College is an opportunity for enormous growth in the lives of all students. Setting and working toward meaningful personal goals is one way to maximize those opportunities for growth. College programs for students with intellectual disability may struggle to address the independent living skills component of their comprehensive transition program…

The Youth Villages Transitional Living program is intended to help youth who were formerly in foster care or juvenile justice custody, or who are otherwise unprepared for adult life, to make the transition to independent living. Youth Villages, which serves emotionally and behaviorally troubled young people, operates a number of programs in…

This qualitative study investigated the perceptions of 8 Local Education Agency (LEA) personnel who implemented the Transition Outcomes Project (TOP) in a midwestern state. These personnel represented 100% of the state LEAs who instigated the pilot of TOP in the participating state. Findings showed that TOP had 3 major positive effects: greater…

The transition to adult life for students with reading and writing challenges is an area that is not often addressed. The purpose of this article is to relate the informal assessment process to the broader context of high stakes assessment, high school exit exams, diploma options, and transition planning; identify the competencies needed for a…

Six papers address issues in the transition from school to work for mentally retarded and developmentally disabled young adults. The first presents a three-stage vocational transition model emphasizing functional curricula, integrated services, community-based instruction, involvement of parents and adult services representatives, and a diversity…

Compares two models for delivering emancipation preparation services to foster youths on pragmatic, structural, and client outcomes dimensions. The models differ primarily on the extent of caseworker involvement. Suggests that a model which incorporates both skill-building programs and an intensive and integrated case management function holds…

This article addresses transition needs of individuals with learning disabilities in such areas as maintaining a home, becoming appropriately involved in the community (including recreation and leisure activities), and experiencing satisfactory personal and social relationships. It reviews research on adult adjustment, highlights existing…

The Rural Institute: Center for Excellence in Disability Education, Research, and Service, is one of sixty-four Centers for Excellence in Disability Education across the nation. It is an inter-disciplinary organization that promotes full participation in rural life for individuals with disabilities. The Rural Institute accomplishes this goal by…

The goal of Project VAST (Virginia's Approach to Services for Transitioning) is to develop, implement, and evaluate a model at both state and local levels which ensures that students with disabilities who move through Virginia's public school programs and into the community will receive transitional services focusing on career preparation,…

The Employment Training and Transition Model is presented as a comprehensive classroom model whose goal is to prepare students with severe handicaps to work, live, and recreate in their home communities while in high school and after graduation. The model is built on the assumption that high school programs should be integrated, age-appropriate,…

A deliberate, systematic approach is presented for assisting students with handicaps through the transition process from school to adult life. The key elements of transition are identified as: longitudinal vocational and independent living skills training; cooperative and interagency transition planning; parent, student, employer, and…

The Occupational Therapy Independent Living Skills (Transition) Program was established to serve students with severe behavioral, learning, and physical disabilities and to serve as a setting for occupational therapist training in transition programming. This manual describes this model pupil personnel training program, which prepares occupational…

Project MEAL (Model for Employment and Adult Living) provides a program for post-high-school preparation of unemployed learning-disabled young adults. Its strategies and interventions can be adopted for use with learning-disabled individuals still in school and with individuals having other handicapping conditions. The program's target population…

To determine the worth of leisure education for adolescents with mental retardation, this study tested a model program in the public schools of Wake County, North Carolina. Findings indicated positive changes in behaviors and attitudes. Limitations, implications, and recommendations are also discussed. (GLR)

Provides a summary of seven eras reflecting the philosophical perspectives that have influenced the treatment of handicapped individuals in the past. Issues concerning the integration of handicapped people into the community are reviewed. A conceptual framework for examining factors that influence service delivery is provided. (Author/BJV)