Answered Questions is a monthly resource for the Spanish language Disability Community that fills an information need. This month’s question is: Our child with disabilities has begun high school and we are starting to plan their transition into adulthood. What research, information, and resources are available to help us support our child as they transition? This edition of Answered Questions includes items that discuss the efficacy of a community college transition program; transitioning into adulthood for youth with intellectual disabilities; postsecondary education and students with intellectual, developmental, and other disabilities; support received by youth with intellectual disabilities in their transition into adulthood in Spain; a manual that provides information on transition for students and youths with disabilities and their families; planning the transition from school into adulthood; and the cultural adaptation of a transition program for the Latinx families of youth with autism spectrum disorders. More about Answered Questions.
NIDILRR-Funded Projects:
The goal of the project Efficacy of a Community College Transition Program for Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (in English) (90IFRE0019) is to evaluate the feasibility, social validity, and efficacy of the intervention TEACCH School Transition to Employment and Postsecondary Education (T-STEP) (in English) for community college students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) between 17 and 21 years old. The project includes a controlled trial of T-STEP with young adults with ASD. T-STEP targets pivotal college and employment skills that address the specific challenges faced by young adults with ASD.
From the NARIC Collection:
Transition into Adulthood for Youth with Intellectual Disabilities:
The article, Transition to adulthood as a joint parent-youth project for young persons with intellectual disabilities (in English) (J79255), discusses a study that investigated how youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and their parents construct and organize various aspects of the youths’ transition into adulthood. This includes education, career, and long-term relationships. Eight parent-youth dyads participated in the study and researchers grouped cases according to the ways goal-directed projects brought relationships, planning, or both to the foreground as joint projects. These projects were oriented towards the youths reducing their reliance on parents. The study found that a lack of external supports and limited parental knowledge about IDD hampered the setting up of the joint projects.
Education:
The issue, Impact: Feature issue on postsecondary education and students with intellectual, developmental and other disabilities (in English) (O17996) from the NIDILRR-funded project Rehabilitation Research and Training Center for Community Living and Employment for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (in English) (H133B080005), explores the evidence about what works to support the increased participation of students with disabilities in postsecondary education and why that participation is important. Topics in this issue include strategies for families to use to support planning of postsecondary education during high school, key roles in planning the transition to college and careers, using individual supports to customize a postsecondary education experience, and stories about students with disabilities succeeding in higher education.
Independent Living:
The article, Analysis of support received by young people with intellectual disabilities in their transition to adulthood in Spain: An investigation based on the experiences of professionals and people with disabilities (I243698), discusses a study whose objective was to gather information about the adequacy of the network of devices or services available for people with intellectual disabilities (ID) in their transition to adulthood. Researchers conducted in-depth interviews with 45 professionals and 20 individuals with ID. The results of the study show the limited continuity of the support received by young people with ID throughout their transition into adulthood.
Research In Focus:
Youth with disabilities have access to a variety of services, including special education and transition supports, throughout their school years and as they transition into adulthood. However, these services can become fragmented and harder to access after high school. For Youth with Disabilities, Finding Help and Support After High School Can Be a Challenge, an article in NARIC’s Research In Focus series, discusses a study from the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Employment Policy and Measurement (in English) (90RT5037) that looked at how youth with disabilities engage with disability services during and after high school and whether a new program could help them better connect to key services in their community. The researchers found that the youth in the intervention groups in this study worked with more service providers and accessed more education supports than the youth in control groups and they also noted that the increase in provider usage for youth in the intervention groups underscored the demand for transition-related services in these communities.
From Other Collections:
Vocational Rehabilitation:
The Manual on Transition for Students and Youth, from the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) (in English) of the Washington State Department of Health and Human Services, provides information on transition for youths with disabilities, their families, and vocational rehabilitation (VR) professionals. The manual discusses transition services for youths with disabilities (14-19 years old) who may or may not be enrolled in high school, when personalized transition services begin at DVR, developing a personalized employment plan, VR services for students and youths with disabilities in tribal communities, the roles and responsibilities of VR, civil rights and eligibility, the federal laws that govern transition, where to find VR resources in the state of Washington, and more.
Transition into Adulthood:
Planning the transition from school to adulthood: Considerations for students with disabilities, a guide published by Associations for a Promising Future (ASAH, acronym in Spanish) (in English), discusses transition from high school into adulthood and includes such topics as when planning for transition begins, when transition services begin, who participates in the transition of students with disabilities, and the role of the student with disabilities. The guide also provides information on what students with disabilities should consider as they plan to transition to post-secondary education, strategies for transition planning, and resources for the transition process.
Latinx/Hispanic:
The article, The Cultural Adaptation of a Transition Program for Latino Families of Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder, discusses the cultural adaptation process of an evidence-based transition program for Latinx families of youth with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and describes a model of the actions that are necessary to meaningfully conduct a cultural adaptation in this context. Five Spanish-speaking families participated in the program and the parents reported high social validity of the program through surveys and interviews. The authors found that the cultural process followed in this work is a step towards the further development of programs that address the transition needs of Latinx youth with ASD and their families.
Resources:
- The Learning and Working During the Transition to Adulthood Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (Transitions ACR) (in English) (90RT5031), a NIDILRR-funded project, focuses on school-to-work transitions with a research program that examines this developmental stage for transition-age youth and young adults with serious mental health conditions (SMHC). The Center provides several types of resources (in English), technical assistance, webinars, publications in English and Spanish, a toolkit on effectively employing young adult peer providers (in English), and an annual State of the Science Conference (in English). They also produce Comeback TV (in English), a show made by and for young adults with SMHC about resources to help them in their path to successful independent lives.
- The RRTC on Employment for Individuals with Blindness or Other Visual Impairments (in English) (90RT5040) has developed an instructional program, Career Advantage for V.I.P.s: An Employment Preparation Primer for Individuals who are Blind or Visually Impaired (in English), that offers eight instructional modules that individuals can explore at their own pace. The first four modules provide tools that take participants through the processes of self-assessment, career exploration, development of effective job search techniques, and decision-making about the design and development of a resume. Modules 5-7 provide information about job accommodations, talking to employers about vision loss, and the interview process. The final module offers information, suggestions, and activities to help individuals with blindness and other visual impairments move beyond learning new skills to applying them as an effective job-seeker.
- The Center for Parent Information and Resources (in English) has published a resource sheet on transitioning into adulthood for youth with disabilities and their families. This resource sheet provides a definition of transition, basic resources in Spanish on transition, information on a person’s rights according to federal law, information on support systems, and information and resources on exploring postsecondary education and employment. This resource sheet is also available in English.
Further Research:
- REHABDATA:
- PubMed:
- International Research:
- Transition (Spanish only)
- Transition (All languages)
- Transition and education (All languages)
About Answered Questions
Each month, we look through the searches on our blog and through the information requests made by our patrons who speak Spanish and pick a topic that fills the largest need. Each resource mentioned below is associated with this month’s information need. We search the various Spanish language news sources and feeds throughout the month to bring you these articles. With the exception of the NIDILRR Projects and Further Investigation, all the linked articles and resources are in Spanish – any that are in English will be clearly marked.
Collection Spotlight from the National Rehabilitation Information Center 