You have to make a choice about what to do when you leave school.

This is a big decision. It is no different for people with intellectual disabilities.

People with intellectual disabilities have the same goals as everyone else. They want to get work they like and makes them happy.

Getting a job is good for you. It means you have money to spend, you feel useful, and you get to meet other people.

Yet people with intellectual disability are still not able to get a job. People do not see the value of having people with an intellectual disability in their workplace.

Transition to Work programs are developed to support people when they leave school. The programs help to develop the skills and qualifications. These can help you get work.

An evaluation of employment outcomes achieved by transition to work service providers in Sydney, Australia by Tianxi Xu and Roger J. Stancliffe shows that many of these programs are not working. Only half of the people finishing the two-year program find work.

The Transition to Work programs aim to help a lot of people who leave school. Many of these programs get funding every year. Researchers have looked at what happens in these programs over 5 years. They say that the programs are not helping people with an intellectual disability.

Something different needs to be done. New programs need to be funded.

People with intellectual disability are losing out. This is not good. They are missing out on having money. They miss out on having something useful to do. They miss out on meeting other people.

For more information read An evaluation of employment outcomes achieved by transition to work service providers in Sydney, Australia.

ASID is an organisation in Australia and New Zealand. ASID makes research easier to access for people with intellectual/learning disability[1], researchers, and service providers. ASID does this so that people know about good practice and policy. It wants a society where people with intellectual/learning disability have the same rights and opportunities as everyone. Information and membership details can be found on the ASID website https://asid.asn.au/

ASID owns two international academic journals published through Taylor & Francis: Journal of Intellectual & Developmental Disability (JIDD) and Research and Practice in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (RAPIDD). ASID members get access to these journals.

To increase who finds out about research, this article has key messages from a 2019 JIDD published article about employment of people with intellectual/learning disability.

[1] Australia uses the term intellectual disability and New Zealand uses the term learning disability.