Promoting the resilience of students with intellectual disabilities in the transition to adulthood
Francine Julien-Gauthier, Chantal Desmarais, Steve Jacob, Sarah Martin-Roy, Marie Grandisson, Marie-Ève Lamontagne, Marie-Catherine St-Pierre
The transition to adulthood is a major challenge for students with a developmental disability, with implications for their overall personal, family and social lives. In order to achieve optimal social participation, these students need planned and well-orchestrated support during the transition period. The purpose of this study is to identify and describe promising transition practices for students with developmental disabilities implemented by classroom staff and school and community resources. The research is based on the conceptual framework of resilience in education, which is based on the belief that solutions can be found and practiced to overcome adversity (Ionescu et al., 2016). This is a qualitative, exploratory, participatory study involving 15 students in a special education class and their school and social workers. Educational practices are described using Kohler et al.’s (2016) theoretical framework that includes student-centered planning, developmental support, cross-sector collaboration, program structure, and family engagement. The results show the importance of community-integrated learning activities in supporting students’ development and social participation as well as strengthening their academic, social, and vocational skills.
Keywords
Students with intellectual disabilities, Transition, Promising practices, Community Integrated Education, Social participation.
