Parent Perspectives on Pre-Employment Transition Services for Youth With Disabilities

Parents have long been recognized as critical supports and partners to youth with disabilities preparing for the world of work. We collected survey responses from 253 parents of transition-age youth with disabilities regarding their views on practices related to pre-employment transition services (Pre-ETS), the overall employment preparation of their children, potential barriers to future employment, and their knowledge of local transition resources. Parents reported that their children would benefit from an array of employment-focused transition practices. However, they were quite mixed in their views of prevailing barriers and current employment preparation. Moreover, a large majority of parents said they were unfamiliar with a range of transition-related resources available in their communities. In some areas, the views of parents differed based on the type of community in which they lived (i.e., rural vs. non-rural) or the nature of their child’s disability (i.e., intellectual and developmental disabilities vs. other disabilities). We offer recommendations for supporting families as they prepare their children with disabilities for life after high school.