Do Individualized Transition Plans Match the Postschool Projections of Students with Learning Disabilities and Their Parents?

Abstract

Information recorded on Transition Planning Guides (TPGs) was compared with student and parent perceptions regarding postschool goals and anticipated support needs. Findings revealed little relationship between the postschool outcomes and support needs recorded on TPGs and the postschool outcomes and support needs expressed by students and parents during interviews. Although results indicated that most students and parents concurred that students with learning disabilities would need more support in their postschool lives than would young adults from the general population, there was little agreement regarding the types of supports needed. Data further showed that, although most students and parents expected professionals from adult service agencies to assist students after graduation, these professionals were rarely involved in the transition planning process. Results are discussed in relation to the nature of postschool support needed by young adults with learning disabilities, strategies that actively involve students and parents in the development of transition plans, and procedures by which compliance with the transition planning requirements of public laws can be monitored.