The transition of young people with disabilities from school to work and adult living

Abstract

It is a singular honour for me to have been invited to deliver the inaugural Len Cosson Memorial Lecture. It is obvious that Len's Stirling contribution to special education in New Zealand will endure. His ability to enthuse peers and students alike will live on and will affect for the better the quality of the lives of young people with disabilities. Despite his untimely death, his family and professional colleagues can be comforted by the knowledge that Len's ideas and vision will remain a beacon for those who follow in his footsteps. He has provided some very real challenges for the New Zealand Special Education Association ‐ challenges that will be met if you emulate the truly professional approach that he maintained throughout his illustrious career. He obviously lived to the full the values and precepts that many of us aspire to, but often fall short of. While I did not have the privilege of knowing Len, I feel enriched by being in the company of so many people whose lives he touched in such a profound way. In the following presentation I wish to report the results of a study that examined the postschool experiences of 73 young people with a range of disabilities who left a special education facility in NSW in 1985. The roles that work, family support and friendship patterns played in their postschool experiences are analysed. The study points to the need for a more coordinated approach to the planning and delivery of transition education services to young people with disabilities.