to develop and validate a model and training sequence to assist retarded youth to make the transition from school to employment in the most competitive environment possible. Described in this project working paper is a system of analyzing community work environments…

Three studies were conducted to explore the relationship between social skills instruction and the maintenance and generalization of skills to post-school environments. Three adult women with severe disabilities in their last year of school participated in the studies. The first study addressed the effectiveness of an instructional package to…

This compilation brings together various conference papers and a working group report on the topic of supported competitive employment for people with deaf-blindness and other profound disabilities. The title paper by Paul Wehman and Janet Hill studies 21 Profoundly/Multiply Handicapped Deaf-Blind Youth, April 7-10, 1986, Washington, DC. The title…

The manual is designed to provide educators, parents, and severely handicapped students in Santa Clara County (California) with a guide to a 4-year transition process. The process has four components: transition foundation (basic skill development from birth to age 21), transition process (planning and implementation of training and other services…

The Employment Training and Transition Model is presented as a comprehensive classroom model whose goal is to prepare students with severe handicaps to work, live, and recreate in their home communities while in high school and after graduation. The model is built on the assumption that high school programs should be integrated, age-appropriate,…