ABSTRACT
This chapter concerns the question of the stresses experienced by disabled teenagers during the first year after they left school. Since little research evidence was available we wanted to establish, first, what proportion of disabled school leavers found the transition year stressful, and to what extent; and secondly, the nature of the stresses they encountered. Six of the young people in day centres were considered to have anxieties about the future, while the five young people at home for all or most of the post-school year were clearly worried about their future prospects. The chapter deals with stresses related to the placement, stresses related to health and disability problems, and stresses engendered by personal and family relationships. Anxiety with regard to future placement was also a common experience. In terms of incontinence management things seemed to have improved during the year following school, although the social problem of how to explain their disability to others remained.
