Choiseul-Praslin, Belkis

Employment is one of the most significant markers of independence and success for a person. One’s ability to secure and maintain employment in a paid position can have a significant impact on their overall quality of life, community participation, financial self-sufficiency, and pathway to a long-lasting career. Unfortunately, the paid employment rate for youth and adults with a disability remains markedly lower than their peers without a disability.

This publication shares findings from a secondary analysis of the NLTS 2012 dataset, looking specifically at parent expectations for students with intellectual disability and autism and compared them to those of students in other disability groups. Specifically, parent expectations around living and financial independence were examined. Findings of this study are in line with those from previous studies, showing that parents of students with intellectual disability and autism have lower expectations for their children post-school than parents of other students in other disability groups.

This Executive Summary provides a brief overview of the entire Annual Report of the Cohort 3 TPSID Model Demonstration Projects (Year 1, 2020–2021). Information is provided about the TPSID projects about program characteristics, students characteristics, academics, academic supports, employment, vocational rehabilitation, residential services, and program completion and credential attainment. 

The full report can be found here. 

Think College REPORTS present descriptive data in narrative and tabular form to provide timely information to researchers, practitioners, and policymakers for review and use. This report provides program- and student-level data reported by TPSIDs (Transition and Postsecondary Programs for Students with Intellectual Disabilities) during the 2020-2021 academic year. Program data reflect program characteristics, academic access, supports for students, and integration of the program within the institute of higher education during the first year of FY 2020-2025 funding.

Postsecondary education programs for students with intellectual disability have a variety of names. The name of a program sets the tone for families and students, and other key supporters, of what to expect from that program. The authors sought to address a lack of guidance on considerations for naming a postsecondary education program for students with intellectual disability by first analyzing the names of existing programs for common words and themes. Using data from the Think College programs directory, the authors coded the words and themes in 310 program names.