What happens after high school? A review of independent living practices to support youth with disabilities transitioning to adult life

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
David R. Mann ◽  
Mira Wang
Keyword(s):  
Independent Living ◽  
Literature Search ◽  
Adult Life ◽  
Minority Youth ◽  
Transition Age Youth ◽  
Youth With Disabilities ◽  
Transition Age ◽  
Early Adult Life ◽  
Out Of School Youth ◽  
School Youth

BACKGROUND: Centers for Independent Living (CILs) can help out of school youth with disabilities. CIL services may be particularly important for minority youth with disabilities that face additional transition barriers. OBJECTIVE: This literature review documents existing practices that might aid CILs as they seek to help youth, including minority youth, with disabilities transition to adult life. METHODS: First, we conducted a literature search to identify practices that might help CILs assist youth with disabilities transition to independent living (IL) in early adult life. Then we examined various literature syntheses of postsecondary transition interventions with evidence of promise or efficacy for any IL-related outcome—regardless of whether the intervention targeted youth with disabilities. RESULTS: We discovered a variety of practices CILs might learn from or consider adopting to help youth with disabilities transition to adult life. However, the practices rarely focused on minority youth and usually had limited or no evidence about whether they improved IL outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: The limitations of the evidence we found suggest the need to develop and test interventions that help transition age youth with disabilities—especially minority youth with disabilities—achieve their IL goals.

Case Management Strategies to Promote Employment for Transition-Age Youth With Disabilities

2021 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 120-131
Author(s):  
Sara T. McCormick ◽  
Noelle K. Kurth ◽  
Catherine E. Chambless ◽  
Catherine Ipsen ◽  
Jean P. Hall
Keyword(s):  
Case Management ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Transition To Adulthood ◽  
Independent Living ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Case Managers ◽  
Transition Age Youth ◽  
Youth With Disabilities ◽  
Transition Age ◽  
Education And Employment

Transitioning students with disabilities are at a disadvantage for post-school employment. This article explores ASPIRE case managers’ roles in promoting employment among transition-age youth with disabilities receiving SSI. Qualitative and quantitative studies examined programmatic factors related to employment. Results showed that higher rates of face-to-face case management meetings and early employment experiences were associated with improved employment outcomes. Effective case managers’ interactions with families were characterized by persistence, flexibility, and a holistic focus. Case management during the transition to adulthood, which crosses independent living, education, and employment domains, is important. A cross-domain case management model can be effective in mitigating multiple barriers to self-sufficiency experienced by families living with disability and poverty. Limitations and implications for research and practice are included.

Centers for Independent Living and their involvement with transition-age youth with disabilities

2017 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony J. Plotner ◽  
Kathleen Marie Oertle ◽  
Gwendlia J. Reed ◽  
Kimberly Tissot ◽  
Gerda Kumpiene
Keyword(s):  
Independent Living ◽  
Transition Age Youth ◽  
Youth With Disabilities ◽  
Transition Age

Employability Social Skills Interventions in Transition-Age Youth with Intellectual Disabilities: A Literature Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 615-627
Author(s):  
Eleni Laskaraki ◽  
Anastasia Alevriadou ◽  
Eleni Rachanioti
Keyword(s):  
Social Skills ◽  
Intellectual Disabilities ◽  
Adult Life ◽  
Skills Training ◽  
Transition Age Youth ◽  
Social Skills Interventions ◽  
Transition Age ◽  
Job Tasks ◽  
Target Behaviors ◽  
The Social

Employability skills are necessary for youth with Intellectual Disabilities (IDs) to successfully navigate their transition from educational settings to autonomous adult life. Most importantly, research evidence has shown that individuals with IDs appear to perform adequately on job tasks, yet they frequently face inadequacies in the social aspects of work life. Although much of the existing employability research has focused on social skills training related to employability for individuals with other disabilities, people with IDs are underrepresented in the literature. Thus, this review aimed to provide insight into the existing social skills interventions that promote employability in transition-age youth with IDs. Results indicated that although there is a limited number of studies regarding intervention programs on improving social skills related to employment for individuals with IDs, the majority of them positively impacted target behaviors, thus highlighting the need for further empirical research.

Service needs assessment of employment-related soft skills for transition age youth with disabilities

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Weili Lu ◽  
Janice Oursler ◽  
Ni Gao ◽  
Samantha Herrick ◽  
Jake Mariani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Service Providers ◽  
Soft Skills ◽  
Service Needs ◽  
Transition Age Youth ◽  
Youth With Disabilities ◽  
Individuals With Disabilities ◽  
Transition Age ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Employment Success ◽  
Disability Service Providers

BACKGROUND: Work-related soft skills can be an important factor for successful employment outcomes, particularly for individuals with disabilities. OBJECTIVE: This study conducted a survey on the needs of important work-related soft skills for employment success of transition age youth with disabilities. METHODS: 183 participants included 27 individuals with disabilities, 32 family members of individuals with disabilities,35 disability service providers, 47 disability advocates and 42 employers, completed surveys to identify a list of soft skills by importance for transition age youth with disabilities to succeed at work. RESULTS: All five groups noted the top two skills: asking for help and responding to feedback, as most important. Employers also rated interview skills as third most important skills, while the other four groups advocated requesting for accommodations and negotiating conflicts as the third and fourth most important skills. CONCLUSIONS: Findings indicated soft skills being critical to work success for transition age youth with disabilities, with some skills potentially being more important. Vocational counseling implications were discussed.

Parents’ future visions for their autistic transition-age youth: Hopes and expectations

Autism ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 1363-1372 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Chen ◽  
Ellen S Cohn ◽  
Gael I Orsmond
Keyword(s):  
Independent Living ◽  
Transition Planning ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Adults With Autism ◽  
Transition Age Youth ◽  
Transition Age ◽  
Future Visions

Researchers have documented that young adults with autism spectrum disorder have poor outcomes in employment, post-secondary education, social participation, independent living, and community participation. There is a need to further explore contributing factors to such outcomes to better support successful transitions to adulthood. Parents play a critical role in transition planning, and parental expectations appear to impact young adult outcomes for autistic individuals. The aim of this study was to explore how parents express their future visions (i.e. hopes and expectations) for their autistic transition-age youth. Data were collected through focus groups and individual interviews with 18 parents. Parents’ hopes and expectations focused on eight primary domains. In addition, parents often qualified or tempered their stated hope with expressions of fears, uncertainty, realistic expectations, and the perceived lack of guidance. We discuss our conceptualization of the relations among these themes and implications for service providers and research.

Parent Perspectives on Pre-Employment Transition Services for Youth With Disabilities

2021 ◽  
pp. 003435522199354
Author(s):  
Michele A. Schutz ◽  
Jessica M. Awsumb ◽  
Erik W. Carter ◽  
Elise D. McMillan
Keyword(s):  
Transition Services ◽  
Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities ◽  
Transition Age Youth ◽  
Youth With Disabilities ◽  
Transition Age ◽  
Potential Barriers ◽  
Employment Preparation ◽  
Employment Transition ◽  
Survey Responses ◽  
Local Transition

Parents have long been recognized as critical supports and partners to youth with disabilities preparing for the world of work. We collected survey responses from 253 parents of transition-age youth with disabilities regarding their views on practices related to pre-employment transition services (Pre-ETS), the overall employment preparation of their children, potential barriers to future employment, and their knowledge of local transition resources. Parents reported that their children would benefit from an array of employment-focused transition practices. However, they were quite mixed in their views of prevailing barriers and current employment preparation. Moreover, a large majority of parents said they were unfamiliar with a range of transition-related resources available in their communities. In some areas, the views of parents differed based on the type of community in which they lived (i.e., rural vs. non-rural) or the nature of their child’s disability (i.e., intellectual and developmental disabilities vs. other disabilities). We offer recommendations for supporting families as they prepare their children with disabilities for life after high school.

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