IEP/Transition Planning Experiences of Students With Autism, Intellectual Disability, and Multiple Disabilities

Previous research has suggested that students’ participation in the individualized education program (IEP)/transition planning meeting is an important factor for predicting the post-school outcomes of students with disabilities. However, students with autism, intellectual disability (ID), and multiple disabilities (MD) are less likely to participate in IEP/transition planning meetings. This study examined data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study 2012 (NLTS 2012), a nationally representative sample of students with disabilities, to explore the IEP/transition planning meeting experiences of students with autism ( n = 500), ID ( n = 690), MD ( n = 540), and a reference group of students with other disabilities ( n = 2,850) and their parents. The analysis explored students’ IEP/transition planning experiences and sought to identify predictors of youth involvement and contribution in the IEP/transition planning meeting. Significant group differences were found in both parent and youth perceptions of youth involvement and contribution in coming up with transition goals during the meeting. Significant predictors of students’ IEP/transition planning meeting experiences also varied by student group. Findings from this study suggest active participation during IEP/transition planning meetings is differentially related to family- and student-level factors depending on disability category. Future studies need to further investigate unique factors contributing to active participation for students with autism, ID, and MD in the IEP/transition planning process.