VIDBE-Q
Volume 62 Issue 2
Karen Wolffe, Consultant, Career Counseling & Consultation, LLC, Karen.wolffe@gmail.com
Teri Turgeon, Community Programs Director, Perkins School for the
Blind, Teri.Turgeon@perkins.org
Jessica Brown,
Community Programs Assistant Director, Perkins School for the
Blind, Jessica.Brown@perkins.org
Kate Katulak, Perkins On-campus TVI, Perkins School for the
Blind, Kate.Katulak@perkins.org
Although youth with visual impairments tend to graduate from high school and attend college in
numbers comparable to their sighted peers, they are at risk for unemployment as adults. Employment statistics
collected during the second National Longitudinal Transition Study indicated that young adults with blindness
or low vision were only less likely to be employed than those with cognitive impairment, autism, orthopedic
impairments, or multiple disabilities, including deaf-blindness (Newman et al., 2011).
The most current employment data available nationally for adults with visual impairments (21-64 years
old) indicate that their employment rate is approximately 42%; however, only 28% are employed full-time and
year-round. By comparison, the employment rate nationwide for individuals (21-64 years of age) without
disabilities is 78.3% and 58.6% of those are working full-time and year-round. Employment in New England
for individuals (21-64 years old) with visual impairments ranges from 37.6% in Maine to 55.9% in Rhode
Island; 43.6% in Massachusetts. The employment rates for individuals (21-64 years old) in New England
range from 82.5% in Maine to 81.2% in Rhode Island; 81.6% in Massachusetts (Erickson, Lee, & von
Schrader, 2017).
Research has evidenced several factors that seem to lead to successful employment for youth with
visual impairments: Finding jobs independently, the number and length of jobs held while in school, applied
Transition programming: Implementation &
results from Perkins
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