The Lived Experiences of Adolescents with Disabilities and Their Parents in Transition Planning

Abstract

The educational transition process experienced by adolescents with disabilities and their parents was examined in this study. The results of the qualitative study can be interpreted to conclude that students rarely were engaged in transition planning, and when they were engaged, it came too late in their high school careers. Students with disabilities and their parents described dissatisfaction in the following areas: inadequate communication from school staff, frustration with assumptions made about the student, funneling of the student into traditional adult service programs, and a lack of accountability from the schools. Even those students who reported being engaged in the transition process experienced inadequate transition planning. Strategies to improve transition planning are presented.

The Experience of Transitioning Two Adolescents With Asperger Syndrome in Academically Focused High Schools

“…Involvement as a major player allows not only for all stakeholders to indicate their perceived knowledge of needs but also emphasises the need for differentiation linked to self-determination on the part of the student. Heatherington et al (2010) claims the two key elements of transition and transition programs are direct involvement of the student and maximisation of self-determination. Although the direct voice of the student is not evident within this study from their interview data, the provision other stakeholders made for student voice and input about transition decisions is also clearly missing.…”

The Effect of Transition Planning Participation and Goal-Setting on College Enrollment Among Youth With Autism Spectrum Disorders

“…Studies of students' educational goal-setting have focused largely on their participation in transition planning (Heatherington et al, 2010;Williams-Diehm, Wehmeyer, Palmer, Soukup, & Garner, 2008). Transition planning is an opportunity for students to learn and demonstrate self-determination skills, which are broadly conceived as "the ability to take primary control of one's own life and to do so in personally meaningful ways" (Schuler & Baldwin, 1981, p. 115) and are demonstrated in a process whereby students "make choices, act on those choices, experience the results, and then make new choices" (Agran & Hughes, 2008, p. 69).…”

La transition de l’école à la vie adulte d’une élève ayant une déficience intellectuelle légère

“…L'effet positif des expériences de travail commençant tôt, pendant que la personne est encore aux études, a été documenté dans plusieurs recherches (Carter et al, 2011;Hetherington et al, 2010;Johnson, 2004;Landmark et al, 2010;Morningstar & Liss, 2008;Timmons et al, 2011;Winn & Hay, 2009). …”

“…La collaboration entre tous les acteurs qui travaillent auprès du jeune est essentielle selon plusieurs auteurs (Fox et al, 1998;Hetherington et al, 2010;Landmark et al, 2010;McGaughey & Mank, 2001;Powers et al, 2005;Salmon & Kinnealey, 2007;Tarleton & Ward, 2005;Winsor, Butterworth, & Boone, 2011). Toutefois cette collaboration se heurte à de nombreuses difficultés, dont les listes d'attente, le travail en silo, la bureaucratie (évaluations nécessaires, formulaires à remplir pour assurer l'accès aux différents services, liens hiérarchiques) (Gillan & Coughlan, 2010;Julien-Gauthier, JourdanIonescu, Martin-Roy, & Legendre, 2013).…”