This final report details the activities of a project called VECTOR (Vocational Education, Community Transition, Occupational Relations). VECTOR sought to increase the employability of severely to mildly mentally handicapped students (aged 18-21) in transition from school to work in the greater Minneapolis, Minnesota, area. VECTOR's objectives…

This compilation brings together various conference papers and a working group report on the topic of residential services for people with deaf-blindness and other profound disabilities. The title paper by Lyle T. Romer describes three measures for evaluating residential programs: capacity, progress, and lifestyle. Valued outcomes of a residential…

A needs assessment determined the need for independent living skills for high school students with severe disabilities, as perceived by the students (n=45), their parents (n=38) and their teachers (n=7). Results revealed that the students believed that their lives were steadily improving, that they were more satisfied than dissatisfied with the…

School districts and community agencies located within Los Angeles County (California) were surveyed to determine the level of transition planning from school to the world of work and community living for "students at risk." Twenty-five school districts and 10 community agencies/private schools receiving supported employment funds are…

This report examines the ways that credit-based transition programs (CBTPs) may help middle- and low-achieving students enter and succeed in college. It highlights promising practices used by CBTPs to help students who might have been considered noncollege-bound prepare for college credit course work. The report also discusses the challenges that…

This book is a guide to the development of Individual Transition Plans (ITPs) for students with disabilities. It includes 37 sample ITPs for students with a wide variety of disabilities. The first four chapters describe the formatting necessary for designing the transition planning document and then describe each of the 10 goals, which range from…

This publication provides Autism Program Quality Indicators (APQI), intended as a self-review and quality improvement guide for schools and programs serving students with autism spectrum disorders. The APQI were developed by the New York Autism Network at the request of the New York State Education Department. The APQI promote the goal that all…

This paper discusses the role of resource center teachers in helping students with attention deficit disorder (ADD) successfully make the transition to secondary school. It addresses: (1) characteristics of ADD, including academic underachievement, cognitive fatigue, fine motor dysfunction, lack of self-monitoring skills, poorly developed…

Intended primarily for new teachers or teachers newly involved with special education, this guide to development of individualized education programs (IEPs) notes recent trends in special education including the shift from a categorical basis to a skill needs basis, the goal of maximum inclusion, greater involvement of regular educators and…

This document presents all necessary materials for a complete course at the university level on the transition of students with disabilities from school to adult life. It includes an instructor's guide, a class syllabus, and 16 class lessons. The course is based on the "Taxonomy for Transition Programming," a model of effective transition…

The question of whether a 15-week capstone course in agricultural communications for seniors in agricultural communications builds leadership skills beyond technical classroom learning was examined in a study of 15 students enrolled in the capstone course. The descriptive study used a pretest-posttest design and a leadership skills inventory to…

Part of a series designed to provide practical resources for transition personnel on a variety of topics critical to the process of preparing individuals with disabilities for adulthood, this guide focuses on using transition teams to improve transition services. Chapter 1, "The Roles of Community Transition Teams," discusses the benefits of…

This manual describes 100 ways to make a commitment to transition via Individual Transition Goals for students with disabilities. The goals cover five basic transition areas: (1) communication and problem solving; (2) daily living; (3) securing and keeping a job; (4) career awareness; and (5) self-determination. To help meet those objectives, 100…

Individuals with autism and their caregivers face unique challenges in later childhood and adolescence, yet this period is often neglected in the professional literature. This much-needed volume translates current research on the needs of this population into practical recommendations for clinicians and educators. Featuring vivid case examples and…

This guide is an introduction to head injury and to educational resources in the field. An introductory section describes traumatic brain injury (TBI) as a federally recognized disability category and provides its federal and Idaho definitions. The following section introduces the unique characteristics of students with brain injuries. A section…