The employment outcomes for young adults with autism or intellectual disability (ID) lag far behind those of their peers without disabilities. Most postsecondary education programs for students with disabilities incorporate internship experiences to foster employment skills. However, the proximity of job coaches may inadvertently hinder social…

Effective vocational instruction is an essential aspect of preparing students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) for the world of work. We systematically reviewed research on instructional methods used to teach employment skills to secondary students with IDD. We identified 56 studies involving 766 participants with IDD. Four…

Although summer offers a natural context for adolescents to gain community-based work experience, little is known about the extent to which youth with disabilities are accessing these transition-related opportunities. We examined the summer employment experiences of 220 youth with high-incidence disabilities at two time points. Although more than…

Although summer represents an opportune time for adolescents to garner employment and community experiences that may further long-term transition goals, little is known about the expectations and needs of adolescents with disabilities during this break in the academic school year. In this article, the authors explore adolescents' perceptions about…

Although career development and early work experiences are associated with improved postschool employment outcomes for youth with disabilities, transition personnel report having few natural community partners to support and enhance these experiences. We surveyed 135 chambers of commerce and other employer networks to examine (a) whether and how…

Early work experiences have been advocated as an important avenue for equipping youth with disabilities with the skills, attitudes, opportunities, and aspirations needed to transition successfully to meaningful careers after high school. We examined the efficacy and social validity of a multicomponent intervention package--composed of…

Although connecting youth with disabilities with early work experiences has emerged as a recommended practice in transition education, little is known about the extent to which the summer months might offer a meaningful context for providing such experiences. To understand the perspectives of special educators regarding promoting summer employment…