Postschool Goal Expectations for Youth With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.

Wu et al. (2024) asked 1,500 parents and teens about life after high school.

They compared answers from families with intellectual or developmental disabilities to families with other disabilities.

The survey covered four goals: college, jobs, living on their own, and handling money.

Families with IDD scored much lower on every goal.

The gap was biggest for college and financial independence.

Even for jobs, expectations stayed below those of other disability groups.

Whaling et al. (2025) adds the teen voice. Their interviews show young adults with IDD see daily self-care as self-advocacy. This extends Yi-Chen’s numbers by showing what skills teens think matter most.

Gonzalo et al. (2024) reviewed college supports and found most campuses still fall short. This matches Yi-Chen’s low college expectations and shows the gap is not just attitude—real supports are missing.

Byra et al. (2020) found fathers with strong hope and self-efficacy report higher growth. This hints parent beliefs can shift expectations, offering a path to raise the low scores Yi-Chen reports.

Low expectations become ceilings unless we act. Use daily living goals in every transition IEP. Track cooking, budgeting, and bus riding like academic credits. When parents see quick wins, their hopes—and the student’s—start to climb.