This introduction discusses various reports published within the special issue of Exceptionality focused on transition, including the article about postsecondary education services to students with disabilities and another on postsecondary education transition option for youth with intellectual disabilities.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09362830802412125?journalCode...
The amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) in 2004 reiterate the significance of producing real postsecondary education, employment, and independent living outcomes. However, current employment data continue to show widespread unemployment and very limited access to inclusive community environments and services for adults with severe intellectual disabilities. On the contrary, data from the Transition Service Integration Model (N. J.
Brief article chronicles the use of peer mentors at the College of New Jersey's College and Community Studies Program.
A survey was conducted with 234 parents of secondary-level students with high- and low-incidence disabilities in two urban school systems about the importance of secondary instructional domains and transition planning and their post-school expectations for their son or daughter.
The purpose of this article is to identify legal issues concerning the transition planning process through a qualitative analysis of administrative and judicial decisions addressing transition services for students with disabilities. The issues that emerged from the analysis were categorized into five prevalent themes: agency contacts, student involvement, individualization of the transition plan, district obligations, and appropriateness of the transition plan. The themes included both procedural and substantive components.
Increasing numbers of students with disabilities are pursuing post-secondary education. Many campuses are not yet equipped to meet the unique and diverse needs of students with disabilities. This article examines programs, services and programs aimed at promoting student choice, independence, social participation, and supports needed for academic success. Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) has developed and implemented a comprehensive disability services program using a decentralized disability services model.
Students Speak: Stories of Postsecondary Education represent a collection of self-reports by students with intellectual disabilities who are either planning to attend postsecondary education, are currently attending postsecondary education, or have attended postsecondary education. The intent of this booklet is to illustrate successful strategies for inclusion in postsecondary education in the student's voices and to reveal the possible richness of typical life for students with intellectual disabilities given commitment to inclusive education communities.
This paper examines the often overwhelming and confusing process associated with finding and accessing services and supports encountered by students with disabilities in secondary schools as they prepare to attend postsecondary education and/or engage in employment. The white paper presents a description of problems related to coordination and management of services and supports, and the subsequent impact on outcomes for youth with disabilities as they exit secondary schools.
This "call to action" encourages the reader to challenge the prejudiced assumptions that underlie the exclusion of persons with disabilities from higher education, and bring full inclusion to postsecondary settings. The article explains that the notion of disability is a social construct, and that exclusion on the basis of disability is in fact oppression. The authors situate the exclusion of persons with disabilities from higher education within an understanding that historically, colleges have maintained exclusive environments by restricting access among marginalized groups.
In Canada, the struggle for people with intellectual disabilities to gain recognition as citizens and to be included in the mainstream has gone on for more than 30 years (Wolfsenberger, 1980; Brown & Smith, 1992). For the past 10 years, the Canadian government and advocates for persons with intellectual disabilities have shifted their efforts from appeals and legislation on the basis of human rights in favour of an emphasis on full citizenship for members of this systemically excluded segment of the population.
