In the High School and Beyond (HSB) study, data on over 58,000 American tenth and twelfth graders were collected. The current study performed secondary analyses on three special needs groups from the public school data set: 1200 hearing impaired students, 767 speech disabled students, and 1249 learning disabled students. Disabled students were found to be significantly older than non-impaired peers, and a disproportionately high number of minority children were identified as disabled. On all measures of academic achievement the disabled students fared more poorly than did non-disabled classmates. Handicapped students reported lower estimates of self-concept and adjustment and a significantly higher frequency of being in trouble with the law. Finally, compared to non-disabled peers, the disabled pupils reported having more school-related problems and stress, doing less homework, and having lower work orientations and career aspirations. Four tables are provided. (Author/DB)