The transition from school to adulthood is a pivotal time in the lives of all students. For a student with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), change of any kind can be challenging, and a transition as momentous as this can seem especially daunting. Thoughtful planning, sound information, and open communication will help parents support young adults…

Students with special needs and disabilities are often unprepared to handle the transition from school to work and/or school to post secondary training. They often lack direction and knowledge of the world of work or of the barriers they may face as they move beyond high school. School counselors can be instrumental in assisting with this…

This paper presents information to assist students with learning disabilities (LD), counselors, and employers in building a bridge between community college and employment. It argues that students must learn to articulate how their LD affects them in a variety of situations, especially those requiring learning and performing work related tasks.…

Secondary special education programs should include employment or postsecondary education placement outcomes in the curricula for mainstreamed mildly handicapped students. Program elements that support these goals are: individualized transition plans; paid work experience; job-seeking skills curriculum; flexible staffing patterns; active…

A prerelease program was developed to provide job training to persons who were within 90 to 120 days of their scheduled release date from a Washington State prison. The Geiger program was sponsored and operated jointly by Spokane County and State agencies. Because it was determined that the 84-bed unit would handle approximately 30 arrivals and 30…

The Washington State welfare reform program WorkFirst is designed to move individuals from Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) into the workforce. A critical question facing the program is how to assist participants in sustaining and advancing their employment. Three studies of those who exited the program measured multiple outcomes…

This document presents guidelines and examples of good practices for supporting learning-disabled adults in the United Kingdom as they make the jump from education into employment. The guidelines and resource materials presented in this staff resource pack were developed during the Making the Jump project, which was undertaken to address the…

This document, which was developed through a decade of research and field testing involving more than 700 people, offers step-by-step strategies that educators, employment specialists, occupational therapists, and other professionals can use to help youths and adults with mild, moderate, or severe disabilities make their own employment choices.…

How may an individual who is deaf or hard of hearing focus on success? How can we as professionals best promote environments that will facilitate achievement and positive outcomes for these individuals? "Planning for Success: Initiatives for Positive Outcomes," the PEPNet conference held in April 2004, was a conference dedicated to…

This booklet is intended to help Indiana 11th graders plan their futures by identifying their career and educational goals and available employment and educational opportunities. The following are among the topics discussed in sections 1-4: (1) identifying goals (planning ahead, using class schedules to chart one's course, developing career and…