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- Reading, Writing, and Language Research Training Program in Special Education: Early Career Development and Mentoring Research Training Program in Special Education: Postdoctoral Research Training Small Business Innovation Research in Special Education Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Competence Systems, Policy, and Finance Special Education Research and Development Centers Technology for Special Education Transition to Postsecondary Education, Career, and/or Independent Living Unsolicited and Other Awards: Special Education Research
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- Accelerating the Academic Achievement of Students with Learning Disabilities Research Initiative Center for Response to Intervention in Early Childhood National Research and Development Center on Serious Behavior Disorders at the Secondary Level National Research and Development Center on Improving Mathematics Instruction for Students with Mathematics Difficulties National Research and Development Center on Assessment and Accountability for Special Education Center on Secondary Education for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (CSESA) Special Education Research and Development Center on Reading Instruction for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students
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Special Education Research and Development Centers
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- Social and Community Involvement
- Cohort Comparisons of Experiences by Disability Category
- Cohort Comparisons of Experiences by Length of Time Out of High School
- Cohort Comparisons of Experiences by High School Completion Status
- Cohort Comparisons of Experiences by Demographic Differences
- Comparisons With the General Population
- Cautions in Interpreting Findings
- Looking Ahead
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Social and Community Involvement
Living successfully in their communities has long been considered central to youth with disabilities' quality of life (Halpern 1985). An important aspect of whether a youth is living successfully in the community is the "adequacy of his or her social and interpersonal network [which]…is possibly the most important of all" aspects of adjustment for young adults with disabilities (Halpern 1985, p. 480). The participation of youth in organized, extracurricular community groups did not differ between 1990 and 2005. In addition, the rates at which youth with disabilities were reported to have a driver's license were not different between the two cohorts for youth with disabilities overall.
- Reported rates of youth with disabilities participating in volunteer or community service activities were higher in 2005 than in 1990 by 13 percentage points (25 percent vs. 13 percent).
- Youth with disabilities as a group had a higher reported rate of voter registration in 2005 than in 1990 (53 percent vs. 67 percent, 14 percentage-point difference).
- The one negative form of community participation that can be compared between NLTS and NLTS2 is the rate at which youth with disabilities out of high school up to 4 years were reported to have been arrested at some time in their lives. This rate was 11 percentage points higher in 2005 than in 1990 (27 percent vs. 16 percent).