Careers of Young People with Disabilities between Ages 15 and 21 Years

ABSTRACT

This study investigates the vocational activities of young people with moderate or severe disablement during the transition to adult life. The main purpose is to describe and classify the patterns of activities–their type, duration and sequence–and to look at vocational careers according to young people's characteristics.

The sample included 274 young people who lived in England. Details of their activities in each month between the age of 15 and 21 were obtained by means of postal questionnaires and interviews.

After leaving school, two thirds of the young people in this sample entered occupational centres for adults with disabilities; only 5% found a job in open employment. One in four young people were wholly unoccupied or still in transitional placements at age 21. There were significant differences between young people with physical or mental impairment in their post-school careers and sources of vocational advice and support. Physically impaired young people experienced a more difficult transition but the mentally impaired apparently faced a more limited range of vocational choice.

The implications of these findings for services, for the young people themselves and for easing their transition to adult life are discussed in a concluding section.