Career Development and Transition for Exceptional Individuals

Age-appropriate transition assessment (TA) serves as the foundation for youth with disabilities to identify measurable postsecondary goals and to determine necessary transition services to pursue such goals during the secondary school years. This position paper provides guidelines for special educators, transition specialists, and other members of the Individualized Education Program team to work with youth with disabilities, their families, and interagency personnel in providing ongoing TA. The Division on Career Development and Transition endorses this position paper, which identifies federal policy; definitions, terms, and purposes; a conceptual framework and process; and competencies for personnel involved in age-appropriate TA.

The aim of the study was to conduct a longitudinal, randomized clinical trial of the efficacy of TAKE CHARGE, a self-determination enhancement intervention, for promoting the school performance of youth in special education and foster care. A total of 133 youth were randomized to either a control group that received typical services, or to the intervention group that received coaching in the application of self-determination skills to achieve their goals, as well as participating in group mentoring workshops with successful young adult alumni of foster care. Findings on the outcomes of 123 youth who completed the study suggest gains for the intervention group in elements of self-determination, engagement in educational planning, school performance, and reduced anxiety and depression.

This study examined change in indicators of high-quality interagency collaboration after 1 year of establishing a community transition team and compared school and adult agency staff participants. The Transition Collaboration Survey was developed based on research-based indicators of collaboration, piloted, administered to school and agency participants from 16 midwestern community transition teams, and then analyzed through nonparametric statistics. Results indicated a significant increase in indicators of high-quality collaboration in domain areas of shared vision, variety of partnerships, time together, joint planning, shared leadership, structure, training together, minimizing duplication, and sustainability. School and adult agency staff increased collaboration in each domain area, with the exception of only school staff increasing administrative support.

This research investigated the factors that motivated or caused college students with disabilities to identify transition needs compared with what they originally requested. The research began with a survey of transition needs conducted with 72 students who would graduate from college in 1 year, and the same survey was conducted with the same students a year later. The survey was followed by interviewing 11 students who made more than 10 transition need changes in the second survey. The research found that requiring different transition needs or concealing transition needs was determined by natural factors, external factors, personal condition factors, and environmental factors. Per analysis results, implications for improving students’ transition needs identification and transition services’ quality were given.

The purpose of this study was to explore the beliefs and stated practices of educators from local education agencies with differing levels of parent involvement during the transition planning process. A total of 3 major themes consisting of 133 minor themes emerged from the 1,304 units of data. The major themes included the concept of parent involvement in the transition process, barriers for parent involvement in the transition process, and how parent involvement in the transition process is promoted. The theory of planned behavior is used to interpret findings and develop recommendations for practice and research.

Indicator 14 obligates states to track, for a period of 1 year after leaving high school, the educational and employment outcomes of students with disabilities. The purpose of the indicator is to improve transition services that prepare this population for postschool adult living. For most students, the indicator’s tracking period only permits the collection of data through the end of adolescence. As such, transition programs are using data from adolescents to prepare students for adulthood. Given the significant differences between adults and adolescents (e.g., neurological, behavioral, functional), this dilemma should be addressed to create more relevant and effective transition programming. Several changes are recommended, including the extension of the tracking period as well as the inclusion of additional outcome categories to monitor, bringing the indicator into alignment with the definition of transition services provided in the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act.