Multi-informant assessment of transition-related skills and skill importance in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder.
Always pull ratings from the student, parent, and teacher—then tackle the gaps in problem-solving, planning, and self-advocacy first.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Hume et al. (2018) asked three groups to rate the same teen with autism. The teen, a parent, and a teacher each filled out a checklist about 73 transition skills.
The survey covered things like paying bills, asking for help, and planning for college. Each person also said how important each skill is.
What they found
The three raters rarely agreed. The biggest gaps showed up in problem-solving, future planning, and self-advocacy.
Adults often thought a skill was crucial while the teen marked it as unimportant. These mismatches were common and large.
How this fits with other research
Golubović et al. (2013) saw the same pattern in quality-of-life ratings. Parents and teens with intellectual disability also disagreed, especially on health items. The message is clear: one viewpoint is never enough.
Chandroo et al. (2020) adds the teen voice. Their interviews show students with autism want more say in planning but get left out. Kara’s numbers now explain why: adults and kids value different skills.
Brugnaro et al. (2024) focused only on teens with intellectual disability. Those teens rated their own life skills lower than peers with other disabilities. Kara widens the lens by showing disagreement is just as strong in autism.
Why it matters
If you write transition goals, collect ratings from the student, parent, and teacher on the same form. Circle the items where scores or importance levels differ by two or more points. Start the next IEP meeting by discussing those gaps. This quick step keeps the plan student-focused while still honoring adult concerns.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Adolescents with autism spectrum disorder have limited participation in the transition planning process, despite the link between active participation and an improvement in postsecondary education and employment outcomes. The Secondary School Success Checklist was designed to support transition planning for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder by incorporating their own assessments of strengths, skill deficits, and prioritization for instruction along with those of their parents and teachers across multiple skill domains. Findings from more than 500 adolescents with autism spectrum disorder across the United States indicate discrepancies between adolescent, teacher, and parent ratings of skills highlighting the importance of the inclusion of multiple perspectives in transition planning. Although ratings varied, agreement between adolescents with autism spectrum disorder, parents, and teachers across the highest and lowest rated skills suggests the need to broaden the focus on critical transition skills to include problem-solving, planning for life after high school, and self-advocacy.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2018 · doi:10.1177/1362361317722029