Recently, consensus among researchers and professionals has emerged about factors that contribute to postschool success of youth with disabilities. Prominent among these factors are targeted academic preparation, family involvement, youth empowerment, and service collaboration and linkages. Work experience and paid employment have been identified…

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…

Many children with invisible chronic illnesses (ICIs) are living to adulthood, necessitating that they prepare for their future. Health care and education systems have different meanings and processes for transition, although both systems are designed to help young adults prepare for independence. As health care and educational services support…

This study used multilevel modeling to examine the extent to which secondary special educators promoted nonacademic behaviors that were positively linked to postschool outcomes for students with disabilities, including self-advocacy, goal setting and attainment, disability awareness, employment, and utilization of supports. Respondents were 248…

One of a series of monographs on specific topics in the transition of students with disabilities, this publication focuses on student-focused conferencing and planning. An introductory chapter defines terms, considers who can use student-focused conferencing and planning, summarizes relevant research, and identifies essential ingredients and…

This article notes the increasing emphasis on self-determination in the school-to-adulthood transition movement, describes four self-determination models, and outlines instructional programs to promote self-determination in students with learning disabilities. Emerging issues are identified, including redefinition of roles, importance of taking…

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…

This digest summarizes information on the roles of the Federal Government, the family, and teachers in preparing young children with disabilities for school. Noted are relevant provisions of Public Law 99-457, the 1986 Amendments to the Education of the Handicapped Act (Part B), including development of Individualized Family Service Plans to aid…

This position paper proposes an expanded definition of transition, based on common components of early childhood and secondary perspectives. It advocates for a seamless model of transition service delivery for students with disabilities, including program planning, from birth through age 21. The model addresses curriculum, location of services,…

This publication addresses basic issues related to the concept of transition as it is applied to students with disabilities in California. Following a pretest (and its answer key), the document uses a question and answer format to discuss common concerns about transition, normalization, the school role, the "Bridges" model developed by…

These two newsletter issues of the National Transition Alliance (NTA) for Youth with Disabilities present articles concerning the transition of youth with disabilities from school-to-work (STW) and related informational items. The first issue contains the following articles: "Bringing a Complicated System into Harmony" (focus on the…

This manual provides a sequential procedure for conducting functional vocational evaluations for secondary school students as required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This evaluation procedure considers the interactions of the student with instructors, peers, and employers; training needs; work demands; environmental factors;…

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…

This paper suggests a framework for analyzing needs of students with disabilities in dealing with transition services in their Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). It outlines procedures to follow to ensure adequate service delivery. The framework and procedures are intended to result in IEPs that not only will survive legal challenges but…