Parents' Role in Transition for Handicapped Youth.

Parents have a major influence on their children's attitudes toward work and life. Many studies have recognized the effect of parental influence on educational and career decisions (Naylor, 1986). Handicapped youth, who have more difficulty than other youth in making the transition from school to work and adult life, have a special need for parental guidance.

Transition can be defined as a systematic process to establish and implement a plan for the employment or additional training of a handicapped adolescent (Sitlington, 1986). This digest discusses the key roles parents can play in transition, especially in the areas of career exploration, job search and survival, independent living skills, and collaboration with educators and other service providers. It is based primarily upon the three parent guides in the CORRIDORS TO CAREERS (Izzo, Kopp, and Liming, 1986).

Roles in Career Expoloration

Parents sometimes overestimate the effects of a disability on their child's ability to accomplish a task. Lacking information about the requirements of specific occupations, they may rule out certain jobs as impossible. The process of career exploration involves learning more about individual limitations and strengths and about the requirements of various entry-level occupations, assessing individual interests, and matching interests and abilities with appropriate potential occupations.

Izzo, Kopp, and Liming (1986) describe some career exploration activities in which parents and handicapped youth can share. These include the following:

--Identify famous people who have achieved success despite their disability. --Use checklists to identify the adolescent's personal qualities, capabilities, and ideal working conditions. Gather information from teachers, counselors, and close relatives as well. --Find out about interest surveys and aptitude tests that a trained professional can administer. --Find out about appropriate training options, such as high school vocational education, vocational rehabilitation, apprenticeships, 2-year or technical colleges, and supported or sheltered employment. --Learn about work site modifications that may be needed to accommodate a disability.

Roles in Job Search and Survival

Parents can demonstrate the techniques of finding job leads, beginning with the help wanted ads. Before using them, abbreviations and terms that may be encountered should be explained; the adolescent can practice selecting an ad and explaining why the job is or is not desirable or appropriate. Other sources of leads include the telephone directory, school job placement office, state employment office, Rehabilitation Services Agency, private and temporary employment agencies, door-to-door canvassing, and job clubs.

Parents can assist in the preparation of a good resume by helping the adolescent think of accomplishments; by checking the information for accuracy and correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation; and by helping to identify persons who might give references. They might collect sample application forms from local businesses for practice in filling out application forms and preparing letters of application. Parents can also ensure that all the necessary documents (birth certificate, social security card, and so on) have been obtained.