This research identifies the soft (employability) skills that key stakeholders view as essential for young people with intellectual disability (ID) to gain and maintain open employment. The study subsequently examined the work experience opportunities for young people with ID to develop these soft skills during their school years. Qualitative data…

Background: Youth with disabilities who have at least one paid work experience during high school are more than twice as likely to be employed after high school. However, barriers exist that limit work opportunities for youth with disabilities and subsequent entry to work as part of their adult lives. Objective: The study identified secondary…

Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) experience difficulty with transitioning to competitive integrated employment following high school. Addressing this disparity in transitioning to competitive integrated employment can be supported through a high school transition program with community-based work experiences for…

For most young people, social capital plays an important role in transitioning to postsecondary education and employment. For youth who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH), social capital can mitigate negative effects of challenges they will likely encounter after high school. In phase 2 of a two-phase qualitative study in Australia, we investigated…

The Vermont Division of Vocational Rehabilitation's (DVR's) Linking Learning to Careers (LLC) program provides enhanced work-based learning experiences to help high school students with disabilities as they make the transition to careers or postsecondary education. This brief describes these work-based learning experiences, which are the core…

Considerable research has examined the personal factors and practices associated with transition-age youth with disabilities achieving higher employment rates and greater self-sufficiency as adults, but there is limited evidence on the longer-term effectiveness of these practices and services. This study examines the role of youth's use of…

Transition from secondary school to postschool life, education, and employment can be difficult for young people who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH). This population's postschool outcomes, particularly in employment, continue to lag behind those of the general population. The transition education, planning, and practices that these students…

The Apply and Communicate for Transition Now (ACTNow) Discussion Tool allows secondary students to effectively explore transition options through a respectful and honest conversation regarding expectations for success in chosen career pathways. In a one year randomized control research trial of 203 students with disabilities who used ACTNow,…

High school work experience is a predictor of postsecondary employment success for youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Developing integrated work experiences often requires schools to partner with local businesses; yet, secondary special education transition teams may not have prior experience or preparation in this type…

Transition from high school to adulthood is a difficult period of life for all youth, especially those with disabilities. Research indicates students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) experience difficulties in transitioning to a postschool environment. Their postschool outcomes in the areas of education, employment, and community…

The purpose of this systematic review was to (a) systematically review the literature to identify National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 secondary analyses articles published since 2009 that met the quality indicators for correlational research, (b) further extend the findings of Test et al. by identifying additional evidence to support the…

The Linking Learning to Careers (LLC) program offered high school students with disabilities an individualized and targeted approach to strategically plan for their futures. The Vermont Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) designed LLC to build on its usual services for high school students to emphasize unpaid and paid work-based learning…

The aim was to describe the occupational transition process to upper secondary school, further education and/or work, and to discover what support influences the process from the perspectives of young adults with Asperger syndrome or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. This qualitative study was performed in Sweden and comprised interviews…

Transition to work services are a complex process and can cover an enormous range of practices. This paper examines the literature on best practices in transition to work services and considers teachers' perspectives regarding these practices. Teachers working with students with intellectual disabilities participated in this study (369). The three…

The purpose of this publication is to provide guidance to Minnesota CareerForce youth development professionals on how to intentionally integrate the Guideposts for Success framework into the Individualized Learning Plan (ILP) model. Developed by PACER Center for Minnesota's Partners for Youth Disability Employment Initiative (DEI), this guide…