High-Incidence Learning-Related Disabilities, Gender, and Educational and Employment Outcomes in Young Adulthood

The transition into post-secondary education or employment presents significant challenges for youth with high-incidence disabilities affecting learning, most commonly learning disabilities and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. To date, few longitudinal studies investigate this transition in youth with learning-related disorders specifically, especially while considering education and employment outcomes simultaneously. This study examined relationships between learning-related disabilities requiring an individual intervention plan (Individualized Education Program [IEP]) in high school and key transition outcomes in early twenties in Quebec (N = 513; 61.4% with an IEP; 51.0% male). Compared with their normative peers, youth with learning-related disabilities were less likely to graduate from high school and enroll in college; more likely to be neither in education, employment, or training (NEET); and equally likely to be employed, regardless of the job type (career-related or not). Young women with disabilities were particularly likely to be NEET, and the gender gap in college enrollment favoring women narrowed among those with disabilities. Gender and disability status appear to intersect to shape critical early adulthood outcomes.