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Leaving special school: post‐16 outcomes for young adults with specific language impairment

Investigations of the post‐16 outcomes for young people with a specific language impairment (SLI) are limited in scope. The current study extends our understanding of the young people’s outcomes by examining the academic, employment and social outcomes of a cohort of pupils who attended a residential special school in the south east of England for pupils with SLI. Sixty participants ranging between 17 and 22 years of age completed a telephone survey. The survey examined education, work and training, leisure and social life and views about the future. As a cohort, the young people were adapting well to the demands of life as young adults, and a significant minority had entered higher education. The results are examined in three ways: a comparison of outcomes across the cohort, with national data for other young people with a history of special educational needs (SEN); identification of potentially vulnerable groups within the cohort and the identification of common transition experiences that reflect general current trends in the transition literature. The results thus contribute to models that aim to conceptualise transitions into adulthood and provide evidence to support educational polices and practice to support young people with SLI through these vital transition years.