A review of the special education literature indicates that follow-up studies of students who have exited special education have long interested researchers. Considerations for conducting studies and interpreting follow-up data are discussed. Results of studies concerning the adult adjustment of individuals who are disabled are presented briefly.
A questionnaire designed to seek information on 58 persons who are mentally retarded (defined as severely handicapped) and had exited self-contained special education programs was administered. Interviews via telephone or face-to-face were conducted with parents, verbal subjects, employers, and adult vocational and residential service providers. Data on employment rates, post-secondary training, residential status, community access, social and vocational opportunities, and civic responsibilities of subjects were collected.
Results indicated that a majority of subjects (57%) were placed in sheltered workshops or day activity centers for minimally paid, work-related activities. A total of 15% of the sample received formal post-secondary training; of those, three were employed in sheltered settings. The majority (62%) resided in their family dwellings. Twenty-six percent were in group homes, and 10% were in nursing homes or state institutions. One student (2%) lived independently. Some type of community mobility was utilized by most subjects. There is a need for expanded employment, training and residential service options in the community studied.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BallerW. R. (1936). A study of the present social status of a group of adults who when they were in elementary school were classified as mentally deficient. Genetic Psychology Monographs, 18, 165–244.
2.
BallerW. R., CharlesD. C., & MillerE. L. (1967). Mid-life attainment of the mentally retarded, a longitudinal study. Lincoln, NE: The University of Nebraska.
3.
BobroffA. (1955). Economic adjustment of 121 adults, formerly students in classes for mental retardates. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 60, 525–535.
4.
BoyceD. A., & ElzeyF. F. (1978). A study of the vocational adequacy of former special education students following high school graduation. Sacramento, CA: California State Department of Education.
5.
CarrikerW. R. (1957). A comparison of post school adjustment of a Connecticut community revisited: A study of the social adjustment of a group of mentally deficient adults in 1948 and 1960. Washington, DC: Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Office of Vocational Rehabilitation.
6.
CassidyV. M., & PhelpsH. R. (1955). Postschool adjustment of slow learning children. Columbus: Bureau of Special and Adult Education, The Ohio State University.
7.
ChaffinJ. D., SpellmanC. R., ReaganC. E., & DavisonR. (1971). Two follow-up studies of former EMR students from Kansas Work Study Project. Exceptional Children, 37, 733–738.
8.
CharlesD. C. (1953). Ability and accomplishment of persons earlier judged mentally deficient. Genetic Psychological Monolog, 47, 3–71.
9.
CollisterL. (1975). A comparison of the long range benefits of graduation from special v. mainstream school for mildly mentally handicapped students. Seattle: Seattle Public Schools, Washington, Department of Planning, Research and Evaluation.
10.
CoonleyK. (1980, April). A fifteen year follow-up study of the North Kansas City Public Schools work study graduates 1966-1980. Paper presented at the annual International Convention of the Council for Exceptional Children, Philadelphia, PA.
11.
CoonleyK., KlopensteinR. E., SitlingtonP., WildM. L., & WrightE. (1980). A fifteen year follow-up study of the North Kansas City Public Schools Work Study graduates 1966-1980. (ERIC Document Report Service No. ED 196 211).
12.
Dearborn Public Schools, Michigan (1970). A follow-up and comparison of graduates from types of high school programs for the mentally handicapped: Final report. Washington, DC: Office of Education, Department of Health, Education and Welfare.
13.
DelpH. A., & LorenzM. (1953). Follow-up of 84 public school special class pupils with IQs below 50. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 58, 175–182.
14.
DingerJ. D. (1958). Post-school adjustment of former special education pupils with implications for curriculum revision. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA.
15.
DingerJ. D. (1961). Former educable retarded pupils. Exceptional Children, 27, 353–360.
16.
DingerJ. D. (1973). A follow-up study of the post school employment success of graduates from four high school special education programs in the midwestern intermediate Unit IV in Pennsylvania for the school years 1969-1970: A final report. Harrisburg, PA: Pennsylvania Department of Education.
17.
DingerJ. D., MyersR. K., & BernerR. A. (1973, May). A follow-up study of the post-school employment success of graduates from four special education programs in midwestern intermediate Unit IV in Pennsylvania for school years 1969-1970. (Report No. CE 004 525). Harrisburg, PA: Pennsylvania Department of Education. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 110 726).
18.
FairbanksR. (1933). The subnormal child seventeen years after. Mental Hygiene, 17, 177–208.
19.
FardigD. B., AlgozzineR. F., SchwartzS. E., HenselJ. W., & WestlingD. L. (1985). Post-secondary vocational adjustment of rural, mildly handicapped students. Exceptional Children, 52, 115–121.
20.
GoodardH. H. (1913). The Kallikak family. New York: Macmillan.
21.
GozaliJ. (1972). Perceptions of the EMR special class by former students. Mental Retardation, 10, 34–35.
22.
GrossmanH. J. (1983). Classification in mental retardation. Washington, DC: American Association of Mental Deficiency.
23.
HalpernA. S. (1972). Longitudinal evaluation of work-study programs for EMR in Oregon: Progress report. Working paper No. 62. (Report No. EC 071 941). Eugene, OR: Oregon University. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 104 081).
24.
HalpernA. S. (1973). General unemployment and vocational opportunities for EMR individuals. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 78, 123–127.
25.
HasaziS. B., GordonL. R., & RoeC. A. (1985). Factors associated with the employment status of handicapped youth exiting high school from 1979 to 1983. Exceptional Children, 51, 455–469.
26.
HasaziS. B., GordonL. R., RoeC. A., HullM., FinkK., & SalembierG. (1986). A statewide follow-up on post high school employment and residential status of students labeled mentally retarded. Education and Training of the Mentally Retarded, 20, 222–234.
27.
KennedyR. J. R. (1948). The social adjustment of morons in a Connecticut city. Wilport, CT: Commissions to Study Resources in Connecticut.
28.
KennedyR. J. R. (1962). A Connecticut community revisited: A study of the social adjustment of a group of mentally deficient adults in 1948 and 1960. Washington, DC: Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Office of Vocational Rehabilitation.
29.
KernanC. B. (1979). A follow-up study of students placed in educable mentally retarded classes who graduated from programs in the Northwest Bergen Council for Special Education. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University.
30.
KimY., & WrightC. E. (1984). A longitudinal study of vocational education students from California secondary schools. Project SEE. (Report No. CE 040 284). Menlo Park, CA: Educational Evaluation and Research, Inc. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 251 672).
31.
McFallT. M. (1966). Post school adjustment: A survey of fifty former students of classes for the EMR. Exceptional Children, 32, 633–634.
32.
MillerE. L. (1965). Ability and social adjustment at mid-life of persons earlier judged mentally deficient. General Psychological Abstracts, 71, 139–198.
33.
MithaugD. E., HoruichiC. N., & FanningP. N. (1985). A report on the Colorado statewide follow-up survey of special education students. Exceptional Children, 51(5), 397–404.
34.
PetersonL. (1959). The mentally retarded as citizens. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA.
35.
PetersonL., & SmithL. (1960). The post-school adjustment of educable mentally retarded adults compared with that of adults of normal intelligence. Exceptional Children, 26, 404–408.
36.
PhelpsH. R. (1956). Post-school adjustment of mentally retarded children in selected Ohio cities. Exceptional Children, 23, 58–61.
37.
SaengerG. (1957). The adjustment of severely retarded adults in the community. Albany, NY: Interdepartmental Health Resources Board.
38.
SaengerG. (1960). Factors influencing the institutionalization of mentally retarded individuals. Albany, NY: Interdepartmental Health Resources Board.
39.
SchalockR. L., WolzenB., FiesP., RossI., WerbelG., & PetersonK. (1984, May). Post-secondary community of mentally retarded individuals: A 5-year follow-up analysis. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the AAMD (108th Minneapolis), MN, May 17-31. (ERIC Documentation Reproductive Service No. 252 016, pp. 1-27).
40.
TitusR. W., & TravisJ. T. (1975). Follow-up of EMR program graduates. Mental Retardation, 11, 24–26.
41.
TizardJ. (1958). Longitudinal and follow-up studies. In ClarkeA. M., & ClarkeA. B. D. (Eds.), Mental deficiency: The changing outlook (pp. 482–509). New York: The Free Press.
42.
TizardJ. (1965). Longitudinal and follow-up studies. In ClarkeA. M., & ClarkeA. B. D. (Eds.), Mental deficiency: The changing outlook (pp. 422–449). New York: The Free Press.
43.
WardJ. (1978). Adjustment to work: A follow-up of mildly intellectually handicapped adolescents who have undergone training in a work preparation center. North Ryde, Australia: Macquarie University, School of Education. (ERIC Document Reproduction No. ED 169 703).
44.
WehmanP., HillJ., HillM., BrookeV., PendletonP., & BritC. (1985). Competitive employment for persons with mental retardation: A follow-up six years later. Mental Retardation, 23, 274–281.
45.
WehmanP., MoonM. S., EversonJ. M., BarcusJ. M. (1988). Transition from work to school. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes.
