The Federal law mandates that free appropriate public education is available to eligible children with disabilities throughout the United States through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). It ensures that special education and related services are provided in the least restrictive environment. A transition plan is also required to be established for all students with an Individualized Education Program (IEP) before they turn 16. For students with high-incidence disabilities, the transition plan focuses primarily on academic access and accommodations and successful movement into postsecondary education. Other postsecondary areas also include competitive employment, independent living, and community participation. However, students with high-incidence disabilities continue to exhibit poor postsecondary outcomes compared to their peers despite having the potential to be successful and receiving the current level of support available. These youths need help in functional performance areas such as life skills which are not addressed in the school-based setting and significantly impact the transition to adulthood from an employment and independence perspective. Studies have also shown that students with disabilities continue to have significantly less involvement than their peers in areas related to employment, independent living, and community inclusion.
Occupational therapy practitioners (OTPs) have the skills and knowledge that may contribute to improved postsecondary outcomes for these students, yet the majority of school-based OTs do not work with transition age-youth or address goals related to transition planning. The role of occupational therapy in the transition team is not well-defined and limited by the guidelines of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and significantly decreases as the youths in the high-incidence category get older and closer to graduating from high school. Furthermore, there is the misconception that OTPs are limited to being providers of adaptive equipment, handwriting/fine motor activities, or sensory integration.
Following a literature review of the potential role of occupational therapy in transition, this paper proposes a model for an OT-led community-based intervention transition program focusing on life skills training. Skills for Exceptional Adult Life (SEAL) is an interprofessional collaboration program designed for high-incidence youths with developmental disabilities who do not receive comprehensive interventions that address life skills, vocational skills, and self-perceived confidence. According to the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework: Domain and Practice, 4th edition (AOTA, 2020), areas of occupation include activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living, rest and sleep, education, work, play, leisure, and social participation.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bu.edu/oai:open.bu.edu:2144/46626 |
| Date | 25 August 2023 |
| Creators | Boynton, Jessica Marie |
| Contributors | Byrne, Jennifer, Jacobs, Karen |
| Source Sets | Boston University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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