Introduction

MAPS

Personal Futures Planning

Life Outcomes

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As you near the end of your high school education you begin thinking more about your future. Will you go to college right after high school? Will you take some time off? Will you work full-time? Will you work part-time and go to college? It’s an exciting time and the options available to you are endless.

But what about your fellow students with disabilities? Have you considered their lives after high school? Do they have the same opportunities as you do? Anybody, a person with or without disabilities, can of course pursue life to the fullest and accomplish their dreams. But there are certain steps that help a person access those finer opportunities in life. For example, obtaining a high school diploma is a very important step in accomplishing personal success. Without a high school diploma, college is out of the question. Job options are limited and they tend to pay very little. So, as I’m sure you know, obtaining a high school diploma is a crucial step along a successful path.

For more than a decade, the number of students with disabilities who have graduated with a standard high school diploma is 25%: a low number indeed. This is just one aspect of obtaining a self-satisfying lifestyle. Percentages for independent living, employment, and community involvement are often much lower for persons with disabilities as well.

Having the ability to support oneself financially is a key component to being an independent adult. According to one survey of Americans with disabilities (Louis Harris & Associates; 2000), two-thirds were unemployed, 20% had full-time jobs, and 11% were working part-time. Approximately one-half to two-thirds of young people with disabilities who are employed work only part-time. Perhaps this is why the income for many individuals with disabilities hovers around the poverty level. To make matters worse, these individuals rarely receive health benefits, vacation time, or sick leave (Heward, 2003).

Why are the statistics so bleak for young adults with disabilities? Students with disabilities often face obstacles in their transition from high school to adulthood that you may not encounter. For example, opportunities may be limited for a person with disabilities because of low expectations by others. Discrimination can play a significant part in finding a job or an apartment for a person with a disability. “Like other minority groups, persons with disabilities are often in the position of being the last hired and first fired” (Heward, p. 571). Or perhaps needed supports simply aren’t there for a person to function successfully in his or her society.

Enjoying independence and success as an adult isn’t limited to finding meaningful employment. Being an active member of society, owning a home or renting an apartment, and having a social network are all equally important. According to the National Longitudinal Transition Survey (Blackorby & Wagner, 1996), 37% of students with disabilities who had been out of high school for 3-5 years were living independently compared with 60% of the general population. Of course, there are some alternatives to independent living such as group homes, or foster homes. While both of these options can be beneficial, how would you like to live with a group of strangers that you did not choose for your roommates?

And what about recreation and leisure? The opportunities for a person with disabilities to participate in recreation and leisure activities may be somewhat limited. One obstacle may be a lack of transportation. Another inhibiting factor could be a lack of skill or ability to participate in certain activities. And in the case of activities that require multiple participants (tennis, basketball, chess, card games, etc.), it is necessary for a person to have friends who are willing and able to participate in activities with them.

It simply isn’t enough if a person only meets one or two of these criteria. In this case, it is necessary to have all of these factors in place. Most communities have recreation and leisure resources available to their citizens. It is important that people are aware of these resources if they are in need of assistance or supports. If you work with, or are close to a person with disabilities, perhaps it would be helpful for you to become aware of your community’s recreation and leisure resources so that you may help introduce that person to those resources.

So far, you have been given a fairly bleak outlook for the life of people with disabilities after high school. This actually doesn’t have to be the case. One way in which students with disabilities can prepare to be more successful as independent adults is to learn self-determination skills while still in school. As a peer tutor, you can have a very important role in helping students with disabilities learn these skills. A person who is self-determined is aware of his or her likes and dislikes, preferences and interests.

Based on these factors, self-determined people are able to make choices that influence the events in their lives. They do not sit passively by while life decisions are made for them. They take action and initiate events to make the things they want to happen in their lives become a reality. They set goals for themselves, continually work on reaching those goals, and monitor their own progress along the way.

A recent study was conducted to determine whether or not self-determination affected the outcomes of adult life for people with cognitive disabilities (Wehmeyer & Palmer, 2003). The study compared two groups: those with high self-determination and those with low self-determination. These groups were assessed one year after high school and then again three years after high school in order to compare their outcomes in areas such as independent living, maintaining a bank account, receiving job training, holding a job currently, working full-time, and working part-time. After being out of high school for three years, the outcomes were significantly higher in every single category for the high self-determination group. Quite obviously, learning self-determination skills paid off in the long run for those individuals.

So as you can see, the life outcomes for a person with disabilities can go either way. Unfortunately, the trend has not always been positive for many of these individuals. This is why it is more important than ever for educators and peer tutors to focus on teaching skills that will help a person function successfully in society, instead of focusing only on classroom-related tasks and activities.

References:

Blackorby, J. & Wagner, M. (1996). Longitudinal postschool outcomes of youth with disabilities: Findings from the National Longitudinal Transition Study. Exceptional Children, 62 (5), 399-414.

Harris Poll

Wehmeyer, M., Palmer, S., (2003). Adult outcomes for students with cognitive disabilities three-years after high school: The impact of self-determination. Education and Training in Developmental Disabilities, 38(2), 131-144.