Despite extensive transition provisions in the U.S. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the post-school outcomes for students with disabilities continue to be disappointing. The IDEA designated those transition provisions as priority targets for federal and state compliance monitoring to assure that schools are attaining the goal…

In the school to work transition process, school personnel collaborate with community employment and vocational rehabilitation to establish an employment plan for Individual(s) with Disabilities (IWDs). Development of the Individualized Education Transition Plan (IETP) is often haphazard and not evaluated for effectiveness, resulting in poor…

Transition services support students with disabilities in accessing post-secondary school opportunities including employment. This study used both quantitative and qualitative methods to gather data on practicing school psychologists' experiences, attitudes, and training related to the school to employment transition process. Participants'…

This study explores the perceptions of academic and labor market adaptation among graduates with high-functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), in comparison to neurotypical counterparts. Contrary to the expected significant differences attributed to the unique challenges associated with ASD, the findings did not indicate major disparities in…

Work experiences are linked to positive post-school outcomes for youth and young adults with disabilities. Unfortunately, students who struggle to manage conflict and challenges in work settings have a difficult time maintaining employment. Though ecological assessments are used to create supported work plans surrounding socially inappropriate…

Over the past three decades, transition practices research has demonstrated that post-school outcomes of students with disabilities improve when educators, families, students, and community members and organizations work together to implement a broad perspective of transition planning, more appropriately referred to as transition-focused…

Background: The current global cohort of youth has been called "a generation at-risk", marked by a dramatic rise in youth who are not in employment, education or training programmes. In 2010, youth were three times as likely as adults to be unemployed, with youth unemployment worsening in 2012 and 2013. Accordingly, there is an urgent…

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.…

Participants with and without specific learning disabilities (SLD) provided responses as to background and school features, postschool plans, dream career, and most likely job after completing school. Findings suggest that participant groups are similar across most background and school features, with apparent differences for grade level and…

Since the transition movement in the 1980s, numerous transition practices have been developed. Kohler (1993) provided a comprehensive review and analysis of transition best practices and divided them into substantiated and implied practices based on the existence of empirical evidence. Since that review was published, the field of transition has…

Adolescence is a time for dreaming--for youth to imagine and set a course for the future. High school students naturally spend time imagining the future--if and where to continue their education, to find a job or pursue a career, to move away from home, or to start a family. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) includes a process…

This article presents a model for integrating transition planning into the Individualized Education Program (IEP) with a focus on developing quality student-centered strategic plans. Strategies for developing effective transition practices, following meaningful processes, and creating efficient and effective IEP products are described. (Contains…

Describes the development and components of a referral database management system developed by the Arkansas Transition Project. The system enables individualized-education-plan team members to refer students with disabilities directly to adult agencies and to receive a monitoring report describing the agency response to the referral. The system is…

This paper describes the development and implementation of the public input process at Gallaudet University's Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center. It shows how the public input process was applied to one of the Clerc Center's priority areas, the transition from school to postsecondary education and employment. Part 1 of the paper…

To address disabled students' troubling outcomes, the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services identified school-to-work transition as a major priority. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act mandates that transition services be part of secondary students' IEPs. Principals' and parents'…