In mainstream education, the transition from primary to secondary school ("school transition") is difficult for children with autism spectrum disorder, being marked by high levels of emotional and behavioural difficulties. The Systemic Transition in Education Programme for Autism Spectrum Disorder (STEP-ASD) is a new, manualised school…

A study was made of six special units for children with special needs in secondary schools with emphasis on the relationship of the units to the main school and the organizational and curricular issues which arise in promoting integration. Staff and pupils benefit from the units, and students with varied disabilities are better integrated as a…

The transition programs of 326 secondary educational programs for deaf and severely hearing-impaired adolescents were surveyed. Results suggested that residential schools had higher implementation rates (for desirable transition characteristics) than did mainstream and other programs. All groups valued the identified transition practices more than…

A teacher in a school for students with moderate learning difficulties and a secondary school teacher exchanged teaching responsibilities, to identify potential problems for students and teachers when mainstreaming is carried out. Discussed are the impact of class size, teaching styles, knowledge-centered learning, scope of curriculum, scheduling,…

The guide identifies and discusses critical components of high school programs designed to facilitate college placement as well as preparation of potential college-bound learning disabled (LD) secondary students for the demands of college settings. First, secondary programming needs to include integration of LD students into college preparatory…

Services of two school districts to exceptional students in transition are reviewed. The Great Falls (Montana) model involves a five-year individualized education program, maximum integration, and three phases of paid employment. The Natrona County (Wyoming) program is based on such crucial services as vocational evaluation, community living…

This handbook is intended to assist vocational resource educators (VREs) in fulfilling the role of a facilitator in mainstreaming handicapped students and assisting them in the transitions into vocational programs and into work. It is presented in a question and answer format and organized around seven goals for VREs: (1) develop a communication…

The Vocational Education to Work model is a system of communication and support between vocational and special educators, designed to train students with disabilities in mainstreamed vocational education. The model's four sequential components include active recruitment, guided placement, continuing support, and job placement followup.…

Initial findings regarding the educational programs and other secondary special education services surveyed during the congressionally mandated National Longitudinal Transition Study (NLTS) of Special Education Students are presented. The study, started in 1987 under a Department of Education contract with SRI International, addresses issues…

This monograph provides a review of the literature on the transition of students with disabilities into the adult world and an analysis of various models of transition that have emerged in western Europe in comparison with those in the United States. An introduction identifies key definitional issues in transition: defining the population,…

This monograph presents the Arkansas Transition Agreement developed by the Interagency Council on Self Sufficiency (ICSS), which has the goal of developing, implementing, and monitoring a statewide process for transition of students with disabilities from school to integrated postsecondary education, employment, and community living. Following a…

Work Inc., a community rehabilitation center south of Boston, provides moderately to severely disabled (primarily mentally retarded) students with paid work opportunities while they are still in school. In the Work Inc. program, the Greater Boston business community becomes part of the daily curriculum of 500 students in 35 different communities…

This paper focuses on the secondary school experiences of Hispanic students with disabilities, presenting findings from the National Longitudinal Transition Study (NLTS) of Special Education Students. The 5-year NLTS study included data on more than 8,000 students (of whom 733 were Hispanic) enrolled in special education in the 1985-86 school…

The panel presentation traces the development of and describes the operation of a Brentwood (California) project to prepare approximately 75 severely disabled individuals, ages 12-22, to function in the least restrictive recreation/leisure, vocational, and general community environments. Transition Steering Committee developed such project…

This paper describes the Community Transition Center (CTC) model, being tested in six districts in rural Wisconsin. The model is a way of conceptualizing and organizing the employment-related needs of mainstreamed mildly handicapped youths who are exiting secondary schools. The model emphasizes the role of secondary school transition programming,…