Vocational predictions compared with present vocational status of 60 young adults with cerebral palsy.

A group of 97 cerebral-palsied students between the ages of seven and 16 years were assessed in the 1960s and 1970s, and predictions were made as to their vocational status as adults. In 1983, 60 of the 76 over 18 years of age were contacted. 39 had been employed at some time since leaving high-school, but only 17 were employed at the time of the survey. Of those who had worked, over half had achieved or exceeded their vocational predictions. Those in competitive employment were more likely to be mildly disabled, to have higher IQs and to have been educated in integrated schools. Those who had never been employed were older and less independent in self-care and travel in the community. However, intelligence was not a major factor in distinguishing the employed from the never-employed. Recommendations are made for integrated education and job training in competitive settings, for community-based assessments and for family involvement in all aspects of planning to improve the vocational prospects of cerebral-palsied children.