Career Development and Transition for Exceptional Individuals

Competitive employment (i.e., employment in community settings among people without disabilities for minimum wage or higher) improves quality of life for people with disabilities who have individualized support needs (ISN). However, attaining competitive employment can be challenging for people with ISN. This study used a mixed methods design to evaluate the perspectives of 68 families who attended the Family Employment Awareness Training (FEAT). Findings indicated that families who attended FEAT (a) accessed competitive employment resources following FEAT and (b) reported competitive employment outcomes for their family members with ISN following FEAT. We discuss implications of these findings and recommendations for future research.

This study investigated the kinds of supports postsecondary students who have mobility or sensory impairments perceived as being most effective in assisting them to attain their career aspirations. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 15 postsecondary students who self-identified as having a permanent mobility or sensory impairment, aged 19 to 32 years. Thorne’s (2008) inductive approach to content analysis was used to extract salient themes from the data. Three core findings emerged, with participants (a) identifying a wide range of individuals as being important sources of support, (b) citing important internal resources perceived to be as important as their social support networks in helping them to reach their goals, and (c) describing fewer environmental and material supports, but still perceived these to be crucial in facilitating educational and career success. Overall, these students were able to identify many kinds of support and experienced success in accessing them. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

This study explores non-modifiable risk factors associated with poor post-school competitive employment outcomes for students with disabilities. A classification tree analysis was used with a sample of 2,900 students who were in the second National Longitudinal Transition Study–2 (NLTS2) up to 6 years following school exit to identify groups of youth with poor employment outcomes based on characteristics that are unable to be modified through an intervention. Post-school employment was related to the disability characteristics of the student (disability type, ability to understand what is being said, general health status), family characteristics (yearly income, community setting), and youth characteristics (race).The classification tree analysis identified four groups of students who were at greatest risk for poor outcomes. Future research will be directed toward modifiable variables that mitigate risks for those groups that may potentially lead to school- and home-based interventions.

Through a 5-year qualitative case study of an inclusive high school, we examined students’ experiences of self-determination. We conducted analyses of multiple interviews with students, parents, teachers, guidance staff, and administrators using grounded theory methods and guided by self-determination conceptual frameworks. Explicit expectations for student agency, a network of caring autonomy-supportive adults, and integrated academic supports emerged as primary features of the students’ school experiences. We describe the participants’ perspectives about the school structures that supported those experiences and highlight three students who represented a range of responses to the school’s model of inclusive learning supports. Implications for fostering self-determination of adolescents with disabilities within general education school settings are considered.

Although there are many activities (e.g., transition services), derived from correlational research, that occur while students are in school that increase the likelihood of positive post-school outcomes, many teachers continue to provide services shown to have little to no effect on outcomes of students with disabilities. The purpose of this study was to operationally define the predictors of post-school success for educators to understand what is necessary to develop, implement, and evaluate secondary transition programs based on predictor research. Results conclude experts in the field reached consensus on an operational definition and set of essential program characteristics for each predictor of post-school success to aid practitioners in implementing these practices.