Social Interactions of Secondary-Aged Students with Severe Handicaps: Implications for Facilitating the Transition from School to Work

The social interactions of a group of 10 students with severe handicaps attending a junior high school campus were described with the use of narrative recording procedures. The students were observed when they arrived at school, during lunch, and when they were engaged in vocational training. In addition, teacher perceptions of behavior were measured, and parents were interviewed regarding their childrens\u27 future vocational opportunities and their social relationships with their peers. The results from this study indicated that (a) these youth of transition age were involved in more task-related than nontask interactions, (b) they were engaged in more interactions with teachers than peers, (c) the purposes of the interactions were similar across contexts, and (d) these youth were dependent on contrived or extra cues and feedback from their environment in their vocational settings. These results are discussed with respect to their implications for facilitating the transition from school to work