Defining transition and transition success: Perspectives from different stakeholders

Although research has identified that the transition to adulthood for young persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities is not linear, little is known about how young persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities, parents, and teachers conceptualise transition, particularly successful transition. The focus of this paper is on how the different stakeholders conceptualised transition and what constitutes successful transition, in general, and for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Thematic analysis was applied to 8 focus groups with 84 participants, exploring transition and successful transition in the Czech Republic. Five themes emerged, including gaining independence, having a job and opportunities as everybody else, satisfaction with life, and transition of youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities as an important issue which needs to be addressed. Our findings point to the need for recognising different outcomes of successful transition from postsecondary education to adulthood, not just those primarily related to employment.