En Route to Adulthood: A High School Transition Program for Adolescents with Disabilities

In 1984, an occupational therapy-based independent living skills transition program was established at Savanna Hihh School in Anaheim, California, the purpose of which was to facilitate the transition of adolescents with disabilities from high school to adult life roles. The conceptualization of this program was based on themes central to the emerging discipline of occupational science which were extracted from the occupational behavior frame of reference and from complementary literature of other disciplines. These themes include occupation and occupational role, environment, independence, and adaptation. The design of the program, with its emphasis on skills acquisition, decision making, problem solving, and risk taking, is described.