Improving quality of life is the primary focus as adolescents with disabilities enter adulthood. They increasingly, however, encounter difficulties transitioning into domains such as employment as these services occur near the end of their high school experience. Using an ecosystems model within a developmental approach, the program sought to improve the likelihood that adolescents will find and maintain meaningful employment as adults. The authors measured physical health, psychosocial functioning, and attitude toward employment of adolescents participating in the program during a 2-year period. Physical health, school functioning, and total functioning improved during the 2 years. Career attitudes were above the norms in earlier grades but fell in later grades. This suggests the need for early and continued intervention.
Adams, J., Nolte, M., & Schalansky, J. (2000). Who will hear our voices? In H. B. Clark & M. Davis (Eds.), Transition to adulthood: A resource for assisting young people with emotional or behavioral difficulties (pp. 181-193). Baltimore: Paul Brookes.
2.
Arnett, J.J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist , 55, 469-480.
3.
Arnett, J.J. (2001). Conceptions of the transition to adulthood: Perspectives from adolescence to midlife. Journal of Adult Development , 8, 133-143.
4.
Batavia, A.I., DeJong, G., Halstead, L.S., & Smith, Q.W. (1988). Primary medical services for people with disabilities . American Rehabilitation, 14(4), 9-27.
Blacher, J. (2001). Transition to adulthood: Mental retardation, families, and culture. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 106, 173-188.
7.
Boyle, S., Hull, G., Mather, J., Smith, L., & Farley, O. (2006). Direct practice in social work. Boston: Pearson.
8.
Bresford, B. (2004). On the road to nowhere? Young disabled people and transition. Child: Care, Health & Development, 30, 581-587.
9.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1994). Ecological models of human development. In T. Husen & T. N. Postlethwaite (Eds.), International encyclopedia of education (2nd ed., pp. 1643-1647). Philadelphia: Elsevier.
10.
Clark, H., Deschenes, N., & Jones, J. (2000). A framework for the development and operation of a transition system. In H. B. Clark & M. Davis (Eds.), Transition to adulthood: A resource for assisting young people with emotional or behavioral difficulties (pp. 29-51). Baltimore: Paul Brookes.
11.
Cohen, J. (1977). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. New York: Academic Press .
12.
Crites, J., & Savickas, M. (1995). Career maturity inventory source-book. Oroville, WA: Bridges.
13.
Davis, M., & Sondheimer, D. (2005). State child mental health efforts to support youth in transition to adulthood. Journal of Behavioral Health Services and Research, 32, 27-42.
14.
Davis, M., & Vander Stoep, A. (1996). The transition to adulthood among adolescents who have serious emotional disturbances: At risk for homelessness . Delmar, NY: National Resource Center on Homelessness and Mental Illness.
15.
Garmezy, N. (1991). Resilience in children's adaptation to negative life events and stressed environments. Pediatric Annals, 20, 459-466.
16.
Germain, C. (1978). General-systems theory and ego psychology: An ecological perspective. Social Service Review, 52, 534-550.
17.
Germain, C., & Gitterman, A. (1980). The life model of social work practice. New York: Columbia University Press.
18.
Hagner, D., Cheney, D., & Malloy, J. (1999). Career-related outcomes of a model transition demonstration for young adults with emotional disturbance. Rehabilitation and CounselingBulletin, 42, 228-242.
19.
Hartman, A., DePoy, E., Francis, C., & Gilmer, D. (2000). Adolescents with special health care needs in transition: Three life stories. Social Work in Health Care , 33(4), 43-57.
20.
Hudson, C.G. (2000). At the edge of chaos: A new paradigm for social work?Journal of Social Work Education, 36, 215-230.
21.
Kaufmann, S.A. (1995). At home in the universe: The search for the laws of self-organization and complexity. New York: Oxford University Press.
22.
Lewis-Gary, M. (2001). Transitioning to adult health care in facilities for young adults with chronic condition. Pediatric Nursing , 27, 521-524.
23.
Luftig, R., & Muthert, D. (2005). Patterns of employment and independent living of adult graduates with learning disabilities and mental retardation of an inclusionary high school vocational program. Research in Developmental Disability, 26, 317-325.
24.
Palmer, M., & Boisen, L. (2002). Cystic fibrosis and the transition to adulthood . Social Work in Health Care, 36, 45-58.
25.
Rajmil, L., Herdman, M., Fernandez de Sanmarmed, M., Detmar, S., Bruil, J., Ravens-Sieberer, U., et al. (2004). Generic health-related quality of life instruments in children and adolescents: A qualitative analysis of content . Journal of Adolescent Health, 34, 37-45.
26.
Rosenthal, R. (1991). Meta-analytic procedures for social research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
27.
Sawyer, M., Reynolds, K., Couper, J., French, D., Kennedy, D., Martin, J., et al. (2004). Health-related quality of life of children and adolescents with chronic illness: A two year retrospective study. Quality of Life Research, 13, 1309-1319.
28.
Schwimmer, J., Burwinkle, T., & Varni, J. (2003). Health-related quality of life of severely obese children and adolescents. Journal of theAmerican Medical Association, 289, 1813-1819.
29.
Upton, P., Maddocks, A., Eiser, C., Barnes, P., & Williams, J. (2005). Development of a measure of the health-related quality of life of children in public care. Childcare Health and Development, 31, 409-415.
30.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ( 2004). Indicators of welfare dependence: Annual report to Congress . Retrieved July 28, 2006, from http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/indicators04/apa-ssi.htm
31.
Varni, J., Burwinkle, T., Jacobs, R., Gottschalk, M., Kaufman, F., Jones, K.L. (2003). The PedQL in type 1 and 3 diabetes: Reliability and validity of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory generic core scores and type 1 diabetes module. Diabetes Care, 26, 631-637.
32.
Varni, J., Seid, M., & Kurtin, P. (2001). Reliability and validity of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory Version 4.0 generic core scores on healthy and patient populations . Medical Care, 39, 800-812.
33.
Varni, J., Seid, M., & Rode, C. (1999). The PedsQL: Measurement model for the pediatric quality of life inventory. Medical Care, 37, 126-139.
34.
Vygotsky, L.S. (1978). Mind and society: The development of higher mental processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
35.
Walsh, W., & Hanley, N. (1975). Consistent occupational preferences, vocational maturity, and academic achievement. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 7, 89-97.
36.
Walsh, W., & Osipow, S. (1973). Career preferences, self-concept, and vocational maturity. Research in Higher Education, 1, 287-295.
37.
Warren, K., Franklin, C., & Streeter, C.L. (1998). New directions in systems theory: Chaos and complexity. Social Work, 43, 357-373.
38.
White, P. (1997). Success on the road to adulthood: Issues and hurdles for adolescents with disabilities. Rheumatic Disease Clinics of NorthAmerica, 23, 697-707.
39.
Wolf-Branigin, M., & LeRoy, B. (2004). Designing accessible managed care services for people with physical disabilities: Consumer suggestions within an emergent design process. Journal of Social Work in Disability and Rehabilitation , 3(3), 3-16.
40.
Zekovic, B., & Renwick, R. (2003). Quality of life for children and adolescents with developmental disabilities: Review of conceptual and methodological issues relevant to public policy. Disability and Society, 18(1), 19-34.
