Transition Research

Postsecondary education (PSE) is increasingly becoming an option for students with intellectual disability. Postsecondary education offers the promise of pursuing a valued social role (that of college student), enhanced social networks, and, most significantly, increased employment options. To date, research and practice in the area of transition to PSE for students with ID has focused primarily upon the sending (public school systems) and receiving (colleges or universities) agencies.

High school redesign (HSR) efforts currently focus on helping schools prepare all students to be college and career ready. As these initiatives are provided within thecontext of high schools, students with Individualized Education Programs are impacted by any effort to reform high schools. As a result, policies designed to improve the college and a career readiness (CCR) of all students should simultaneously improve the CCR of students with disabilities.

Youth with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) experience poor outcomes in the areas of independence, employment, and postsecondary education. This article provides a critical review of the key aspects of the transition process and identifies recommendations for policy and practice. The review highlights the literature and explores recommendations across the manifold elements of this transition, including social and psychological development, high school curriculum, work, and college.
Nearly four decades have passed since the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) ensured access to public education for students with disabilities in the United States. During the years following its adoption, there was growing recognition that to lead productive and fulfilling lives as adults, many students need support in the transition from secondary school to post-high school environments.
Over the past two decades, substantial research has documented the increase of students with disabilities enrolling in post-secondary education. The purpose of the study was to examine factors identified as significant in preparing individuals who fall on the autism spectrum for post-secondary experiences. The study was exploratory in nature and designed to identify perceived critical program elements needed to design successful post-secondary transition programs for students with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study is to describe how culture, disability, and prospective first-generation college student status influenced the transition decisions of five native Hawaiian students with specific learning disabilities who attended a Hawaiian-focused charter school. Students had strong ties to their history and culture which influenced all facets of their lives including their decisions about the future. Accessing postsecondary education (PSE) was viewed as a means to employment that would enable them to support their family members.

To compare the status of transition planning for students with intellectual disability, autism, or other disabilities, we used data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2, a federally funded, national study of the secondary and postschool experiences of students with disabilities. Results show that although transition planning had been conducted for the majority of students, few of them took a leadership role in their transition planning.

The purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic review of the secondary transition correlational literature to identify in-school predictors of improved postschool outcomes in the areas of education, employment, and/or independent living for students with disabilities. Based on results of this review, 16 evidence-based, in-school predictors of postschool outcomes were identified.

This article describes a secondary analysis of variables from the National Longitudinal Transition Survey 2 (NLTS-2) database. Specifically, students with intellectual disability (ID) were compared to students with other disabilities regarding post-school transition goals listed on their IEPs/Transition Plans, contacts/referrals made to outside agencies during transition planning, participation of other agencies/organizations in transition planning (e.g., vocational rehabilitation and higher education representatives), and students’ postsecondary education and employment outcomes.