Background to the Research

• This chapter explores the transition to adulthood for young people with disabilities and describes the findings of a two year study carried out in Northern Ireland by the Centre for Child Care Research. It also examines how transition planning can effectively assist successful progress to adulthood.

Research Approach

• The study included 76 young people with a range of disabilities (physical, sensory and/or learning) and aged between 16 and 21 years. A multi-sampling method was used. First, one Health and Social Services Trust was selected from each Board area, ensuring a mix of urban/rural, religious and geographical representation. Second, young people aged between 16 and 21 years were identified in each trust area. As no obvious sampling frame existed, a combination of snowball and purposive sampling was used. Key individuals were selected for their good contacts with disabled young people. In this way a list was compiled of young people willing to participate in the project. The profile of 76 young people involved in the study indicated an even mix of genders, a good spread across the age group targeted, and a wide range of types of disabilities.
• Semi-structured interviews were conducted using interview schedules that included various components. Interviews were completed with the young people where possible. To this end a degree of flexibility was built into the interview schedule. A shorter version of the questionnaire was designed, which the interviewer could use for young people with more severe learning disabilities. Of the 76 young people in this study, 69 were able to participate to some extent (49 completed a full interview and 18 completed a shorter version) while a further 9 young people (with severe learning and communication difficulties) were included by proxy through interviews with their parents

Main Findings

Gaining Employment

• The study found that disabled young people participated in a range of daytime occupations. In total , 43 young people attended some form of educational institution, on either full-time (18) or part-time basis (25).
• Similar numbers attended school (18) and further education colleges (19), while a few students attended residential schools (3) or further education residential colleges (2). Many were undertaking a youth training programme (Jobskills), and this usually combined work placements with part-time study for vocational qualifications at a local college. Of the 76 young people, 45 were currently studying for a qualification.
• Although only one person stated that they had no formal activity during weekdays and many young people were occupied with vocational training and/or work placements, only two young people had actually obtained a job which did not involve a work placement. One of these young people was employed on an ACE scheme and earned below the minimum wage.
• Achievement of adult status in terms of employment has yet to be realised for the majority of young people in the Northern Ireland study.

Independent Living and Personal Autonomy

• It was evident that most of the disabled young people were reliant in state benefits and training allowances as their main source of income. Some young people also received income from either their parents (12) or other relatives (6). Only seven reported an income received through a regular job, five of which were spare-time jobs with small amounts of money involved.
• Money was mainly spent on clothes, food, sweets, going out, magazines/books or CDs. Almost two-thirds said that they bought their own clothes, while parents purchased clothes for the remaining third. Of those who said they bought their own clothes, 38 said they had help to do so.
• Forty-nine young people were asked if any of their money went towards rent, housekeeping, food and other bills. Twenty-nine did contribute to household bills, although 13 did not specify an amount. Twelve said they paid amounts ranging from £10-25 per week, while one person said s/he paid for telephone calls.
• Three-quarters of the sample put some of their money in a savings account, 22 of which deposited the money themselves, while parents made deposits for the 32 others. Most of the young people were, however, more likely to withdraw money themselves (35).
• Eighteen young people said they went to see their GP alone. Of the 18 young people who had seen a social worker in the last year, 8 had done so on their own. Half of the young people said they made appointments themselves.
• Forty four of the 76 had their own house key, while a further 13 had access to a key, making a total of 75% young people either having access to a key or having their own key to their home. A slightly higher proportion of young people in rural areas had their own key or access to a key (82%) compared to those living in urban areas (72%).
• Young people with multiple disabilities (54%) were much less likely to have access to their own house key than other young people. All young people with physical disabilities only, and 85% of those with sensory disabilities only, had a house key or access to one, compared with two-thirds (68%) of those with learning disabilities only.

Social Life and Community Involvement

• The sample of young people seemed to have a wide range of leisure and social activities. Almost half (37) belonged to a club, group or society. Some of these were for disabled young people but many were mainstream organised activities, including youth clubs, church clubs, sports clubs or Phab clubs aimed at facilitating interaction between young disabled and non-disabled people.
• Nine out of ten said that they had friends their own age, and all young people reported having at least one friend. Friends were made through school/college, work or job placement, or through clubs/societies. Three-quarters said that they saw friends in their spare time, outside of college, work or day centre hours.
• In addition to friends, one-quarter of the sample said that they had a boyfriend/girlfriend. It would seem that many young people had an active social life and took part in several social and leisure activities.

Adult Roles and Family

• Young people seemed more likely to complete certain tasks such as washing up, making their bed, cleaning their room and doing the shopping, than getting meals ready or washing or ironing their own clothes. Many however, were involved in the whole range of tasks. In this way many young people were developing responsible roles within their household.
• Forty three young people thought that at some stage they would like to leave home, however, the stage in their life that they said they would like to leave varied greatly.
• Thirty-eight young people thought that they would like to get married at some stage, 24 of which thought that they actually would.
• Fifteen young people said they would need some help in order to live on their own. Half said they would ask their parents for help. Other sources of aid included carers, friends, other relatives and social workers. Access to accommodation was a major issue for several young people, who felt that adaptations would be necessary for them to be able to live somewhere else.
• The findings suggest that the aspirations of young people with disabilities are similarly wide-ranging to those of any young people. Their wishes ranged from idealistic, such as winning the lottery, to the more practical, such as to have a good job and a nice house. The most frequently occurring wishes were to get a job (23), to have their own home (20), to get married (14), to have a boy/girl friend (6), to be happy (12) and to have children (10).
• About one quarter of the sample had a dream of winning the lottery or being rich and/or famous.