Transition to adult life for students who are Black and have disabilities: What do we know and what do we need to know?

BACKGROUND: Although there is considerable research that has identified effective strategies to support the transition from school to adult life for young adults with disabilities, post-school outcomes for culturally linguistically or economically diverse (CLED) students with disabilities, particula...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation Vol. 45; no. 2; pp. 149 - 159
Main Authors: Thoma, Colleen A., Agran, Martin, Scott, LaRon A.
Format: review Journal Article
Published: Sage Publications Inc. 2016
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
Description
Summary:BACKGROUND: Although there is considerable research that has identified effective strategies to support the transition from school to adult life for young adults with disabilities, post-school outcomes for culturally linguistically or economically diverse (CLED) students with disabilities, particularly students who are Black and have disabilities, remain abysmal. OBJECTIVE: This article reviews the literature on transition practices for students who are Black and have disabilities to determine what is known about their unique challenges, as well as what can be done to improve their postschool outcomes. METHODS:The current published literaturewas reviewed to identify articles that examined the impact of transition practices on postschool outcomes for students who are Black and have disabilities. RESULTS: Although the research literature on students who are Black and have disabilities in transition programs is limited, a number of practices were identified as improving transition planning and services for these students, including several that enhance student self-determination in the process. CONCLUSIONS: As the postschool outcomes for this group of youth students who are Black and have disabilities continues to be abysmal, this review of the literature revealed that there is a need to conduct research to further identify barriers and effective practices needed to overcome them. Implications for practice as well as further research are discussed.