Abstract
The parents of 14 individuals with severe/profound mental disabilities were interviewed one and three years after their children graduated or “aged out” of high school. Two categories of information were sought concerning the adult adjustment of these individuals. General status variables included marital status, place of residence, agencies contacted concerning employment opportunities, financial resources, leisure activities, means of transportation, sources of help in resolving problems, and amount of postsecondary training. Employment variables included location of employment, wages, number of hours worked per week, and job benefits received. Results indicated that three years after exiting high school, all participants were very dependent upon others for housing, transportation, and financial assistance. Ten of the 14 individuals were employed 3 years after exiting high school, all in sheltered workshops.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Certo, N., Schwartz, R., and Brown, L. (1977). Community transportation: Teaching severely handicapped students to ride a public bus system. In Haring, N. and Brown, L. (eds.),Teaching the Severely Handicapped, Vol. 2, Grune and Stratton, New York, pp. 147–232.
Clark, D., Hayden, D., and Lezzer, L. (1987).The effectiveness of special education programs: Rethinking the initiative, Unpublished manuscript, Division of Special Education, Maryland Department of Education, Baltimore.
Edgar, E. (1987). Secondary programs in special education: Are many of them justifiable?Except. Child. 53: 555–561.
Frank, A., Sitlington, P., Cooper, L., and Cool, V. (1990). Adult adjustment of individuals enrolled in Iowa mental disabilities programs.Ed. Train. Ment. Retard. 25: 62–75.
Halpern, A., and Benz, M. (1987). A statewide examination of secondary special education for students with mild disabilities: Implications for the high school curriculum.Except. Child. 54: 122–129.
Haring, K., and Lovett, D. (1990). A follow-up study of special education graduates.J. Special Ed. 23: 463–477.
Hasazi, S., Gordon, L., and Roe, C. (1985a). Factors associated with the employment status of handicapped youth exiting high school from 1979 to 1983.Except. Child. 51: 455–469.
Hasazi, S., Gordon, L., Roe, C., Hull, M., Finck, K., and Salembier, G. (1985b). A statewide follow-up on post high school employment and residential status of students labelled ‘mentally retarded.’Ed. Train. Ment. Retard. 20: 222–234.
Hill, M., Wehman, P., Kregel, J., Banks, D., and Metzler, H. (1987). Employment outcomes for people with moderate and severe disabilities: An eight-year longitudinal analysis of supported competitive employment.J. Assoc. Pers. Sev. Hand. 12: 182–189.
Kregel, J., Wehman, P., Seyfarth, J., and Marshall, K. (1986). Community integration of young adults with mental retardation: Transition from school to adulthood.Ed. Train. Ment. Retard. 21: 35–42.
Mithaug, D., Horiuchi, C., and Fanning, P. (1985). A report on the Colorado statewide follow-up survey of special education students.Except. Child. 51: 397–404.
Nietupski, J., Hamre-Nietupski, S., Green, K., Varnum-Teeter, K., Twedt, B., LePera, D., Scebold, K., and Hanrahan, M. (1986). Self-initiated and sustained leisure activity participation by students with moderate/severe/profound handicaps.Ed. Train. Ment. Retard. 21: 259–264.
Nietupski, J., Welch, J., and Wacker, D. (1983). Acquisition, maintenance, and transfer of grocery item purchasing skills by moderately and severely handicapped students.Ed. Train. Ment. Retard. 18: 279–286.
Robinson-Wilson, M. (1977). Picture recipe cards as an approach to teaching severely and profoundly retarded adults to cook.Ed. Train. Ment. Retard. 12: 69–73.
Rusch, F. (ed.). (1990).Supported Employment: Models, Methods, and Issues, Sycamore Publishing Company, Sycamore, IL.
SPSS-X User's Guide (second edition), [Computer program manual]. (1986). Chicago: SPSS, Inc.
Steele, P., Strang, L., Burrows, R., Kiburz, P., Vincent, P., and Sitlington, P. (October, 1990).An Interagency Venture: Transitioning for People with Moderate and Severe Disabilities, Department of Education, Des Moines, IA.
Thurlow, M., Bruininks, R., and Lange, C. (1989).Assessing Post-School Outcomes for Students with Moderate to Severe Mental Retardation (Report No. 89-1), University of Minnesota, Institute on Community Integration, Minneapolis.
Valdés, K., Williamson, C., and Wagner, M. (1990, July).The National Longitudinal Transition Study of Special Education Students. Statistical Almanac, Volume 5: Youth Categorized as Mentally Retarded, SRI International, Menlo Park, CA.
Wehman, P., Kregel, J., and Seyfarth, J. (1985). Transition from school to work for individuals with severe handicaps: A follow-up study.J. Assoc. Pers. Sev. Hand. 10: 132–136.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Frank, A.R., Sitlington, P.L. & Carson, R. Adult adjustment of persons with severe/profound mental disabilities: A longitudinal study. J Dev Phys Disabil 4, 37–50 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01046340
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01046340