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.

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.

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.

Validating a Model of Motivational Factors Influencing Involvement for Parents of Transition-Age Youth With Disabilities

2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kara A. Hirano ◽  
Lina Shanley ◽  
S. Andrew Garbacz ◽  
Dawn A. Rowe ◽  
Lauren Lindstrom ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Motivational Factors ◽  
Transition Age Youth ◽  
Youth With Disabilities ◽  
Transition Age ◽  
Factors Influencing

Meeting the Needs of Adolescents and Young Adults with Disabilities

2010 ◽  
pp. 135-147
Author(s):  
Katharine Hill ◽  
Joe Timmons ◽  
Christen Opsal
Keyword(s):  
Youth Development ◽  
Transition To Adulthood ◽  
Educational Opportunities ◽  
At Risk Youth ◽  
Mentoring Program ◽  
Electronic Mentoring ◽  
Transition Age Youth ◽  
Youth With Disabilities ◽  
Transition Age ◽  
Caring Adults

Resilience in at-risk youth is anchored by supportive adults who may be relatives, neighbors, teachers, employers, or other members of the community. Telementoring or electronic mentoring (e-mentoring) is a promising practice for improving transition-to-adulthood outcomes for youth with disabilities through connections with caring adults. E-mentoring supports the development of technological and social skills and also increases their understanding of the employment and educational opportunities that await youth upon completion of high school. Connecting to Success (CTS) is an e-mentoring program for transition-age youth with disabilities. In this chapter, CTS is discussed in the context of healthy youth development and transition to adulthood. An overview of the CTS program model is provided, and a discussion of future directions is identified.

Positively Engaged Pathways: A Brief Pre-Employment Intervention for Transition Age Youth With Disabilities

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 284-296
Author(s):  
Allison R. Fleming ◽  
Brian N. Phillips ◽  
Elizabeth H. Gilfillan ◽  
Joy Gray ◽  
Megan McCloskey
Keyword(s):  
Repeated Measures ◽  
School Setting ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Transition Age Youth ◽  
Youth With Disabilities ◽  
Transition Age ◽  
Postsecondary Outcomes ◽  
Repeated Measures Design ◽  
Counseling Interventions ◽  
The Relationship

PurposeThis study was a pilot of a brief psychological capital (PsyCap) intervention with a sample of transition age youth with disabilities (N = 24) in a school setting. Substantial evidence supports the relationship between PsyCap and employment outcomes. Transition age youth with disabilities are an important target for pre-employment counseling interventions due to a lack of parity in postsecondary outcomes. Researchers have successfully boosted PsyCap in adult samples using brief interventions.MethodsPsyCap and vocational outcome expectancy (VOE) were compared in a repeated measures design.ResultsPsyCap and VOE, and PsyCap and school performance were significantly correlated in our sample, but no differences were observed in PsyCap or VOE postintervention.ConclusionAs the first known effort to develop a PsyCap driven pre-employment intervention for transition age youth with disabilities, our experience and findings provide several implications for practice and future research. Aspects of the intervention to be modified for future efforts are presented.

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