Life Outcomes and Higher Education: The Need for Longitudinal Research Using a Broad Range of Quality of Life Indicators.
Staying in supported college at least two semesters may kick-start better jobs, homes, and social lives for young adults with ID, but we need bigger, longer studies to be sure.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Sheppard-Jones et al. (2018) tracked young adults with intellectual disability who stayed in college at least two semesters. They compared life-outcome scores to a small group who left school early.
The study is a pilot. No control group. Just a first look at whether extra college time links to better jobs, homes, and social lives.
What they found
Students who finished two or more semesters showed better life outcomes across several areas. The data are early and small, but the signal is positive.
The authors say we need bigger, longer studies with wider quality-of-life measures before claiming victory.
How this fits with other research
Whitehouse et al. (2014) painted a bleak baseline: most young adults with ID still live with parents, work few paid hours, and leave parents highly stressed. Kathleen’s pilot hints that supported college might beat that baseline.
Granieri et al. (2020) used the large NLTS-2 set and found health status stays flat across transition; no magic improvement. Kathleen’s smaller group suggests college participation could be the extra ingredient that moves the needle.
Anonymous (2021) showed inclusive college classes improve typical students’ attitudes. Kathleen flips the camera: same classes may also boost the graduates’ own jobs, homes, and community life.
Why it matters
If two semesters of supported college really do lift jobs, homes, and social ties, you can use that fact when writing transition plans. Push for dual-enrollment options, insist on extended transition services, and track broad life-quality metrics—not just grades. The evidence is still thin, but the upside is huge and the risk of trying is low.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Higher education is increasingly becoming an option for young adults with intellectual disability (ID). Although initial evaluations of postsecondary education for this population have been promising, a broader "quality of life" framework needs to be adopted in order to truly understand the impact of these programs. Moreover, researchers and program evaluators must collect longitudinal data that follows former students for multiple years and uses multiple measures. We conducted a pilot evaluation of the life outcomes of students who had attended at least two semesters in Kentucky's supported higher education program for students with ID, collecting data on life status and experiences using measures from the National Core Indicators-Adult Consumer Survey. The findings from this pilot study show better outcomes for young adults who participated in a postsecondary education program compared to young adults who did not, but these findings need to be considered in light of several limitations. In many respects, our data provided more new questions than answers. Recommendations for collecting and evaluating broad-based, longitudinal data to gain insight into the potential benefits of postsecondary education for people with intellectual disability are discussed.
Intellectual and developmental disabilities, 2018 · doi:10.1352/1934-9556-56.1.69