Webcast Details

The purpose of this presentation is to identify which secondary education services have been found to be scientifically valid and effective for improving transition to work of youth with disabilities over the past 15 years and to identify which contextual factors mediate the efficacy of secondary education services in the transition to work for transition-age youth with disabilities. Information for this presentation was gathering through a scoping review in which studies were selected based on specific criteria that resulted in a total of 30 articles. The overall process consisted of identification of research question(s), identification of relevant studies through the usage of predetermined databases and reference lists, the selection process of studies based on relevancy and interrater reliability, organization and synthesis of data, and summarization of results.

Our full-text review of the 30 articles demonstrated five major themes related to secondary education services that have been found to be effective in improving transition to work for youth with disabilities and the contextual factors that mediate the efficacy of these services. These themes are 1) Work experience, 2) Independence and autonomy, 3) Creating and following through with the IEP process, 4) Student characteristics and 5) Medical restoration services. The findings of this study can provide essential information on the importance of this transition stage for youth with disabilities for the many stakeholders that are involved in this process including educators, administrators, and rehabilitation professionals.