Perspectives on Transitions: Rethinking Services for Children and Youth With Developmental Disabilities

Abstract Rosenbaum P, Stewart D. Perspectives on transitions: rethinking services for children and youth with developmental disabilities. Transition to adulthood for youth with developmental disabilities has become an important concern internationally of service providers working with these young people. Reflecting on the useful review by Binks and colleagues in this issue of the Archives , we argue as developmentalists that this is an ideal time to step back from our traditional preoccupation with “treatment” of childhood disability and to reconsider broadly what our goals for intervention ought to be. We invoke the concepts of the International Classification of Functioning, Health and Disability framework and draw on research that taps the voices of young people with disabilities—voices we believe have a lot to tell us about what has and has not worked for them. We suggest that there are unparalleled opportunities to enhance transition to adulthood for young people with developmental disabilities, in part by a feed-forward of the best of childhood services, and to work to prevent many of the difficulties faced by the current generation making this challenging transition.