Which success factors do young adults with mild intellectual disability highlight in their school-work transition?

Abstract

This study examined which success factors young adults with mild intellectual disability highlight in their school-work transition. The study was based on qualitative interviews with ten young adults with intellectual disability who obtained competitive employment after upper secondary school. A thematic, structural analysis was conducted to identify the themes. During the interviews, we explored how participants valued the importance of psychological traits, personal characteristics, and environmental factors for their successful school-work transition, and indeed, each of these were considered relevant to them. Participants identified selfdetermination, soft skills, parental/family support, wider network support, school-workplace collaboration, inclusive work environment, and individual accommodations at the workplace as important for their transition to work. The article discusses implications for practice, so that more young adults with intellectual disability may gain access to the labour market.

Perception of parental support in the career development of students with intellectual disabilities

“…Zaključeno je da je podrška porodice značajna tokom svih karijernih tranzicija, posebno tokom srednjoškolskog perioda kada se pripremaju za prelazak iz školske u radnu sredinu. Takođe, utvrđeno je i da uspeh u zapošljavanju zavisi upravo od roditeljske podrške (Petner-Arrey et al, 2016;Sigstad & Garrels, 2022), budući da u odnosu na ostale tipove ometenosti, osobe sa IO imaju najlošije tranzicione ishode i najmanju stopu zapošljavanja (Kaya, 2018;Manzanera-Román & Valera, 2019;Mazzotti et al, 2021).…”

Measuring the impact of employment on persons with a disability as a means of improving the quality of employment outcomes

“…A report jointly produced by The Conference Board, China and the Yang-Tan Institute on Employment and Disability, ILR School, Cornell University (2018) highlighted how this type of simplistic approach to achieving policy outcomes does not address the issues employers face in employing people with a disability. Research has illustrated a number of factors that contribute to successful school to work transition such as self-determination, a factor crucial to gaining employment (Sigstad & Garrels, 2022). At the same time, the absence of planning for post school inclusive higher education and employment increases the likelihood of being excluded from the normative pathways available to young people without a disability (Uditsky & Hughson, 2012).…”