Abstract
OTs, residency, and fieldwork students implemented targeted group programming at area high schools to address functional transition needs for individuals with developmental and learning disabilities to prepare them for life after high school. The needs unique to these students at this critical life transition, the challenges experienced when providing services to these populations, and the current methods used to assess and document outcomes will be discussed.
Primary Author and Speaker: Jennifer A. Merz
Additional Authors and Speakers: Bonnie Nakasuji
Contributing Authors: Kimberly Mollo
Research regarding effective programming to prepare individuals with developmental and learning disabilities for the transition beyond high school is limited, leading individuals and families to feel overwhelmed with uncertainty (Chen, Cohn, & Orsmond, 2018). Leaving the known comforts of high school poses unique challenges for adolescents with disabilities (Mankey, 2011), which is illuminated by available statistics regarding workforce and success in college. Specifically, only 53.4% of young adults with autism spectrum disorder have worked a paying job outside of their homes, which is the lowest rate of employment compared to other disability groups (Roux et al., 2013). Individuals with learning disabilities experience an unemployment rate of 46%, and only 41% who begin a college degree graduate from their program (National Center of Learning Disabilities, 2017). In an effort to create smoother transitions for individuals with developmental and learning disabilities, occupational therapy was provided via group programming at area high schools. Led by occupational therapists, residency, and fieldwork students, groups were designed to uniquely provide meaningful, occupation-based interventions to work towards target areas related to documented skills needed for success after high school (Mankey, 2011). Since the use of formal assessment tools to measure programming outcomes was not feasible secondary to time constraints and lack of funding, level II fieldwork students were asked to complete individual progress notes after each group session to track observed strengths, supports required, and next steps in relation to group involvement. In order to determine the impact of occupational therapy group programming for these populations, to inform future programming needs, and to increase the evidence available for this underserved population, a qualitative retrospective analysis of de-identified progress notes for students with a diagnosis of a developmental or learning disability between the years of 2014 and 2018 was completed. A total of 162 treatment notes were analyzed from a sample of 6 high school students ranging from 13-20 years of age. Through a five-phase qualitative analysis process, the challenges and strengths of these high school students was explored in depth; peer debriefing was completed with the occupational therapists conducting the programming. Findings indicate that high school students involved in this occupational therapy group program experienced ongoing difficulties with social behaviors, fine motor and bilateral coordination skills, sustaining attention and task sequencing, adherence to group rules, and handling of group materials. Further analysis highlighted the need for more clear and succinct methods of documenting high school student progress in transition programs via the use a standardized assessment tools for future data tracking, such as Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS) will be presented.
Chen, J., Cohn, E. S., & Orsmond, G. I. (2018). Parents’ future visions for their autistic transition-age youth: Hopes and expectations. Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice, 1362361318812141. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361318812141
Mankey, T. A. (2011). Occupational therapists’ beliefs and involvement with secondary transition planning. Physical & Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics, 31(4), 345–358. https://doi.org/10.3109/01942638.2011.572582
Roux, A. M., Shattuck, P. T., Cooper, B. P., Anderson, K. A., Wagner, M., & Narendorf, S. C. (2013). Postsecondary employment experiences among young adults with an autism spectrum disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 52(9), 931–939. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2013.05.019
National Center of Learning Disabiltiies. (2017). The State of Learning Disabilities: Understanding the 1 in 5.