A challenging transition occurs when students with intellectual disabilities leave high school, yet there is little data in the literature covering this period of secondary transition. The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe the perspectives of a young adult with an intellectual disability who completed the secondary transition process, his parent, and a vocational specialist. Data was collected through a semi-structured interview with each of the three participants about their experiences during the secondary transition. Three themes emerged from the data, including \"I had no expectations\": Expectations of the parent and transition plan; \"He can do all those self-help things\": Goal and skill development to support independence; and \"She is my guardian\": Learning how to be an advocate. The results of this study speak to a need for strong advocates for students with intellectual disabilities during secondary transition.
","abstract_html":"<p>A challenging transition occurs when students with intellectual disabilities leave high school, yet there is little data in the literature covering this period of secondary transition. The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe the perspectives of a young adult with an intellectual disability who completed the secondary transition process, his parent, and a vocational specialist. Data was collected through a semi-structured interview with each of the three participants about their experiences during the secondary transition. Three themes emerged from the data, including "I had no expectations": Expectations of the parent and transition plan; "He can do all those self-help things": Goal and skill development to support independence; and "She is my guardian": Learning how to be an advocate. The results of this study speak to a need for strong advocates for students with intellectual disabilities during secondary transition. </p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Steinman, Katherine"],"institution":"Eastern Kentucky University","degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Master's","degree_discipline":"Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2013,"date_issued":"2013-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2013-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:19Z","subjects":["case study","personal experience","secondary transition","intellectual disabilities","Occupational Therapy"],"languages":[],"rights":["Copyright 2013 Katherine Steinman"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/135","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Steinman, Katherine"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Master Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master's"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Eastern Kentucky University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["case study","personal experience","secondary transition","intellectual disabilities","Occupational Therapy"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2013 Katherine Steinman"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/135"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["A challenging transition occurs when students with intellectual disabilities leave high school, yet there is little data in the literature covering this period of secondary transition. The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe the perspectives of a young adult with an intellectual disability who completed the secondary transition process, his parent, and a vocational specialist. Data was collected through a semi-structured interview with each of the three participants about their experiences during the secondary transition. Three themes emerged from the data, including \"I had no expectations\": Expectations of the parent and transition plan; \"He can do all those self-help things\": Goal and skill development to support independence; and \"She is my guardian\": Learning how to be an advocate. The results of this study speak to a need for strong advocates for students with intellectual disabilities during secondary transition.
"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:source","label":"Dc Source","values":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Expectation vs. Perspective: A personal experience of completing transition from high school to community"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Steinman, Katherine"],"dc:description.abstract":["A challenging transition occurs when students with intellectual disabilities leave high school, yet there is little data in the literature covering this period of secondary transition. The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe the perspectives of a young adult with an intellectual disability who completed the secondary transition process, his parent, and a vocational specialist. Data was collected through a semi-structured interview with each of the three participants about their experiences during the secondary transition. Three themes emerged from the data, including \"I had no expectations\": Expectations of the parent and transition plan; \"He can do all those self-help things\": Goal and skill development to support independence; and \"She is my guardian\": Learning how to be an advocate. The results of this study speak to a need for strong advocates for students with intellectual disabilities during secondary transition.
"],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/135"],"dc:publisher":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2013 Katherine Steinman"],"dc:source":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"],"dc:subject":["case study","personal experience","secondary transition","intellectual disabilities","Occupational Therapy"],"dc:title":["Expectation vs. Perspective: A personal experience of completing transition from high school to community"],"dc:type":["Master Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy"],"thesis:degree_level":["Master's"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"],"thesis:institution_name":["Eastern Kentucky University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:19Z"}