This paper draws on the results of a recently completed research project on the transition from compulsory education into post-compulsory FE/HE (Further and Higher Education: college and university) of young people with special educational needs (SEN) in Ireland. The project, funded by the Irish National Council for Special Education  (NCSE), explored how young people with SEN have access to and participate in FE/HE and how the process of transition enables them to move forward in their chosen educational pathway. The project answered the following research questions:

• What are the access and progression pathways for students with SEN moving from compulsory education to FE / HE institutes?
• What resources and supports are available to students with SEN to accommodate them making this progression?
• What are the experiences of students with SEN in accessing and progressing to FE / HE?
• What major issues and barriers arise with regards to access, progression, and transition?

In examining transition, the paper focuses primarily on the needs of young people with ASD. Transitions for students with SEN are complex and highly individual (Dee, 2006), and linked to the young people’s aspirations in the context of their families, as well as being influenced by the support and guidance offered by their schools. Within this broad ecological model (Brofenbrenner, 1979), Hendricks and Wehman (2009) suggest that young people with ASD faced transitions from school that are particularly fraught with social and emotional barriers which are involved in making new attachments and living in communities.  It has been suggested that educational establishments can make significant changes and accommodations to improve accessibility (Hart, Grigal & Weir, 2010), but that there is a danger of addressing the disability rather than the unique needs and aspirations of the individual young person. 

This paper draws on the voices of young people with ASD and Asperger syndrome, and significant others to highlight the effects of ASD on transitions, both on an educational level and in relation to individual self-efficacy and well-being. The cases of these young people with ASD highlight the importance of focussing on each individual in order to facilitate access to continuing education when the young person leaves the familiar school environment. The analysis of their accounts show that there is no single approach to facilitating successful transition. Rather, transition is experienced differently while in all cases leading the young person to gain in self-determination or the combination of skills, knowledge and beliefs that enable a person to engage in goal-directed, self-regulated, autonomous behaviour’ Field, et al. (quoted in Field, Sarver and Shaw 2003, 339).

The paper will discuss the significant impact of ASD on, before and after transition and will suggest both barriers and mitigating factors which impact on their successful transitions. The paper will examine how ASD impacts upon freedom of choice on post-secondary pathways and issues of continuity in support and accessing resources which may not align with developing maturity and self-determination.   

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