This book presents 30 first-person accounts by teenagers that tell how they overcame major life obstacles. Many aren't the everyday problems most kids encounter, which makes their stories especially compelling-and their successes especially inspiring. The young writers wrote their stories to help teenagers with similar problems and stresses. The…

The child welfare field is uncertain how to best prepare older foster wards for independent living. Research priorities in this area are discussed in five categories: (1) education and school-to-work transitions; (2) formal assessments of readiness for self-sufficiency; (3) provision of transitional supports; (4) support networks; and (5)…

The author of EC 604 294 examines the lack of training students receive in applying problem-solving processes to novel situations and explores the development of her interest in defining and operationalizing the concept of independent living skills in individuals with disabilities, especially deafness. (JDD)

A young man who completed Project Adventure's Legacy Program for young sex offenders in Georgia explains how group therapy and adventure programming help participants understand their behaviors and develop empathy for their victims. A follow-up program uses adventure to develop healthy living habits, requires completion of high school or GED, and…

This document presents a personal statement concerning the recommendations in "Turning Points," a 1989 publication of the Carnegie Corporation's Task Force on Education of Young Adolescents. This document suggests how the reformulation of middle grade schools along the lines recommended in "Turning Points" can improve the life chances of young…

Maintains that caring adults can intervene in many ways to help learning-disabled adolescents acquire the planning, organizational, language, and socialization skills they need to make the transition into adulthood. (BB)

Compares two models for delivering emancipation preparation services to foster youths on pragmatic, structural, and client outcomes dimensions. The models differ primarily on the extent of caseworker involvement. Suggests that a model which incorporates both skill-building programs and an intensive and integrated case management function holds…

A college junior's personal narrative tells how, with the help of a handful of caring adults, he managed to overcome a life of poverty with no parental support. He states that adults can help troubled adolescents by emphasizing their creativity and intellect, not their bad habits or inescapable backgrounds and history. (Author/MKA)

This paper discusses the evidence that the specific developmental profile frequently described as being associated with Down syndrome--a profile of communication weaknesses relative to social and daily living skills--can be changed. It is not an inevitable outcome of having Down syndrome. Drawing on data collected to explore the outcomes of fully…

Age appropriate training programs in natural environments for deaf-blind adolescents help to develop functional skills, with the ultimate goal of independent living and work placement. Other approaches to the education of handicapped children entail activity for the sake of activity, or babysitting and fun activities. The actual training of a…

Introduces articles presenting a cross section of current research activity on preparing foster youth for adulthood. Suggests it is vital to develop a knowledge-building agenda; that research efforts be prospective and programmatic rather than ex post facto, occasional, or sporadic; and that attention be directed toward testing and evaluating…

Critical themes and specific alternatives for helping adolescents with disabilities to avoid severely limiting their life choices are discussed. The themes concern relating learning experiences to the youth's life, providing experiences that allow and prepare youth for adulthood, and adult caring and advocacy for youth. Interventions supporting…

Outlines the social and practical problems faced by foster care graduates and discusses these issues in the light of recent research in England and Wales. Offers ideas on how these problems may be ameliorated in general and outlines the way the new British child care law has provided a framework for action by practitioners. (AA)

A mother of an adolescent daughter with blindness and learning disabilities focuses on how she helped her daughter improve reading and writing skills by finding a meaningful purpose for those skills in daily life. This article discusses early signs of learning problems, the learning environment, talking books, books in braille, technology,…

A rehabilitation teacher at the Kansas State School for the Blind describes her job. Her main responsibilities are to teach a transition class to older high school students and to be at the local community college to assist students to be successful in that setting. Students are taught cooking, cleaning skills, and skills for independent apartment…