There is a broad disconnect between the beauty cultivated by disabled communities and the ways in which schools continue to position disability as a problem that resides in the individual student. To shift conceptions of disability in schools, there is a significant need to educate folks about disability history and pride, especially disabled…

Successful social engagement is one of many important outcomes for deaf youth as they transition from high school to adult life. This study examined the effect of self-advocacy and social/life skill trainings in secondary school settings on social engagement after high school using propensity score modeling and data from the large-scale and…

Self-advocacy skills are critical to high school and post-secondary success. Unfortunately, students with disabilities often times struggle with self-advocacy. While there are effective, evidence-based programs to teach self-advocacy skills, there are few scales that directly measure self-advocacy. The current research study was conducted to…

The active involvement of secondary school students with high-incidence disabilities (HI) in instructional accommodations is essential to both enacting the accommodations and to the accommodations effectiveness. Very little is known about students with HI's knowledge about instructional accommodations, experiences with them, or opinions on…

The use of peer support arrangements can be an effective strategy to improve educational services for students with disabilities, including those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). When developing peer support arrangements, secondary teachers should consider aligning these services with evidence-based predictors of positive postschool outcomes…

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…

Youth with disabilities, compared with their typical peers, have a higher likelihood of dropping out of school and experience poorer transition outcomes. Evidence supports programs and interventions focusing on inclusive education and leadership skills results in successful transition to college and career. This article describes the experiences…

Promoting self-determination in students with disabilities is recognized as an integral component of education today. For most students with disabilities, self-determination should be addressed through instruction and in the Individualized Education Program (IEP). Yet, IEPs are rarely evaluated to determine if goals targeting self-determination…

The most salient aspect of independent living and successful post-high school transition to employment is having the ability to independently use transportation. Adolescents and young adults with disabilities continue to experience significantly lower employment rates than their peers without disabilities (Wagner et al., 2003). One way to support…

The purpose of the current study was to identify component elements of self-determination that may promote positive or buffer negative school- and career-related adjustment of adolescent girls with disabilities or with multiple risk factors. Autonomy, self-realization, and self-advocacy were examined together to ascertain both their cumulative and…

Effective transition planning requires school personnel to ascertain the preferences and interests of the student and to focus on services including instruction, related services, employment, and postschool living arrangements necessary to support postschool outcomes. While great strides have been made in meeting the needs of students with…

An increased focus on expanding and synthesizing the transition evidence base, while important, should be supplemented with research highlighting the lived experiences of young adults with disabilities as they move from high school to adult roles. This study documents the experiences of four successful college students with varied disabilities…

The transition from school to adulthood is a pivotal time in the lives of all students. For a student with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), change of any kind can be challenging, and a transition as momentous as this can seem especially daunting. Thoughtful planning, sound information, and open communication will help parents support young adults…

After spending years in a special education system that carefully spells out their rights and the services they should receive, students with disabilities often find it daunting to contemplate their next steps after high school. Should they apply to college, look for a job, or stay in the special education system until they "age out" at…

We conducted an analysis of the secondary transition qualitative and quantitative research literature to build comprehensive constructs and lists of student nonacademic behaviors associated with post-high school employment and education. From a pool of 83 initial quantitative and qualitative studies, 35 met the inclusion criteria, and the analysis…