This study describes the results of a program developed to improve the transition outcomes of low-income minority youth with disabilities. The program relies on case management support to facilitate interagency collaboration. The participants included 164 graduates from special education and 26 youth from an equivalent comparison group. Two case…

The vast majority of high school students plan to attend college, but little is known about the postsecondary enrollment of students who exit high school with certificates of completion or individualized diplomas. With as many as 10% of all high school completers in some states earning documentation other than the high school diploma, it is…

This article explores the key characteristics of postsecondary education programs that help youth and young adults with disabilities persist and remain in college. Student support factors include services that develop stronger self-determination skills, teach and support young adults' self-management skills, expose students to assistive…

As increasing numbers of students with disabilities access postsecondary education, research studies and literature reviews have investigated the needs of these students who chose to pursue postsecondary education. These articles included studies that (a) asked students with disabilities to identify needs and (b) summarized needs in literature…

Forces including legislation, policy, standards-based educational reforms, and changing economic and social conditions have dramatically altered the conversation and practices around postsecondary transition. This article traces the development of postsecondary transition as it is reflected in the professional literature and federal legislation…

Disability Service Staff at colleges and universities in Ontario, Canada were surveyed regarding the number of students arriving at their offices with the label of mild intellectual disability. Information was obtained regarding criteria used in association with this label, documentation required to support the classification, and accommodations…

Universal design in the education setting is a framework of instruction that aims to be inclusive of different learners to reduce barriers for all students, including those with disabilities. We used the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL focuses on the learner) and Universal Design for Instruction (UDI focuses on instruction) as the…

For adults with intellectual disabilities, the opportunity to attend a postsecondary institution is increasingly becoming reality. Although there is a growing body of literature documenting examples of inclusive postsecondary education, there is a lack of information detailing the experiences of pre-service teacher candidates (TCs) who are…

This study examined the effects of participation in the Learning Opportunities Task Force (LOTF) programs on postsecondary students with learning disabilities (LDs). Data regarding 969 students from 6 colleges and 4 universities in Ontario were evaluated to investigate rates of academic success and increased self-awareness. Participants had a…

This article reviews three studies that provide evidence that students with learning disabilities (LD) display optimistic academic self-beliefs, even in the face of relatively poor academic performance. In the first study, a quantitative approach was used to explore the spelling and writing self-efficacy of 133 adolescents with and without LD.…

Teachers need to expand their understanding of language in order to meet the diverse language and literacy needs of their students. Students may demonstrate deficits in the domains of language form (phonology, morphology, syntax), content (semantics), and use (pragmatics). However, existing studies have only investigated teachers' knowledge of…

In 1997, the government of Ontario announced the establishment of the Learning Opportunities Task Force (LOTF) to develop and administer a series of pilot projects to enhance the transition of students with specific learning disabilities into postsecondary education, and to identify what supports, services and accommodations would assist these…

Little research has focused on inclusion of students with disabilities at the university level. We asked students and professors at the University of Lethbridge to indicate their acceptance of three levels of inclusion (included in classes, provided with assistance and provided with professorial accommodation) for students with five categories of…

Writing samples were examined from 42 post-secondary students with or without writing difficulties. Guided by the Simple View of Writing (Berninger et al., 2002), the samples were examined for evidence of difficulties with lower-order transcription processes and higher-order composition skills. Retrospective reports on writing strategies were also…

Exposure to print is a significant predictor of vocabulary growth and declarative knowledge in normally achieving readers (Stanovich, West, & Harrison, 1995). Research has also shown that initial differences in print exposure can be used to predict differences in reading comprehension in children studied ten years after initial assessment…