This study examined the experiences of students with disabilities transitioning from high school to the post-secondary institution. Participants were seven successful students enrolled in their second year at a Southern California community college and two resource specialists who worked closely with them. A case study was determined to be the…

Extracurricular activities have been known to provide students with learning opportunities not always provided in other traditional learning environments such as communication, leadership, problem-solving skills, and emotional awareness, and have shown benefits in improving student engagement and school attendance. These learning opportunities…

An increasing number of students with disabilities (SWD) are attending college. Yet, many SWD, including students with specific learning disabilities (SLD), do not access accommodations needed for their academic success (Travis, 2014). To identify barriers and supports that affect access to accommodations, the researcher used a qualitative…

The Individual with Disabilities Education Act specifies that families should be include in the special education process and they must provide informed consent. However, families from Spanish-speaking backgrounds, often report barriers to participation. In this study, we provided a forum for Spanish-speaking families to tell their stories using…

The purpose of this research brief is to summarize the literature on the career development needs of college students with disabilities, highlight exemplary models of support, and provide recommendations on best practice and future efforts to support positive employment outcomes for persons with disabilities. Four key career development areas are…

Traditional literacy practices using print-based texts exclude students with complex support needs from the full range of literacy activities provided to peers without disabilities, which may limit them to low-level literacy skills or functional skills. By contrast, by including various forms of representation and text, multiliteracies are…

Students with disabilities need to be more involved in planning and presenting individualized education program (IEP) meetings, and teachers need an effective, efficient curriculum to teach students how. "My IEP" curriculum uses folding graphic organizers to teach students to self-direct IEP meetings, targeting self-advocacy and…

The aim of this descriptive study was to examine the perspectives of first generation Asian American parents of children with disabilities regarding causes, meaning of disabilities, level of educational involvement and self-advocacy in their children's special education school programs. Using convenience sampling, 18 Asian American parents from…

This information brief provides an example of how one locally-initiated program has implemented the Peer Support Specialist role for youth and young adults with serious mental health conditions. The brief covers aspects of training, coaching, supervision, role definition and financing; and describes challenges and solutions.

Now, more so than in the past, children have been deprived of the opportunity to learn and exercise effective interpersonal communication skills. Interpersonal communication skills, for elementary students, are important in the development of a student's ability to self-advocate. The purpose of this study is to identify techniques in which…

Professional School Counselors (PSCs) are trained to be leaders in school reform, collaborators with other educators, and advocates for all students. While PSCs provide academic, career, and personal/social interventions for the student body as part of a comprehensive school counseling program the needs of students with disabilities are often…

Historically, first-generation, low-income, and students with disabilities have had very high attrition rates at California Community Colleges and institutions of higher education in general. Based on figures compiled by the National Center for Educational Statistics in 2004, 4.5 million low-income, first-generation college students comprise…

In 1982, Protection and Advocacy, Inc. (PAI) was awarded funds to provide advocacy services to Hispanic and Asian developmentally disabled persons residing in California. Initial target populations selected were the urban Korean, Vietnamese, and Hispanic communities of Los Angeles. The project's goals were (1) to provide training in self-advocacy…

This issue of the quarterly publication focuses on Achieving Secondary Education and Transition Results for Students with Disabilities. Editorial introduction notes that today's educational systems are being called upon to re-examine how they prepare students with disabilities for adult life. The shift toward greater participation by students with…