Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is complex neurodevelopmental disorder that is exhibited through a wide-range of symptoms including social interactions, communication deficits, limited interests, and repetitive behaviors (e.g., stimming). The prevalence of autism amongst children and adolescents continues to grow with 1 in 36 diagnosed annually…

Executive functions, which begin developing in early childhood, are necessary for the tasks of daily life, such as decision making and planning. Despite their early development, often without teaching, many teens with disabilities need explicit instruction to acquire and apply executive functions each day. Gaps in executive functions directly…

Check-in/check-out (CICO) is an evidence-based practice for addressing the behavioral needs of students with and without disabilities from kindergarten through the 12th grade. The CICO intervention is easily adapted to address other areas of need, beyond behavior, including academics and social integration, making CICO appealing for all school…

The Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP), authorized by Congress in 2010, is one of the largest federally funded programs designed to prevent adolescent pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections and prepare youth for successful transition to adulthood. PREP legislation requires grantees to incorporate into their programs content on…

Transition is an important and ongoing aspect of life that everyone experiences. For students who are deaf/hard of hearing (d/DHH) and their families, transitions related to education can be daunting and, at times, confusing. This chapter will focus on three important educational transitions: early intervention, school age, and adulthood. For each…

Research suggests a potential relationship between self-determination and improved post-school outcomes for students with disabilities. Self-determination represents a particularly relevant variable which deserves increased attention for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD); however, there is no consistent understanding on how to…

Purpose: As noted by Powell (2018), speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are an integral part of the overarching curriculum for all students in schools, and this holds true for adolescents who require transition planning. The purpose of this tutorial is to focus on transition planning for secondary school students with a language-based learning…

Positive teacher-student relationships provide adolescents with disabilities the confidence to explore new challenges in and out of the classroom. Goal-setting and self-determination skills have been consistently shown to promote healthy transition adjustment among students with disabilities. Despite the growing awareness of the importance of…

The ultimate goal for school psychologists, special education practitioners, and other professionals who work with adolescents with disabilities is to help students plan and prepare to transition from school to adult life with the skills and knowledge to live happy, productive, and fulfilling lives. This article describes how school psychologists…

Many students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have specialized interests and passions that are highly reinforcing. Such special interest areas (SIAs) are more than mere hobbies or simple curiosities. Rather, the SIAs of an individual with autism may be characterized by (a) significant depth and breadth of knowledge about the area, (b)…

Coyle and Pinkerton identify gaps in the care leaving system in Northern Ireland regarding social work training and meeting the challenges of transitioning from care. The primary focus of this article is to provide a perspective of care and leaving care which could contribute to social work education and practice in these areas. Framed within a…

Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) adolescents and young adults with disabilities (DWD) are a highly diverse group who may also demonstrate a range of functional limitations. These present unique challenges to professional efforts to provide high-quality transition services. Despite these issues, a majority of this population has cognitive abilities…

This article discusses a collaborative project to improve freshman transition into a high school and to increase connectedness among high school students. What started out for the authors, a high school guidance counselor and a counselor educator, as two independent projects on similar topics, evolved in a scholarly partnership that seeks to link…

The most salient aspect of independent living and successful post-high school transition to employment is having the ability to independently use transportation. Adolescents and young adults with disabilities continue to experience significantly lower employment rates than their peers without disabilities (Wagner et al., 2003). One way to support…

Post-school outcomes for adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are exceedingly poor. The convergence of adolescence as a development period, the expression of ASD during adolescence, and the complicated logistic nature of high schools create a perfect storm of complexity that may pose challenges and establish barriers to…