Scott H. Yamamoto

Methods for Collecting Postschool Outcomes Data on Young Adults With Disabilities: A Literature Synthesis

The current U.S. federal mandate for educational accountability requires state departments of education to collect data on the postschool employment and postsecondary school and/or training enrollment of young adults with disabilities. To examine how these data have been collected, we conducted a literature synthesis of follow-up and follow-along studies to answer four critical questions: (a) What data collection methods were used? (b) What were the sample characteristics? (c) What variables were examined? (d) What postschool outcomes were identified? We report the answers to these questions, discuss the limitations of our synthesis, outline implications for stakeholders, and make recommendations for state researchers collecting postschool outcomes data and for education professionals using these data to improve secondary transition programs for students with disabilities.

Successful vocational outcomes: A multilevel analysis of self-employment through U.S. vocational rehabilitation agencies

The last sentence of the first full paragraph on page 19 of section 2.3.2 HLM statistical analyses should read: A population-average model would answer a different question, for example, of how unemployment or being male affects the nationwide log odds of self-employment closure, holding constant other predictors, and averaging the random effects value across all states (i.e., nationwide average). The last sentence of the third and final paragraph of section 4.3.1 Implications for Researchers should read: Thus, moving forward, self-employment should be studied with longitudinal research designs, spanning several years.

The viability of self-employment for individuals with disabilities in the United States: A synthesis of the empirical-research literature

The lack of employment opportunities and stable employment for individuals with disabilities continues to pose personal and societal difficulties and challenges. Moreover, research and government statistics have consistently reported that individuals with disabilities have lower employment wages and benefits than individuals without disabilities, as well as limited opportunities for promotion and career advancement. Not surprisingly, individuals with disabilities also experience persistently higher poverty rates. While much is known in the empirical-research literature about individuals with disabilities who work for someone else, much less is known about individuals in self-employment. Some anecdotal information suggests that self-employment may be a way to improve these outcomes. In the present paper, we reviewed, analyzed, and synthesized the findings of empirical-research studies on self-employment of individuals with disabilities in the United States. We found that successful self-employment is defined in financial and non-financial terms and is largely influenced by three factors: individual characteristics, level of supports, and accountability systems. Because of the small number of U.S. research studies on self-employment, however, our conclusions are tentative. Further empirical research is needed, focusing especially on long-term outcomes. Implications for researchers, individuals with disabilities, and other stakeholders are discussed in conclusion.

Employment Outcomes of Vocational Rehabilitation Clients With Autism Spectrum Disorders

Research has consistently documented poor employment outcomes for young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Vocational rehabilitation (VR) services provide substantial federal and state commitments to individuals with disabilities to obtain and maintain employment. To date, little research has examined the relationship between VR services and employment outcomes of clients with ASD. The purpose of this descriptive study was to better understand employment outcomes of individuals with ASD. Data spanning 10 years from the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) 911 database were analyzed to identify characteristics of VR clients with ASD and the services they received. The percent of individuals who achieved competitive employment averaged 37% across the 10 years. Those who achieved an employment outcome participated in twice as many services as those who did not achieve an employment outcome.

Factors of Successful Self-Employment Through Vocational Rehabilitation for Individuals With Disabilities

A review of empirical research on self-employment of individuals with disabilities in the United States found that success appears to be influenced most by three factors: accountability systems, level of supports, and individual characteristics. In the present study, a conceptual framework based on that review was tested on federal data on individuals with disabilities who had become successfully self-employed through Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) services. Data from all 50 states and the District of Columbia were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The initial model did not converge to an admissible solution; therefore, it was respecified. The subsequent model converged to an admissible solution, however, model fit varied across location and time. A number of factors yet remain to be uncovered and tested to explain these variations. The study concludes with a discussion of limitations, recommendations for further research, and implications for researchers, VR agencies, and policy makers.

Individuals With Disabilities in Self-Employment Through Vocational Rehabilitation: Predictors of Successful Case Closure From 2008 to 2012

Since the passage of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, federal and state governments have played a significant role in the employment of individuals with disabilities. In the present study, one aspect of that relationship was analyzed—individuals with disabilities who received vocational rehabilitation (VR) services to become self-employed. The authors utilized a two-level hierarchical generalized linear modeling to analyze national data from the Rehabilitation Services Administration for fiscal years 2008–2012. Among several significant (p < .001) predictors of successful VR self-employment case closure across the years, ethnicity had the largest effect, followed by gender. Although the findings from this study build on those from a previous study, conclusions about the predictors are tentative. Nevertheless, the findings add to a sparse literature on VR self-employment of individuals with disabilities, and the authors discuss the study’s implications for researchers and VR and provide suggestions for further research.

Self-Employment Success and Challenges

There have been indications that self-employment could be a viable option for individuals with disabilities. Unfortunately, the sparse empirical literature limits our understanding of the phenomenon. Thus, the present study sought to contribute new knowledge. An empirical study was conducted of individuals with disabilities who were self-employed through vocational rehabilitation (VR) services. Individual and in-depth, in-person qualitative interviews were conducted with VR counselors and clients. From our analyses emerged three predominant themes: relationship dynamics, system mechanics, and social identities. Relationship dynamics described facets of counselor–client interactions; system mechanics described facets of procedures in a self-employment case; and social identities described facets of self-employment case development. These themes highlighted and explained differences between counselors’ and clients’ perspectives on self-employment success and challenges. While tentative, the findings in the present study inform the conceptual framework in new ways while also circumscribing implications for researchers, VR counselors and administrators, and government policymakers.

Educational Decision Making With Visual Data and Graphical Interpretation

In this study, we used a paper–pencil questionnaire to investigate whether teachers, administrators, and parents differed in their preferences and accuracy when interpreting visual data displays for decision making. For the data analysis, we used nonparametric tests due to violations of distributional assumptions for using parametric tests. We found no significant differences between the three groups on graph preference, but within two groups, we found statistically significant differences in preference. We also found statistically significant differences in accuracy between parents and administrators for two graphs—grouped columns and stacked columns. Implications for researchers and education stakeholders, and recommendations for further research are provided.