ABSTRACT

A common denominator among adolescents with disabilities making the transition from school to adult life is the complexity of their support needs, especially when it comes to employment, living independently, and postsecondary education and training (Certo et al., 2003; Morningstar, Kleinhammer-Tramill, & Lattin, 1999). Often, a major barrier impacting the transition to adulthood is the fragmentation, duplication, and inadequacy of adult services and supports (Sitlington, Clark, & Neubert, 2009). Across the board, young adults with disabilities have continued to experience dramatically lower adult outcomes than youth without disabilities (deFur & Patton, 1999; U.S. Department of Education, 2001; Newman, Wagner, Cameto, & Knokey, 2009). While post-school outcomes have improved over the past twenty years, youth with disabilities still do not fare as well as their non-disabled peers given their: (a) poor graduation rates from high school, (b) higher rates of unemployment, (c) lower enrollment in postsecondary education while those who are enrolled do not receive appropriate accommodations, and (d) limited social engagement (Newman et al., 2009; Wagner, Newman, Cameto, Levine, & Garza, 2006).