The purpose of this qualitative study was to better understand the roles mothers play in shaping the future for their adolescents. A total of 40 mothers of adolescents completing high school were interviewed. Within this sample, 20 of the mothers had children labeled as having severe disabilities, and 20 were mothers whose children had no disability label but attended cooperative education (vocational) programs. The two groups of mothers performed many of the same child- rearing tasks, but there were differences in the amount of support adolescents with disabilities needed. Mothers of vocational students described their actions to support their children as minimal but expressed a desire to be more involved with the school system. Mothers of adolescents with disabilities spent a great deal of time acting as advocates and protectors of their children as well as assisting with their children's community integration. Implications drawn from the data are that (a) mothers of vocational students could benefit from some of the processes mandated through special education (e.g., annual, student planning meetings) and, (b) the perceptions mothers of adolescents with severe disabilities about the intensity of their roles poses a dilemma in regards to current initiatives on self-determination.
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