Efforts to improve postschool outcomes require an understanding of what works to improve outcomes, and how to support the adoption, reach, implementation, and maintenance of evidence-based practices (EBPs) in schools. The Propel Project integrated two EBPs-the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction (SDLMI) and Peer Support (PS)-into a comprehensive delivery model (SDLMI + PS) spanning general and special education. This study used an implementation science lens to examine the feasibility of adoption and implementation. High schools (N = 32) were randomized to SDLMI Only, PS Only, or SDLMI + PS. Hurdle modeling indicated that school-level adoption was high across all groups, yet coordinated implementation across general and special education in the combined SDLMI + PS group proved challenging, with implementation frequently delayed or partial due to scheduling, training, and staffing constraints. On the other hand, cost-effectiveness threshold analysis based on cost data found that assuming only small additive effects for combining interventions (d = 0.20) suffices for SDLMI + PS to be more cost-effective beyond the single-component arms. This suggests that implementation hurdles identified in this study need to be addressed before we can expect future implementation of coordinated models like SDLMI + PS to produce additive impacts for autistic students. Limitations and implications are discussed.
Effectively helping students with disabilities transition to life after high school depends heavily on professionals' transition practices. This study examined how teachers' training in effective transition practices and their perceptions of student characteristics influenced their ratings of students' non-academic skills. We analyzed variations in 138 professionals' ratings on the Professional version of the Transition Assessment and Goal Generator-High School (TAGG-HS-P). Results of multilevel analyses show significant variation in TAGG-HS-P ratings at Level 1 (within-professional) due to student grade level, gender categorizations, and selected disability categorizations. Significant variation at Level 2 (between-professional) was found based on the length of time the professional knew the student being rated and the amount of time spent in professional development in transition practices. No other variables, including education level or caseload, were significant predictors of education professionals' ratings on the TAGG-HS-P. Implications and future research directions are discussed.
Autistic adolescents experience poor in-school and postschool outcomes, and there is a need for comprehensive interventions that facilitate student outcomes and build collaboration across general and special education. The Propel Project examined the impact of combining two evidence-based practices-the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction (SDLMI) and Peer Supports (PS)-to promote aligned, inclusive systems of support in secondary schools. This paper reports the findings of the preregistered Intent-to-Treat (ITT) analyses comparing the implementation of SDLMI Only, PS Only, and a combined SDLMI + PS model, including a new general educator-delivered SDLMI Plus intervention. Implementation occurred within complex school contexts, and challenges with recruitment and implementation led to reduced sample sizes and limitations in addressing the preregistered research questions. While findings were primarily null, Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA) analyses provided directions for possible patterns to explore further in future research. The challenges also highlight the need to further explore implementation determinants. Implications for future research and practice are provided.
The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the factors that shape how special educators conduct vocational assessments with students with disabilities. A total of eight special educators participated. Findings revealed that special educators use a combination of informal and formal vocational assessments, involve multiple persons, and individualize assessments to best meet the needs of their students. In addition, we found that various factors were associated with these vocational assessment practices, including students' wants and needs, input from various team members, or school district requirements. The findings from this study contribute to a deeper understanding of how special educators conduct vocational assessments. Information can aid practitioners in better planning and deciding how to provide services. Findings from this study may also guide future researchers to conduct studies that will best support practitioners in using vocational assessments for their students with significant support needs.
Students with disabilities are enrolling in postsecondary education at record rates, but still fall behind their non-disabled peers academically. One factor contributing to these gaps is that many students enter college with underdeveloped academic skills, including executive functioning and study skills. Postsecondary disability resources offices (DROs) offer reasonable accommodations, and some also offer academic coaching programs to help students develop academic skills. The current study interviewed 12 students with disabilities who registered with their institution's DRO and received academic peer coaching (APC). Participants sought coaching to receive guidance, develop academic skills, and replace previous support systems. Key elements supporting student progress included direct and collaborative skill instruction, peer relatability and professionalism, and flexible coaching formats. Participants viewed APC as an equally valuable accommodation that helped them strengthen academic skills and increase independence.
Transition to post-school life is known to be a time when autistic students encounter additional barriers that may impact their successful movement into adulthood. Preparation for the transition may help autistic students make this change, but little is known about what school staff believe to be important to include in these preparations. Therefore, using the Q-Sort method, this study sought the views of 42 school staff by asking them to rank, and explain their rankings of, the important activities and supports for autistic students transitioning to post-school life. Descriptive statistics and deductive content analysis revealed that school staff rank highly the importance of support from family and friends during this transition. They also prioritise the importance of autistic students developing the skills needed to be independent in post-school life. School staff consistently discussed the need to focus on personalisation of transition support, and that supportive relationships are important for transition success. Notably, the importance of empowering autistic students to make decisions about their post-school lives was not highly endorsed across all participants. This indicates further work is needed to identify and address the reasons for this limited endorsement, as this may help increase autistic students' involvement in transition preparations.
We examined the effect of eight components of transition planning on the postsecondary enrollment of English learners with disabilities, using quasi-experimental propensity score modeling and weighted data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2). Results support the hypothesis that transition-planning experiences have a positive impact on the postsecondary enrollment of English learners with disabilities. Findings indicate that English learners with disabilities who were involved in their transition-planning meeting, either leading or being an active participant in the meeting, as well as being directly involved in developing their transition-planning goals, were more likely to continue their education after high school in a 2- or 4-year college. Having a transition plan goal specifically focused on attending a 2- or 4-year college affects whether ELs with disabilities are more likely to attend college. Students who attended a high school that actively collaborated with postsecondary programs by including a postsecondary representative in transition-planning meetings were more likely to continue their education at a 2- or 4- year college or a career/technical education school. The current study's findings demonstrate the importance of equipping English learners with disabilities with the opportunities, knowledge, and skills to lead their transition goal setting and planning, as well as the importance of closer collaborations with postsecondary institutions.
Students with disabilities experience poorer post-school outcomes compared to their peers without disabilities. This study examined special educators' confidence and knowledge in implementing evidence- and research-based transition practices (effective practices) and facilitating community connections within a single state. We administered a survey to 185 special education teachers across 57 Tennessee school districts. Participants rated their confidence in implementing 27 effective practices and connecting students to nine community supports and opportunities. Training history and professional development preferences were also assessed. Results revealed substantial gaps in educator confidence and preparation. Only one transition practice reached majority confidence, and confidence in facilitating community connections was similarly low. Teachers reported receiving no training on most transition practices, and when training occurred, it was primarily through in-service rather than pre-service preparation. Findings highlight the need for systematic professional development targeting effective transition practices, enhanced pre-service preparation programs, and sustained implementation support through mentorship or coaching.
Research shows that many individuals with autism struggle with daily living skills, such as money management, which can impact their ability to develop decision-making skills and live independently. Research indicates that adults with autism often have little control over their own money and are less financially independent than their peers with other intellectual disabilities; additionally, there are few intervention studies to teach money management skills to this population. The purpose of this single-case, multiple baseline study was to teach money management skills (budgeting, shopping/saving, counting money, using basic technology to add/subtract money) using behavioral skills training (BST) and a simplified electronic banking system to four adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in a postsecondary transition program. . Results showed that the adults learned to use the banking system, understand the concepts of saving and spending, purchase items with the correct amount of money, and generalize skills to a community setting. Limitations and implications for research and practive related to teaching money management skills to adults with autism are discussed.
Food-preparation skills are important independent living skills for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that support postschool success. Researchers have long explored how technology-based interventions can support students with ASD in acquiring independent living skills. An emerging technology-based intervention to support independent living skills is virtual reality (VR). Through this single-case design study, researchers explored if a non-immersive VR was effective in teaching food-preparation skills (i.e., one student focused on the stove and two on the microwave) to three Black high school students with ASD educated in an urban fringe district. Through this pilot small-n study, the researchers found a functional relation between the non-immersive VR and the dependent variable of independent accuracy in completing the targeted food-preparation tasks within the VR system; all Tau effect sizes were over .75, suggestive of a large effect for each participant. Yet, the results are limited by the small sample size of the single-case design. Researchers also determined students could generalize at least once the targeted food-preparation tasks in a real kitchen with moderate to high levels of accuracy. Implications of this study included that non-immersive VR can support secondary students with ASD in acquiring independent living skills and, to some extent, supports students generalizing skills from virtual settings to the real world.
Since the 2004 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act, the field of secondary transition has focused on advancing the quality of special education research to ensure students with disabilities are provided instruction to improve both in-school and postschool outcomes. Mixed-methods research (MMR), which integrates qualitative and quantitative approaches, can provide unique insights into postsecondary outcomes for students with disabilities, but recommendations related to quality indicators for mixed-methods (QIMM) research in special education could be improved by offering explicit guidelines. Therefore, the purpose of this discussion article is to present a refined version of the National Technical Assistance Center on Transition: the Collaborative's (NTACT:C) QIMM Checklist as a useable tool for researchers, editors, and policymakers for guiding the design of high-quality MMR in the field of secondary transition. We provide an overview of revisions to the checklist, exemplars of MMR studies that met MMR-specific items on the QIMM Checklist in secondary transition, and recommendations for using the checklist and supporting and facilitating MMR in the field of secondary special education and transition.
The successful delivery of pre-employment transition services (Pre-ETS) to students with disabilities depends on the effective collaborations of cross-system service providers. This case study explored perceptions of collaborations in Pre-ETS delivery in two diverse counties. We recruited 22 school staff, vocational rehabilitation personnel, and Centers for Independent Living staff who partner within these two communities to ask about their collaborations for providing Pre-ETS, the factors that supported or hindered such partnerships, and their recommendations for improving local collaborative service delivery. Using an iterative approach to qualitative analysis, our findings call for greater attention toward intensifying and systemically supporting local cross-system partnerships for delivering Pre-ETS. We provide recommendations for research, practice, and policy that address capacity challenges across systems.
Although autistic students who identify as girls spend much of their time at school, little is known about their perspectives or the effects of school experiences on the development of their autistic identity. This study focuses on the school experiences of three teenage autistic girls enrolled in social skills instruction and the impact of this instruction on their identity. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis methods, the findings are presented in four themes: sense of otherness, masking to survive, learning about autism and neurodiversity, and autistic self-construction. Implications from this study include incorporating neurodiversity concepts into high school to support the positive autistic identity development of autistic youth who identify as girls.
The objective of this study was to document trends and identify prioritized topics and questions relating to issues of racial and cultural equity in the Council for Exceptional Children’s Division on Career Development and Transition (DCDT), based on publications and conference presentations. Specifically, this research synthesis explored the application of a recent conceptual model that integrates key elements of culturally responsive and sustaining pedagogies (CRSPs) to examine racial and cultural equity in transition planning. Findings from this review paint a picture of equity discourses that have been marginalized in the outlets explored. Implications for the field are discussed.
The purpose of this study was to understand transition educators’ perceptions of key features of community-based work experiences (CBWEs) that facilitate growth for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). We interviewed 20 transition educators who planned and implemented CBWEs for transition-aged youth with IDD within the last 5 years. We used thematic analysis procedures to identify key features of CBWEs that facilitated growth for students with IDD. Transition educators identified four key features of CBWEs including (a) meaningful work experiences, (b) instruction, (c) support networks, and (d) high expectations. We discuss the implications of our findings related to transition educators’ planning and implementation of CBWEs for students with IDD as well as additional research that is needed to better understand how to provide high-quality CBWEs that prepare students with IDD for competitive, integrated employment.
College students with and without disabilities completed measures of Planned Happenstance Skills (PHS) and reported their demographic attributes (i.e., age, year of study, gender, race/ethnicity, SES, disability status). In general, the result shows that disability status, gender, race/ethnicity, and year of study were significant predictors of PHS levels. We also examined the magnitude of differences in PHS in each dimension (i.e., curiosity, flexibility, persistence, optimism, and risk-taking) between college students with and without disabilities after controlling for the key covariates. The result shows that college students with disabilities generally exhibited similar and slightly higher PHS levels compared to their counterparts without disabilities. Possible explanations of the results and limitations are discussed, along with implications for research and practice.
This study examined whether professionals rate students with disabilities (SWD) from different racial groups (White, Black, and American Indian/Alaska Native [AI/AN]) similarly on the Transition Assessment and Goal Generator-High School-Professional Version (TAGG-HS-P) subscales. Using a matched sample (n = 1,812), multigroup confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) confirmed configural, threshold, metric, latent parameter, and scalar invariance across groups. Investigation of latent means revealed significant rating differences among racial groups on Strengths and Limitations, Disability Awareness, Persistence, and Student Involvement in the Individualized Education Plan (IEP). No differences emerged based on the racial match between teachers and students. These findings suggest cultural factors may influence professionals' ratings; however, it remains unclear whether disparities reflect actual differences in student experiences or educator bias. Further research is needed to determine whether differences reflect actual disparities or educator bias.
This study aims to examine the role of (a) informal social and emotional support and (b) financial support on the relationship between the level of dependence and employment of people with disabilities in Korea and whether this association varies by household type. Using the 4th wave of the Disability and Life Dynamics Panel (DLDP), this study analyzed 2,665 Koreans with disabilities. The results showed that both informal social and emotional support and financial support mediated the relationship between the level of dependence and employment, and two significant interaction terms were found. A moderated mediation effect was identified in households with two or more members, indicating that the likelihood of employment decreased as financial support increased. Based on these findings, the study suggested that employment support for people with disabilities should consider household type and informal social networks, with particular attention to personalized services for those living alone.
Self-advocacy includes both individual advocacy in the daily lives of disabled people and civic engagement to advance disability rights. Despite policies emphasizing the importance of self-advocacy, students with disabilities continue to have limited opportunities to develop and apply these skills in school and community settings. The individualized education program (IEP) and transition planning processes offer potential for student leadership and self-advocacy, yet participation remains limited due to persistent barriers. This study used semi-structured interviews with nine transition-aged students with disabilities to examine self-advocacy experiences across school, home, and community contexts. Guided by the Contextual-Behavioral Model of Empowerment, findings highlight factors that empower self-advocacy, such as self-awareness, goal setting, and supportive families and peers, and factors that disempower it, including limited IEP involvement, overreliance on family advocacy, and ableism. Although students reported little civic engagement, they offered recommendations to improve special education. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
Video prompting, a subtype of video-based instruction, is an effective intervention for teaching vocational skills to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs). With its advantages in reusability and accessibility, it can be used as a self-directed tool to promote individuals' working independence. However, there is limited evidence on self-directed video prompting in vocational skill acquisition. In this single-case multiple probe across participants design, four transition-age young adults with IDD participated in delivering their own video prompts to acquire vocational skills. All participants demonstrated positive learning outcomes in skill learning, maintenance, and generalization. These findings contribute to the growing body of research with positive evidence that young adults with IDD have great potential to deliver video prompts independently across skills and contexts. Limitations and implications for future research and practice were discussed.
