Continuing education at the college level
Parents and special-education advocates see the growing movement as the logical progression of concerted efforts to include children with disabilities in classrooms with their peers. They believe the college experience will serve as a springboard to a fuller, richer life.
For instance, UCLA Extension’s new is a two-year certificate option for young adults with intellectual and other developmental disabilities. The program’s goal is to prepare young adults for independent living, employment, and a capacity for self-directed lifelong learning.
Pathway’s courses provide a foundation in computer literacy, practical math, applied science, current events, the arts, and reading. Students may also enroll in UCLA Extension courses, which may provide college credit, and are encouraged to take advantage of UCLA’s active student life by participating in social, recreational, arts, and religious clubs and organizations.
Olivia Raynor, chair of the Pathway Education Advisory Council, says that the idea came not from professionals or academia, but from families. “It began with a group of families who said ‘this isn’t right,’ and who came to us,” says Raynor. “There is growing self-advocacy in the disability community, with people who’ve grown up in inclusive schools and want to take the next step.”
“Other programs focus on vocational and life skills but leave out the academic aspect,” says Claudia Buchinsky whose daughter has Down syndrome. The academic component of Pathway is very important. We want her to understand the world around her, read newspapers, and go to museums.”
Inclusive enrollment
Massachusetts last year introduced a that allows students with cognitive disabilities to attend regular community college classes.
Grants from the state department of education are awarded to partnerships between high schools and state colleges that offer “inclusive concurrent enrollment” of students with severe disabilities, ages 18-22 in credit or non-credit courses.
As inclusion in K-12 education has demonstrated, students with serious intellectual impairments can make unexpectedly strong academic gains when exposed to more sophisticated work, which also leads to greater maturity, independence, and self-esteem, program organizers contend.
“It’s an environment that can’t be replicated elsewhere,” said Debra Hart, a national specialist on the topic at the Institute for Community Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts-Boston. “In many ways, the campus is the curriculum.”
Future Environments
George Mason University’s admits six to eight new students each year in what is a highly selective process. This four-year program allows students with intellectual and developmental disabilities to gain a full college experience through classes like astronomy, employment opportunities, horticulture and exploratory mathematics, time and measurement. LIFE Program students also have the opportunity to live on campus.
The LIFE Program, which began its pilot year in 2001, is a part of the Helen A. Keller Institute’s work with the College of Education and Human Development. Since its pilot year, the LIFE Program has worked with approximately 35 students who were picked for their potential to successfully achieve their program goals, their learning needs and desires, and their families’ commitment to the program’s goals. The program prides itself on its commitment to personal attention, seen even in the program’s small class ratio—one teacher for every four students.
Each week, the students are given what is called a “probe assessment,” which measures their development in the areas of reading and math. These results are used to quantify their academic progress.
LIFE Program instructors are Mason graduate students who study special education. The program also allows undergraduate minors in special education to observe and assist.
Another national model
The is a nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding education, employment and independent living opportunities for individuals with intellectual disabilities. It, along with National Down syndrome Society, and the Center for Disability Resources at the University of South Carolina (USC) and Clemson University, have organized programs for students with intellectual disabilities. Each school is accepting three students at first, and enrollment is expected to grow over time.
The two-year program will provide academic instruction including financial literacy, decision making, business communication, and independent living skills. It will also provide job internships and opportunities to be included in campus life, all focused around providing a successful transition to the work environment.
The students will learn independent living skills while taking part in various off-campus and on-campus activities. Program goals include academic enrichment, socialization, independent living skills and job training and career exploration.
State Education Superintendent Jim Rex said the college program offers an excellent example of how grass-roots support can effect change. “It has the potential to become a national and an international model,” Rex said.
Functional academics
for students with intellectual disabilities supports students on the campus of Western Connecticut University. The program provides students with employment, self-determination and post-secondary education experiences through strong partnerships with college student mentors, administrative personnel, and professors, all of whom provide support either directly to the students or to the overall program.
All Western Connection students audit college classes on campus, and the university has given them a special tuition rate and a list of eligible courses. Professors are contacted beforehand and are offered assistance by Western Connection staff. Functional academics are provided mainly through employability skills workshops and special intersession courses developed for the students and taught by university professors.
Dozens of other programs
Postsecondary programs for young men and women with cognitive disabilities vary substantially; some are more inclusive than others, some lead to a certificate or associate’s degree, others don’t. There are dozens of others in programs that place students with cognitive disabilities in regular classrooms and sometimes in dormitories. The Web site , a database on postsecondary schooling financed by the United States Department of Education, has information on 139 programs.
