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Using data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study (NLTS) and the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2), this study compared the post-high school outcomes of young adults with learning disabilities (LD) or emotional/behavioral disorders (EBD) in 1990 and 2005. These cohort comparisons reveal how the results of special education have changed over that time period as evidenced in the post-high school outcomes of nationally representative samples of youth. The extended data collection time period of NLTS2 (2001–2009) also enabled an assessment of the evolution in the post-high school outcomes of young adults with LD or EBD who had been out of high school up to 8 years. The post-high school outcomes considered included high school completion, postsecondary education enrollment and completion, employment status and wages, and community integration as illustrated by living arrangements and criminal justice system involvement. Findings for both the NLTS/NLTS2 cohort comparisons and the longitudinal analyses from NLTS2 indicate progress in efforts to improve outcomes for youth and young adults with LD or EBD but also underscore the work ahead in setting these groups on a path to successful adulthood. Implications for practice and research are discussed.

This chapter focuses on the heterogeneous pathways (including marital and cohabiting union and parenting histories) through which people navigate their family life courses from adolescence through mid-life, and their implications for union dissolution in middle and later life. The analyses draw on data (retrospective, cross-sectional) from the 2011 and 2017 Canadian General Social Surveys. The study sample includes individuals aged 50 and over (n = 14,547) who were in a union at age 50. Sequence analyses are used to identify the most common family life course trajectories among these individuals from adolescence through midlife (ages 15–50). Logistic regression analyses then address the implications of these trajectories for union dissolution in middle and later life (ages 50+). The results reveal four main family trajectories that characterize the earlier years of the adult life course: married with children, cohabiting with children, single or cohabiting without children, and married without children. These family trajectories, together with their level of complexity, play an important role in relation to both marital and cohabiting union dissolution outcomes in later life.

The transitions of early adulthood and early careers are becoming increasingly disorderly and less predictable than in the past. These changes can be seen as manifestations of the “risk society”. Based on surveys and biographical interviews of the life and early career experiences of young adults in Germany and England, generates some insights into the relationships between “transition behaviour” and career outcomes, with reference to contrasting labour markets and the interfaces between personal lives, work and learning. While focusing on comparisons between the labour markets in the former West Germany, reference is also made to the emerging situation in the eastern part of Germany. Concludes that policies are required which develop active transition behaviours in young adults, while providing social and economic support to finance studies, reduce risk for the most vulnerable and promote active and autonomous modes of learning trajectories in adult life.

Transition is important to all students but especially important to students with intellectual disability who may need additional supports throughout their vertical transitions in education. This chapter discusses different vertical transitions students with intellectual disability face in education, with particular attention to the movement from high school to adult life. Throughout the chapter, research regarding current transition practices and outcomes for students with intellectual disability is discussed as well as evidence-based practices to support students with intellectual disability as they transition to post-school.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines transition as “a passing or passage from one condition, action, or (rarely) place, to another; change.” This definition captures the essence of the transition as experienced by youth and young adults with disabilities as they move from school to postschool settings. Additionally, the definition also raises the issue that transition encompasses the existential experience not only of passing from one condition (of being a student/child to becoming a graduate/an adult) but also of the physical movement/passage (from school services to adult services) and the change therein. This chapter begins by providing a brief historical framing of transition both from the standpoint of legal foundations of transition and the findings from early research on the postschool outcomes experienced by graduates of special education. In addition, the impact of those findings is discussed regarding the formulation and articulation of transition as a mandated element in the educational planning for students with disabilities at the secondary level. Next, the chapter reviews the initial models of transition that were developed and/or proposed as a way for meeting the needs of secondary age students with disabilities as identified in research. The essential elements of transition expressed in the transition definition provided by Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 1990 and subsequent amendments are then described. A discussion of issues related to the best and promising practices in transition concludes the chapter.

The concept of transition and preparation for adult life has been an important yet controversial governmental initiative since the early 1980s. This governmental focus prompted special educators to develop and implement curricula to better prepare students with disabilities for adult life (Price, Gerber, & Mulligan, 2007). The curricula process involves forming linkages among local educational agencies and other human service agencies, including employment and training, adult services, leisure and recreation, and health and rehabilitation. Educators and policy makers continue to encounter great challenges to building capacity and sustained implementation of the transition curricula process at both the local school and the community levels.

There is substantial evidence that young people moving from child and adolescent mental health services to adult services are more likely to experience poor transitions. However, little is known about the care pathways of young people transitioning from forensic services. This retrospective case note review sought to examine the clinical characteristics, transition pathways and psychosocial indicators of transition outcomes amongst young people in forensic medium secure services discharged to adult services.

The electronic records of 32 young people, who transitioned from six adolescent medium secure units in England to adult services between May 2015 and June 2016, were examined.

Approximately 65% of young people were between 18 and 19 years at the time of transition and the average waiting time from referral to discharge was six months. A total of 63% young people transitioned to community placements and adult medium secure services. Four pathways describing the journey into and out of adolescent medium secure services were identified in a subsample of 12 young people. A total of 25% young people with neurodevelopmental problems moved to specialist services.

The results suggest that diagnosis, severity of offence and clinical background are associated with transition pathway. Promoting a person-centred approach and gradual independence of the young person may improve current practice.

These results inform existing policy and clinical practice in an effort to reform transition guidelines around young people’s needs during transition times. Further studies in adolescent forensic services are needed to understand complex neurodevelopmental problems and comorbidities.

In the years following high school, youth, including youth with extensive support needs, aspire to pursue a range of personally important experiences, such as attending postsecondary education programs, obtaining competitive employment, and living independently. However, the level of disability continues to be a powerful predictor of the degree to which desired outcomes materialize in early adulthood. For most young adults with extensive support needs, valued outcomes are elusive. To support youth with disabilities, including youth with extensive support needs, to progress toward achieving their post-school goals, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1990 mandated the provision of transition services. Despite the legal mandate for transition services, numerous factors continue to impact the outcomes experienced by youth with extensive support needs. However, research has identified numerous practices to support improved post-school outcomes. In this chapter, we address the transition mandates of the IDEA, identify and describe factors influencing the post-school outcomes of youth with extensive support needs, and provide strategies, practices, and interventions for improving these outcomes.

The purpose of this paper is to achieve a greater understanding of the transitions young adults experience into and out of the labour market and the influence that gender and married/cohabiting status have on employment careers.

The paper focuses on young adults (25-34 years old) in four European countries – Italy, the Netherlands, the UK and Norway – that are representative of different youth transition regimes. Using longitudinal data from EU-SILC survey (for the years 2006-2012) and event history analysis, the authors investigate the effect of the particular set of institutional features of each country, the effect of the cohort of entry and the effect of gender differences in determining transitions across labour market status.

Findings show that the filter exercised by the national institutions has a selective impact on the careers of young adults, with some institutional contexts more protective than others. In this respect, the condition of inactivity emerges as an interesting finding: on one side, it mainly involves women in a partnership, on the other side it is more common in protective youth regimes, suggesting that it may be a chosen rather than suffered condition.

The paper contributes to existing literature by: focusing on a specific category, young adults from 25 to 34 years old, which is increasingly recognised as a critical stage in the life course though it receives less attention than its younger counterpart (15-24); integrating the importance of family dynamics on work careers by analysing the different effects played by married/cohabiting status for men and women.

The differential impact of young adult diagnosis on families during the period of transition from school to adult life was examined. Participants were parents of 246 young adults with severe learning disability aged 18‐26. Young adults were classified into four diagnostic groups: autism (N = 30), Down's syndrome (N = 68), cerebral palsy (N = 95) and an undifferentiated learning disability group (N = 53). Research questions pertained to parent expectations about their young adults' transition to living and working environments post high school. Parental satisfaction and worries were also assessed. The results indicated more community expectations of work for young adults with Down's syndrome, and more restrictive expectations for young adults with autism, including more expectations that young adults with autism would move out of the family home into a residential environment. Parents of young adults with autism also worried significantly more about various aspects of transition than other parent groups.