Differently Abled

Current research stresses the importance of the transition of students with disabilities into adulthood. Folsom-Meek, Nearing, and Bock (2007) describe the transition process as successful when it culminates from the K-12 setting into postsecondary education or training. Despite recent efforts, the transition process from high school into the adult world still faces challenges for students with disabilities and provided the impetus for the study. The qualitative, phenomenological study explored the attitudes, beliefs, and practices of providers of adult care services regarding their effect on the challenges faced by students with disabilities exiting high school. The study suggests solutions to ease these social concerns. One county in Western North Carolina was the focus of the study. Twenty providers of adult services were interviewed, along with their promotional materials. Data gathering and analysis were designed to identify adult care services providers' best practices regarding youths with disabilities exiting high school and promoting current marketing practices. The interviews revealed unique situations and perspectives while defining and describing adult health care providers' shared concern of services to students with disabilities transitioning from high school to the workforce. Three themes were identified from the data analysis: (a) programs available, (b) current marketing strategies, and (c) additional services needed. Findings indicated a gap in the overall transition process from high school into adult life for young adults with disabilities in western North Carolina. The identified gap is the deficit of available funds at the county and state levels to compensate for the depletion of government funds allotted for individuals with disabilities.