The handbook was developed by the 3-year Valley Transitional School Project, serving Augusta, Staunton, and Waynesboro schools, all located in Augusta County, Virginia. The purpose of the project was to develop and validate a model which would assist school youth with severe disabilities to make the transition from school to employment, in the…

The booklet describes studies undertaken by the Washington Research Organization (UWRO) to examine generalization processes with severely handicapped students. Section one provides background information on the UWRO, including UWRO's advisory committee, communication with other institutes for research in education of the severely handicapped, and…

This information brief explains the Transition Service Integration Model, an approach to integrating service systems at the point of transition for youth with significant disabilities. It explains that the Transition Services Integration Model is designed to combine the resources of school and postschool systems in sharing the costs of a…

This report discusses the outcomes of a project designed to help young children with special needs and their families prepare for and adjust to new service settings. The Bridging Early Service Transition (BEST) Project has helped administrators, service providers, and families plan and coordinate transitions for young children with disabilities or…

This study examined the role of contextual factors in providing quality early care and education services, focusing on program models from Aboriginal/First Nation settings in four countries. Methods included a search of published literature from mainstream and Aboriginal sources, an electronic search of unique Royal Commission on Aboriginal…

A nationally representative sample of youths with disabilities who recently exited high school was studied to determine their level of participation in postsecondary educational programs. The results show that disabled individuals participate at only one-quarter the rate of their nondisabled counterparts. (Author/MLW)

A field study demonstrated a process for determining the appropriate level of community-based consultative support for families, professionals, and paraprofessionals working to integrate children with autism. The resultant differentiated service model calls for an interministerial service plan to facilitate various transitions. (Author/JDD)

The research literature is reviewed for transitions from birth to eight years. A model describes transition as a change in ecocultural niche, requiring accommodations in daily routines for a child, family, and service providers and transition impact measures the number of accommodations required and the sustainability of daily routines.…

This article traces the history of transition programs for adolescents with disabilities and the role that transition plays within current reform efforts. Best practices are discussed and strategies for school programs are provided, including individualized planning, involvement of family and support networks, a focus on community outcomes, and…

In this paper, the author would like to put forward a number of issues to think about and discuss. At the same time, she argues for a better articulated system that more closely matches the needs and goals of various subgroups of English language learners. Adult ESL programs serve diverse immigrant populations with different needs and goals. A…

This paper focuses on transition programs for youth to postsecondary education, broadly considered. It addresses the following questions: (1) What models or programs of transition exist? (2) On what basis can we say one transition program is more effective than another? In other words, how is successful transition defined? (3) How are…

Developed as part of the Indiana Least Restrictive Environment Project, this document is concerned with issues relating to the education and community integration of persons with substantial handicaps. The paper traces the development of the movement to provide those special education services necessary to integrate the disabled into the general…

This handbook was developed to assist human services representatives in forming interagency linkages and planning more effectively for the transition of handicapped youth from school to adult life. A model is presented as a framework for conceptualizing the student's movement through various educational levels and for planning the transition from…

A transitional model is put forth to facilitate the placement of preschool children with disabilities in their first elementary school environment. After an introductory chapter and conceptual overview, chapters cover planning, intervention, and follow-up, with program evaluation incorporated into each component. Appendices contain two transition…

This final report describes the goals and activities of the Mentor Project, a feasibility study involving the use of handicapped employees as mentors to assist handicapped youth to make the transition from school to work. The first section details the context of the study, including the project's conception of the mentor experience, a review of…