Transition planning for students with intellectual disability, autism, or other disabilities: data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2.

Storch et al. (2012) mined the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2. They looked at 5,000 high-school students with IEPs. About half had autism or intellectual disability. The rest had other disabilities like ADHD or speech delays.

The team asked who led transition-planning meetings. They also counted how many kids still needed help after graduation.

Students with autism or ID rarely ran their own meetings. Only one in four took any leadership role. Peers with other disabilities spoke up twice as often.

After school, the autism/ID group needed more job coaching, daily-living help, and mental-health services. The gap stayed big even when IQ scores were similar.

Kuhn et al. (2022) offers a fix. Their Transitioning Together program trains parents to push for student-led goals. Schools that used it boosted service access, flipping the 2012 negative trend into a win.

Kirby (2016) shows why parent voice matters. When families set high expectations, autistic students landed jobs and lived on their own more often. A et al.’s data now reads like a baseline before that expectation boost.

Day et al. (2021) adds a skill target. Their survey found most employed grads had practiced job interviews. Pair student-led IEPs with interview drills and you tackle both voice and vocational gaps.

Next IEP meeting, reserve the first ten minutes for the student to share goals. Use visual scripts or AAC if needed. Invite parents to rehearse expectations at home. Track who talks and for how long—aim for the student to hold the floor at least half the time. Small shift, big payoff in post-school independence.