Best Practices in Transition to Adult Life for Youth With Intellectual Disabilities

• Published in: Career development and transition for exceptional individuals Vol. 37; no. 3; pp. 136 - 148
• Main Authors: Papay, Clare K., Bambara, Linda M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.12.2014; SAGE Publications and Hammill Institute on Disabilities
• Subjects: Best Practices; Employment Level; Expectation; Family Characteristics; Individual Characteristics; Individuals with Disabilities Education Act; Institutional Characteristics; Life Satisfaction; Longitudinal Studies; Mental Retardation; National Longitudinal Transition Study Spec Educ; Parent Attitudes; Postsecondary Education; Predictor Variables; Program Effectiveness; Regression (Statistics); Social Life; Success; Transitional Programs; Youth; intellectual disabilities; employment; correlation; postsecondary education; research; postschool outcomes
• ISSN: 2165-1434; 2165-1442
• DOI: 10.1177/2165143413486693

A number of best practices are recommended by researchers and professionals in the field of transition to improve postschool outcomes for youth with intellectual disabilities. This study analyzed data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 to examine whether best practices are predictive of postschool outcomes. The combination of five best practices was found to significantly predict employment, postsecondary education, and enjoyment of life outcomes after controlling for characteristics. In these analyses, parent expectations for employment and postsecondary education were some of the strongest predictors of postschool success. Although this study had several limitations, these findings suggest that best practices may be predictive of postschool success and highlight the importance of having high expectations for all youth.