Author(s): Wheeler, Sue
Corporate Author: Carleton Univ., Ottawa, Ontario. National Educational Association of Disabled Students.
Title: Transition from School to Work: Career Choices for Youth with Disabilities. Resource Package.  Source: 1997. 104p.
Note: Additional information for the package was written and preparedby David Hubka and Emer Killean from the report, "Employment Opportunities for Post-Secondary Students and Graduates with Disabilities: A National Study" (NEADS, July 1996).

Abstract: This resource package has been developed to assist Canadian youth with disabilities in making the transition from high school to postsecondary education or from postsecondary education to the world of work.
Availability: National Educational Association of Disabled Students, Room 426 Unicentre, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5B6,Canada ($20 Canadian, members; $25 Canadian, nonmembers). Tel:
613-526-8008.

Author(s): Brown, Dale S.
Title: Learning a Living: A Guide to Planning Your Career and Finding a Job for People with Learning Disabilities, Attention Deficit Disorder, and Dyslexia.  Source: 2000. 340p.

Abstract: This document is a guide to career planning and finding a job for high school and college students and graduates with learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder, and dyslexia. The guide, which is written from the perspective of an individual with firsthand experience with a learning disability, explains how individuals can
find the best possible job that emphasizes their strengths and minimizes the effects of their disability.
Availability: Woodbine House Inc., 6510 Bells Mill Rd., Bethesda, MD, 20847 ($18.95). Tel: 800-843-7323 (Toll Free); Web site: http://www.woodbinehouse.com.

Author(s): Ryan, Daniel J; Harvey, Steven J.
Title: Meeting the Career Development Needs of Students with Disabilities.
Source: Journal of Career Planning & Employment. v59 n2 p36-40 Win 1999

Abstract: Career service practitioners can address the career needs of students with disabilities in several ways: include disability-specific information in all job search and career planning workshops; develop self-contained programs for students with disabilities; view the job search from the student's perspective; and provide role models for students.

Sponsoring Agency: Department of Education, Washington, DC.
Corporate Author: Minnesota Univ., Minneapolis. Inst. on Community Integration.
Title: CHOICE. Career Help at Overbrook for Individuals Who Choose Employment. School-to-Work Outreach Project 1998 Exemplary Model/Practice/Strategy.  Source: 1998. 5p.

Abstract: CHOICE (Career Help at Overbrook for Individuals Who Choose Employment) has been identified as an exemplary school-to-work
program that includes students with disabilities. This program at Overbrook School for the Blind in Philadelphia serves students with a primary disability of blindness or severe visual impairment. The program  provides students with paid summer work experience to sharpen the vocational skills they acquire during the regular school year.
Availability: School-to-Work Outreach Project, Institute on Community Integration (UAP), University of Minnesota, 111 Pattee Hall, 150 Pillsbury Drive SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455.

Author(s): Bates, Belinda, Ed.
Sponsoring Agency: National Inst. on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (ED/OSERS), Washington, DC.
Corporate Author: National Adult Literacy and Learning Disabilities Center, Washington, DC.
Title: Transitions: Issues for the Adult Learner with Learning Disabilities.
Source: LINKAGES, Linking Literacy & Learning Disabilities. v4 n1 Spr 1997 21p.

Abstract: This issue of "Linkages" addresses the need for adult literacy programs to go beyond teaching basic academic skills to adults with learning disabilities to teaching skills in goal setting, problem solving, and self-advocacy that will assist adult learners in their transition into the workforce.
Availability: Academy for Educational Development, National ALLD Center, 1875 Connecticut Ave., N.W. 9th Floor, Washington, DC
20009-1202; 202-884-8185; toll-free: 800-953-2553; fax: 202-884-8422.

National Center for the Study of Postsecondary Educational Supports & National Center on Secondary Education and Transition.  (2001).  Preparing Youth with Disabilities for Successful Participation in Postsecondary Education & Employment. National Capacity Building Institute Proceedings. 

Abstract: This document contains materials from a seminar on preparing youth with disabilities for postsecondary education and quality employment held at the National Capacity Building Institute in the summer of 2001. The agenda for the Institute is provided along with the following papers: (1) "Postsecondary Education Supports for Students with Disabilities: A Review and Response" (Robert A. Stodden); (2) "The Development of Self-Determination and Self-Advocacy Skills: Essential Keys for Students with Disabilities" (Margo Izzo and Peg Lamb); (3) "Roles of Technology in Preparing Youth with Disabilities for Postsecondary Education and Employment" (Sheryl Burgstahler); and (4) "Current Challenges to Successfully Supporting and/or Accommodating the Desires and Needs of Youth with Disabilities in Postsecondary Education to Employment" (Teresa Whelley). Briefs are then provided on self-determination and self-advocacy skills (Margo Vreeburg Izzo), promising practice resulting in improved program and student outcomes (Margo Vreeburg Izzo and Jennifer Hertzfeld), self-determination curriculum (Brian Shaughnessy and JoAnn W. L. Yuen), postsecondary support characteristics (Michael N. Sharpe), effective instructional strategies for students with learning disabilities in postsecondary education (E. E. Getzel and others), accessibility policy for postsecondary distance education (John Anderson), transition from high school to postsecondary education and employment for students with disabilities (Sheryl Burgstahler and Weol Soon Kim-Rupnow), and inclusion of persons with disabilities in science, engineering, and mathematics (Richard Radtke and others). (Papers include references.) (CR).

Wheeler, S.  (1997).  Transition from School to Work: Career Choices for Youth with
Disabilities. Resource Package. 

Abstract: This resource package has been developed to assist Canadian youth with disabilities in making the transition from high school to postsecondary education or from postsecondary education to the world of work. The steps for the transitions are clearly described in the package; the supports are identified; and the final career requirements are documented. Relevant information is offered to empower youth to connect with services and programs that are designed to assist with the transition to postsecondary education. New resources developed especially for this package cover a wide range of topics, including: (1) labor market information, trends, and career projections; (2) services available on the electronic highway to assist students and job seekers; (3) a discussion on self-esteem; (4) workplace accommodations and a related bibliography; (5) discussing a disability with a service provider or employer; (6) resume writing; (7) a description of student financial assistance programs in Canada; (8) a list of scholarships and grants for postsecondary students with disabilities; (9) a summary of groups for students with disabilities, caucuses, and committees in different colleges and universities across Canada; and (10) a contact list of offices which provide services for students with disabilities at universities and colleges in Canada. (Contains 44 references.) (CR)

Wagner, M.M., & Blackorby, J. (1996). Transition from high school to work or college: How special education students fare. The Future of Children, 6(1).

Abstract: Results are reported from the National Longitudinal Transition Study of Special Education Students. Dropout rates were high: 30% of students with disabilities dropped out of high school, and another 8% dropped out before entering high school. The average dropout with disabilities was 18 years old at the time of leaving but had earned less than half the credits needed to graduate.

Employment successes were strongly related to taking a concentration (four courses) in vocational education. Youths with learning disabilities or speech impairments were most likely to approach the rate of employment found in the general population. Postsecondary education was low: 37% of high school graduates with disabilities had attended a postsecondary school, compared with 78% of high school graduates generally.

Students with hearing or visual impairments were most likely to attend college. Students with disabilities were significantly more likely to be poor than were youths in the general population and poverty tended to exacerbate the impact of having a disability. Impoverished students with disabilities were less likely than wealthier students with disabilities to be enrolled in those postsecondary education and training programs that could enable them to break out of poverty. When employed, the poorer students with disabilities earned significantly less per year than did those from wealthier families.

Placement in regular education (rather than special education) was associated both with better and worse postschool outcomes. Students with sensory or motor disabilities appeared to benefit from regular education placement. However, for many students, more time in regular education was associated with a higher likelihood of course failure, which was a strong predictor of dropping out of school.

Blackorby, J., & Wagner, M. (1996). Longitudinal postschool outcomes of youth with disabilities: Findings from the national longitudinal transition study (1996). Exceptional Children, Vol. 62.

Abstract: It has been nearly a decade since the transition from school to work for young adults with disabilities became a major focus of debate among advocates, policymakers, parents, researchers, and practitioners. These 10 years have spawned many transition-related programs, as well as substantial follow-up research on the local, state, and national levels. We have learned a great deal. These lessons are especially important and timely for two reasons: (a) the growing emphasis on the measurement of outcomes to assess the effectiveness of school programs and (b) the current policy agenda embodied in the School-to-Work Opportunity Act of 1994. We must make the most of what we have learned, so that we understand the results produced by current educational systems and programs and have a baseline against which to compare the effectiveness of future efforts.

 

Merchant, D.J., & Gajar, A. (1997). A review of the literature on self-advocacy components in transition programs for students with learning disabilities. Occupational Health and Industrial Medicine, (37)3, p.152.

Abstract: Increasing numbers of persons with learning disabilities are enrolling in post-secondary education. However, there is evidence to suggest that many of these students experience difficulty staying in and completing post-secondary programs. One important indicator of success in post-secondary education for students with learning disabilities is competence in self-advocacy. In order for students with learning disabilities to become more successful in post-secondary settings, they need to be taught a variety of academic and self-advocacy skills. It is suggested in the literature, however, that despite their importance, self-advocacy skills are not directly taught in high school or at the post-secondary level. The purpose of this review is to conduct an in-depth analysis of the literature on programs for students with learning disabilities, who are transitioning from secondary to post-secondary education, which purport to include a self-advocacy component. An evaluation of self-advocacy components is presented determining to what extent they include the skills associated with self-advocacy. These skills are: (1) understanding one's own disability (strengths and weaknesses); (2) knowledge of individual rights under the law; (3) accommodations needed; and (4) effective communication skills.

 

Wells, T., Sandefur, G.D., & Hogan, D.P., (2003). What happens after the high school years among young persons with disabilities? Social Forces, 82(2), pp.803-832.

Abstract: In this article, we examine the immediate post-high school years of adolescents with disabilities. Using data from the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988 and the National Longitudinal Transition Study of Special Education Students, 1987-1991, we examine the transition from adolescence to adulthood and uncover the specific factors that are associated with the likelihood of making various early transitions to adulthood. Our results reveal that disability and type of disability profoundly affect youths' immediate post-high school activities. In addition, family socioeconomic resources have a smaller impact on the transition to adulthood among adolescents with disabilities than among adolescents without disabilities. Many resources families use to increase education and to promote the transition to adulthood do not operate, effectively blocking the intergenerational transfer of socioeconomic privilege.