What Happens after the High School Years among Young Persons with Disabilities

In this article, we examine the immediate post-high school years of adolescents with disabilities. Using data from the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988 and the National Longitudinal Transition Study of Special Education Students, 1987- 1991, we examine the transition from adolescence to adulthood and uncover the specific factors that are associated with the likelihood of making various early transitions to adulthood. Our results reveal that disability and type of disability profoundly affect youths' immediate post-high school activities. In addition, family socioeconomic resources have a smaller impact on the transition to adulthood among adolescents with disabilities than among adolescents without disabilities. Many resources families use to increase education and to promote the transition to adulthood do not operate, effectively blocking the intergenerational transfer of socioeconomic privilege.