About

Allison Lombardi is a professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Psychology and Special Education at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Her research focuses on the transition from adolescence to adulthood, with particular emphasis on college and career readiness and the higher education experiences of disabled students. She has developed and tested effective curricula and assessments aimed at improving special education transition services for disabled youth and young adults. Dr. Lombardi has secured over $14 million in external funding from federal and state agencies, including the Institute of Education Sciences, the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, and the National Science Foundation. She has published over 75 articles in peer-reviewed journals and authored 10 book chapters. Currently, she serves as the co-editor of the journal 'Career Development and Transition for Exceptional Individuals,' the official publication of the Council for Exceptional Children's Division on Career Development and Transition. Prior to her current position, she was an associate professor at the University of Connecticut from 2012 to 2024, where she taught courses in the Special Education Program and directed two online graduate certificate programs.

Research topics

• Psychology
• Medical education
• Political Science
• Pedagogy
• Medicine
• Applied psychology
• Computer Science
• Developmental psychology
• Mathematics education
• Psychiatry
• Environmental health
• Public relations
• Clinical psychology
• Medical emergency
• Social psychology

Selected publications

• From the Editors

  Career Development and Transition for Exceptional Individuals · 2026-04-16

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• An Exploratory Study of Vocational Rehabilitation and Postsecondary Education Among Youth with Disabilities

  Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness · 2026-03-05

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• From the Editors

  Career Development and Transition for Exceptional Individuals · 2026-01-16

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Returning to Move Forward: Service Patterns and Employment Outcomes among Vocational Rehabilitation Returners

  Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation · 2026-01-09

  article

  Background Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Returners are individuals who receive services, have their case closed, and later return for additional services. This understudied group is critical for improving service delivery and resource allocation. Objective We examined demographic and case factors predicting return to VR services, compared employment outcomes between returners and one-time consumers, and identified VR services linked to competitive employment outcomes. Method Using Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA-911) data (2017–2024), we identified 110,061 returners (6.8%). Logistic regression models examined predictors of return and service types associated with competitive employment; linear regression models compared continuous employment outcomes (weekly hours and wages) between returners and one-time consumers. Results Individuals receiving public benefits showed higher return rates, with benefit receipt accounting for initial racial disparities. Black and American Indian individuals were more likely to receive benefits; Hispanic individuals less likely. Returners achieved higher employment rates but worked fewer hours at lower wages. Job Placement Assistance and Diagnosis and Treatment were positively associated with employment outcomes. Conclusion VR return patterns reflect intersections of benefit receipt, disability characteristics, and structural constraints. Returners’ higher employment rates but lower wages and hours suggest strategic workforce participation, highlighting the need for longitudinal, career pathway approaches in VR service delivery.

  PublisherDOI

• From the Editors

  Career Development and Transition for Exceptional Individuals · 2025-04-25

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• From the Editors

  Career Development and Transition for Exceptional Individuals · 2025-10-20

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Youth With Intellectual Disability and Family Perceptions of Individualized Education Program Meeting Participation During Secondary Education

  American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities · 2025-12-09

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Examining Daily Living Skills and Economic Hardship for Youth With Disabilities Using the NLTS2012

  Career Development and Transition for Exceptional Individuals · 2025-02-03 · 3 citations

  article

  Daily living skills (DLS) are crucial to the postschool success of all students with disabilities. However, there are discrepancies in the opportunities and supports for the development of DLS for students with intellectual disability and autism. In this pre-registered study, we used data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study 2012 to create a latent construct of DLS and examine its relationship with economic hardship. Results indicated students with intellectual disability and autism had the lowest level of DLS compared with students with high-incidence disabilities. Non-White students faced higher levels of economic hardship compared with White students. Results from this study have implications for large-scale survey design and indicate a need for additional research on students of color with intellectual disability or autism.

  PublisherDOI

• Supporting Disabled Learners Through the Variations Planning Tool and Universal Design

  Oxford University Press eBooks · 2025-08-05

  book-chapter

  Abstract This chapter discusses one method instructors can use to consider variations in student needs, abilities, and interests when designing courses, delivering course content, and assessing learning. First, the chapter introduces the Variations Planning Tool (VPT) as a mechanism for instructors to critically examine whom they are privileging and whom they are simultaneously taxing based on their instructional practices; this analysis supports instructors to identify barriers to access and participation within their instruction. Next, the chapter will present universal design as a mechanism to address and lower these identified barriers within the instructional environment. Finally, the chapter discusses impacts of emergency remote instruction, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, examples of enabling, mitigating, and disabling instructional strategies, and accessibility and inclusivity inherent in the emergency remote instruction practices.

  PublisherDOI

• An Exploratory Study of Vocational Rehabilitation and Postsecondary Education among Youth with Disabilities

  2025-07-24 · 1 citations

  preprintOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  The Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act of 2014 prioritizes supporting disabled youth andyoung adults by requiring Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) agencies and schools collaborativelydeliver pre-employment transition services (Pre-ETS). The Pre-ETS are comprised of five keyareas that impact employment outcomes: (a) counseling on postsecondary educationopportunities, (b) instruction in self-advocacy, (c) job exploration counseling, (d) workplacereadiness training, and (e) work-based learning experiences. This study examined the impact ofpre-ETS and VR services on postsecondary education participation among youth with disabilities(ages 14-24) receiving special education transition services. Additionally, we established aprocess to track exit and re-entry specifically as a precursor to design longitudinal studies usingthe Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA-911), a national administrative dataset thatincludes over 15,000 youth and young adults with disabilities who receive VR services. Ourfindings show the combination of certain Pre-ETS (counseling on postsecondary educationopportunities) and receipt of VR services during postsecondary enrollment is particularlyimportant for disabled youth. Implications for research and practice that enhance collaborativestructures among professionals are discussed.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Graham G. Rifenbark

  University of Connecticut

  23 shared

• Christopher Murray

  17 shared

• Bonnie Doren

  University of Wisconsin–Madison

  16 shared

• Mary E. Morningstar

  Portland State University

  16 shared

• Ashley Taconet

  Association of University Centers on Disabilities

  14 shared

• Jennifer Freeman

  Providence College

  13 shared

• Joseph W. Madaus

  University of Connecticut

  13 shared

• Jessica Monahan

  University of Delaware

  12 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Rehabilitation Psychology and Special Education

  University of Wisconsin–Madison

  2008

• M.S., Rehabilitation Psychology and Special Education

  University of Wisconsin–Madison

  2003

• B.A., Psychology

  University of Wisconsin–Madison

  2001