Life Beyond the Classroom: Transition Strategies for Young People with Disabilities (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781598572322)

Colleen A. Thoma, Ph.D., earned her doctoral degree from Indiana University, where she began her research on self-determination in transition planning. She is currently Associate Professor in the Department of Special Education and Disability Policy and Director of Doctoral Studies in the School of Education at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond. She teaches courses on disability policy, transition and secondary education, curriculum and instruction, and characteristics of students with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities. Her research interests include preparation of teachers to support selfdetermined transition planning, student-directed individualized education program development, and the impact of student self-determination on transition and academic outcomes. She has mentored doctoral candidates at VCU (including her co-author, Dr. Christina Bartholomew) in their own research on self-determination, teacher preparation, and transition services. Dr. Thoma's scholarship, teaching, and service have focused primarily in the areas of self-determination, transition planning and services, and teacher preparation. She co-authored a book on transition assessment with Dr. Caren Sax, Transition Assessment: Wise Practices for Quality Lives (Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 2002), and has authored or co-authored more than 40 peerreviewed journal articles, book chapters, and technical reports. She is a frequent presenter at major national conferences, with more than 100 peerreviewed presentations over the past 10 years. She is the recipient of VCU School of Education's award for Distinguished Scholarship (2007). Her leadership in the field of transition services also included 5 years on the executive board of the Division on Career Development and Transition, a division of the Council for Exceptional Children, including 1 year as President.

Kimberly Boyd, M.T., received her master in teaching degree in special education from Virginia Commonwealth University and is currently a third-year doctoral student in the Department of Special Education and Disability Policy. Her professional areas of interest include working with students with intellectual disability (ID), postsecondary education for students with ID, and the improvement of transition services for all students with disabilities. Ms. Boyd currently works as a special education coordinator for a local public high school.

Erik Carter, Ph.D. is a Professor in the Department Special Education at Vanderbilt University and a member of the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center. His research and teaching focuses on evidence-based strategies for supporting access to the general curriculum and promoting valued roles in school, work, and community settings for children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Prior to receiving his doctorate, he worked as a high school teacher and transition specialist with youth with significant disabilities. He has published widely in the areas of educational and transition services for children and youth with significant disabilities. He was the recipient of the Distinguished Early Career Research Award from the Council for Exceptional Children and the Early Career Award from the American Association for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. His research interests include adolescent transitions from school to adult life; peer relationships and peer support interventions; students with severe disabilities, access to the general curriculum; and religion, congregational supports, and disabilities.

Carolyn Hughes, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Department of Special Education at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, and Project Director of the federally funded Metropolitan Nashville Peer Buddy Program. In 1990, she received her doctoral degree in special education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, specializing in the areas of secondary transition and employment and self-management strategies. At Vanderbilt University, Dr. Hughes teaches courses in behavior management and the transition from school to adult life and manages several federally funded research and personnel preparation grants. She conducts research and publishes widely in the areas of self-instruction and self-determination, supporting the transition from school to adult life, and social interaction and social inclusion of high school students. Dr. Hughes is a coauthor of Teaching Self-Determination to Students with Disabilities: Basic Skills for Successful Transition (Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 1998) and is on the editorial board of the American Journal on Mental Retardation, Education and Training in Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, Journal of The Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, Journal of Behavioral Education, and Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions. In addition, Dr. Hughes taught general and special education classes in public schools in Montana for 10 years.

Mr. Griffin is Senior Partner at Griffin-Hammis Associates, LLC, a full-service consultancy specializing in building communities of economic cooperation, creating highperformance organizations, and focusing on disability and employment. He is also Codirector of the U.S. Department of Labor? (TM)s National Self-Employment Technical Assistance, Resources, and Training project with Virginia Commonwealth University and former Director of Special Projects at the Rural Institute at The University of Montana. He is also past director of an adult vocational program in southern Colorado, former Assistant Director of the Rocky Mountain Resource and Training Institute, and former Founder and Executive Director of CTAT in Colorado.

Elizabeth Evans Getzel, Ph.D., is Director of Postsecondary Education Initiatives with the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Workplace Supports at Virginia Commonwealth University. She has extensive experience conducting research, evaluation, and training in the areas of transition planning for secondary students with disabilities, postsecondary education for students with disabilities, and career planning/employment for individuals with disabilities. She currently directs approximately $3 million of grant-funded projects focusing on supported education in postsecondary education, career development for college students with disabilities, faculty professional development focusing on universal design principles, and secondary education transition services. Her research interests include secondary education transition planning, self-determination skills of college students with disabilites, and effective services and supports for college students with disabilities. Ms. Getzel serves as Associate Editor for the Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disabilityand is on the editorial boards for the Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation and The Journal for Vocational Special Needs Education She has authored or co-authored journal articles and book chapters on transition, career development, postsecondary education, and employment. In addition, Ms. Getzel has presented extensively at state, national, and international conferences and at meetings on her projects and research areas.

LaRon A. Scott, Ed.D., received a bachelor of science degree in criminal justice, with a psychology minor, from Radford University in Virginia. He worked as a mental health/mental retardation case manager before completing a master's degree in education from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). Qualified in special education and mental health, LaRon continues his career, which includes working with at-risk and children and adolescents with special needs by serving as an intensive in-home counselor and special education teacher. Mr. Scott teaches students with disabilities in both academic and community settings. He continues to guest lecture in graduate-level courses at VCU on universal design for learning and self-determination. He was recently named the special education department chairperson at the school where he is employed. In 2007, Mr. Scott received the Iva Dean Cook Teacher of the Year Award, given by the Division on Career Development and Transition of the Council for Exceptional Children.

Carol Schall, Ph.D., Director, Virginia Autism Resource Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Post Office Box 842020, Richmond, Virginia 23284

Dr. Schall is Assistant Professor of Special Education and Disability Policy at Virginia Commonwealth University. She has been learning from and supporting individuals with autism for more than 25 years. Dr. Schall is involved in supporting individuals across Virginia through her work as the director of the Virginia Autism Resource Center. She is well versed in completing functional behavior assessments and using positive behavior supports to develop comprehensive plans for individuals from a person-centered approach. Dr. Schall is a nationally known speaker. In addition to her speaking engagements, she provides consultations to schools, families, and community services providers who support individuals with autism or related disorders. Dr. Schall? (TM)s research interests include the use of psychotropic medication by individuals with autism spectrum disorders and training for parents and professionals who work with individuals with developmental disabilities. Dr. Schall is listed in the 2005 and 2006 editions of Who? (TM)s Who in America and was honored by TASH with their Positive Approaches Award.