Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Health Care Transition: Stakeholder Perspectives.

Mirzaian et al. (2025) asked 277 people what blocks young adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities from moving smoothly from pediatric to adult health care. The group included parents, teachers, doctors, and community groups. Everyone took the same online survey that listed possible barriers and asked which ones matter most.

Different groups named different walls. Community agencies said stigma and provider bias are the biggest problems. Advocates put easy access to college or training at the top. All groups agreed that youth who also have mental-health needs face the tallest hurdles.

Walsh et al. (2017) counted actual transition plans and found fewer than 10% of youth with autism meet national health-care goals. Bottrell’s survey now tells us why: each stakeholder sees a different roadblock, so no single fix works.

Wu et al. (2024) showed parents and students with IDD already expect less from life after high school. Bottrell adds detail: low expectations may stem from stigma (community view) or lack of college paths (advocate view).

Aleman-Tovar et al. (2022) learned Latinx families want in-person help, not paper handouts. Bottrell agrees that delivery mode matters, but widens the lens to show every group wants something slightly different.

If you write a transition plan, run a quick stakeholder check first. Ask the community agency what stigma they see. Ask the advocate what college doors are closed. Then add extra mental-health supports for youth with dual diagnoses. One plan can cover all three angles instead of repeating the same generic template.