Transitioning out of high school: the stories of six young disabled people

Abstract

The aim of this study was to identify young adults' perceptions of the effectiveness of the current transition process, when exiting secondary school. The research is centred on the stories of six young disabled people who recently transitioned from secondary school to work, study or other situations. Also included is the voice of parents and practitioners who support transition. The research philosophy is (social) constructivist and the research methodology is of phenomenological orientation. A qualitative data collection method was used which consisted of a support practitioners focus group (and parents) and individual interviews with the six young disabled people. The research participants were identified through both personal and professional networks. The impairments of the young people have not been a focus as the purpose of the research was to find out the experiences of young people with impairments, and it was not in the scope of the research to compare experiences of different disability types. The verbatim transcript from the focus group was coded separately and the six individual interviews were coded together. The key themes to emerge from the research were: the importance of the role of parents in advocating for their children as they leave school particularly their support in negotiating adult services at the transition stage; the role of supportive tertiary education environments; the difficulty in gaining employment for young people with disabilities, and the inconsistency of career planning services to support transition. The research concludes by proposing an effective transition model based upon the research findings and literature that was reviewed.