Access to effective and comprehensive transition programming is pivotal to transition of youth with disabilities to work and independent living. Successful programs often blend key ingredients, including individualized educational planning, career development, work experiences in secondary school, and interagency partnerships/collaborations.…

Employment is one of the biggest contributors to quality of life for people with disabilities--and that means well-planned work experiences should be an integral part of transition preparation for every secondary and postsecondary school aged youth. Make that happen with this practical guide, developed to help educators, transition specialists,…

Flipping burgers, operating cash registers, and stocking shelves are unchallenging, dead-end jobs that hinder high school students' academic success. U.S. industry has been using advanced technology to dumb-down jobs. Efforts of states and school administrators to restrict teen labor are discussed. Sidebars present innovative state initiatives for…

To make a smooth transition to a fulfilling, self-determined adult life, young people who use Augmentative-Alternative Communication (AAC) need effective services that meet their individual needs and make the most of advances in technology. Professionals will provide these critical supports with the help of this book, the first complete guide to…

The booklet describes the Maine Medical Center's Summer Youth Employment Training Program conducted in 1986, 1987, and 1988 providing disabled high school students with work experience under close supervision. The first section describes program benefits and the incorporation of the program within the Hospital Industries program which screens,…

Discusses community-based assessment and how it was linked with the job-matching process to assist students with severe disabilities in the job development and placement process. (JOW)

This report, part of a 3-year follow-along study of 422 Oregon and Nevada students with disabilities who are transitioning from school to adult life, examines experiences of students who had worked on a job while still in school, methods of finding jobs, hours worked, and wages earned. Implications for policy development are outlined. (JDD)

A study examined placement as a key indicator of commitment to occupational preparation in secondary education. The study focuses on the different amounts and types of support received for placement services in different types of schools, the effect of type of school (rural, urban, or suburban) on the placement services available, and the personal…

In preparation for the reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA), this policy update presents key aspects of the statutory language of Title I of the WIA and describes its potential implications for youth with disabilities as they prepare for the transition to employment and adult life as described in Sections 126-129 of…

If the lives of adults with disabilities are any measure of the impact of decades of special education, there are serious problems that must addressed. The employment rate among adults with disabilities, for instance, remains low. If a group of students choose paid employment as a goal for adult life, would not those same students want their…

This paper examines job development and vocational training for persons with hearing impairments in Taiwan and reports on a survey of 26 individuals just graduated or about to graduate with hearing impairment. Discussion includes an historical overview and examination of the concept of transition in Taiwan and transition to employment for people…

This book focuses on transition--the facilitation of the postsecondary adjustment of students, particularly those with disabilities, to work, leisure, and independent functioning in the community. Chapter 1 reviews definitions of transition, highlights a transdisciplinary transition model, and reviews federal legislation to facilitate transition.…

This self-instructional module, the fifteenth in a series of 16 on techniques for coordinating work experience programs, deals with support services. Addressed in the module are the importance of various support services for work experience programs; financial, placement, work adjustment, evaluation, and transition support services that are…

Designed for practitioners, this book provides ideas and strategies for designing, developing, and implementing the Youth Transition Program (YTP) for students with disabilities and special needs in Oregon. Chapter 1 describes the following: background and need for collaborative school-to-work (STW) programs; STW program purposes and components,…

This brief highlights the benefits of work-based learning for students with disabilities, what constitutes quality work-based learning, and selected evidence-based models of work-based learning. Benefits to students include providing them with the opportunity to identify career interests, skills, and abilities, explore career goals, develop…