Self-management of daily life tasks in diploma-track youth with disabilities

Abstract

Purpose Youth with disabilities who graduate with a regular high school diploma often continue to have difficulties in their daily functioning that ultimately impact adulthood outcomes. To better understand these functional difficulties and determine how best to address them, it is important to distinguish deficits in discrete skills from difficulty organizing skills to self-manage complex tasks associated with adult roles. The purpose of this study was to explore the extent to which challenges in social, executive function and behavior management factors relate to these two aspects of daily functioning. Methods This is a secondary analysis of the National Longitudinal Transition Study 2 funded by the United States Department of Education. The direct and indirect associations between youth underlying factors and self-management of daily life tasks (SMDLT) versus discrete functional skills were modelled using structural equation modelling. Results A model incorporating social skills, communication, and behavior regulation explained 55% of the variance in SMDLT. In contrast, the model predicting discrete functional skills had fewer significant associations and described less variance (37%) in the outcome. Conclusions Findings suggest that using measures of SMDLT and designing targeted interventions for SMDLT might help improve participation in independent living and productivity for diploma-track youth with disabilities. Implications for rehabilitation Successful transition from high school to adult roles requires the ability to self-manage the daily life tasks required for those roles, such as employment, post-secondary education, and independent living. The ability to self-manage daily tasks is distinct from mastery of discrete functional skills and should be assessed with measures that uniquely examine this domain. Social and communication skills, executive functioning, and behavioral regulation, are important contributors to the ability to self-manage life tasks for diploma-track youth with disabilities and should be incorporated into multifaceted interventions. Interventions to improve self-management of tasks should include teaching strategies and practice coordinating underlying skills in flexible ways that meet the varying demands of tasks and diverse environments.