Community participation is essential to overall health and well-being. However, research on the community participation experiences and preferences of autistic adults is lacking. Results from a large, mid-Atlantic statewide needs assessment survey found that a number of activities that include social interactions or are focused on meeting daily…

Concerned about reports of a 15% decline in HIV testing among high-risk youth in an earlier study in Pittsburgh, this study was initiated to explore reasons why young people are not getting tested for HIV, while gathering data on their respective level of risk taking behaviors. A total of 580 surveys were collected from youth aged between 14 and…

One of the predominant characteristics of higher education in Pennsylvania is the high cost of attendance across the Commonwealth. The average tuition charged by a Pennsylvania community college--the benchmark measure used by "The National Report Card on Higher Education"--in 2004 was $2,514, making Pennsylvania the 14th most expensive…

The central message of this report is that while some students drop out because of significant academic challenges, most dropouts are students who could have, and believe they could have, succeeded in school. This survey of young people who left high school without graduating suggests that, despite career aspirations that require education beyond…

This report focuses on the transition situation of mentally retarded (MR) youth in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. The county is served by two Intermediate Units: IU2 (1170 MR students) serves the Pittsburgh School System and emphasizes mainstreaming, with the mildly handicapped attending neighborhood schools and severely handicapped attending a…

A survey of employers in Delaware, New Jersey, and eastern Pennsylvania provided (1) information on organizational characteristics, employers' perception of the relative importance of nine previously identified successful transition skills, and their perception of the deficiency of these skills in today's employed youth; and (2) a model procedure…