College Countdown
College Countdown
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Disabilities -- The Beginning of Your Journey
(Click on headings) IntroductionTime OutCampus Disability
Offices
ADA-IDEA - The Foundation for the Journey Testing Accommodations
Time Out - Temporary Disability
Introduction
This
section addresses specific issues such as a physical disability that might make
the journey through secondary education to college more challenging. These
concerns are not viewed as negatives, but they need to be acknowledged so that
you know the right questions to ask during your college search. A
disability, at the very least, means life for you is not like it is for the
majority of the world. You want to go to college. A disability is a difference.
However, it is you that determines your degree of success in college and in
life. All
the work aside – you are going to have a great time in college. There is so
much to do and see and so many wonderful friends to discover. Hold onto your hat
for the incredible ride that’s about to start! As you probably have discovered by now,
sports can be part of your life. College is definitely a time to continue your
interest in sports – it’s also a time to start a sport. The world is yours
– just reach out! Housing and
transportation are issues that you will need to address in every phase of your
life. Work with your campus disability office to iron out the bumps in getting
your housing and transportation (and parking) issues. With college, housing and
transportation issues, adaptive technologies will often provide the answers that
you will find on your own or through your college. You will need
clinical documentation for your disability and level of disability and
accommodations. Start processing these needs to start when first applying to a
university. Don’t wait till First Year’s Orientation. It’s almost too late
then to get everything in place for when college starts. Encourage a team approach to helping you get through college. Make use of every department that has a constructive tip or assistant to your journey. Everyone needs to respect that each individual has his/her own levels of strengths and disabilities and every individual has his/her own coping techniques. Your career
choice does not necessarily mean not going into certain professions. Your career
choices should be determined by the your interests and your goal setting and
analysis as outlined in Part I of this book. You can be a chemist. You can be a
doctor. Will be as easy for you as it is for someone without a disability? No,
but it is achievable and you can be successful in a wide range of careers. If
you are interested in a specific career or industry, check with its national
professional organization and ask for their disability office. Attitudes of the
public and those around you – may not expect the same work from you – the
same professionalism they expect of others your age. Just keep smiling and
working at your top – they will be won over by your can-do attitude! Treat the
world with respect, demand, by your actions, that the world respect you. But
there will be people around you, including professors, who will not believe that
you can succeed. As you grow in your education and eventually your profession,
you will need to keep fighting for the accommodations for the kids who will
follow in your path. By
the time you have reached high school and college, you have received help and
support from many people and/or organizations. This is the beginning of a time
in your life to start giving back— Become a mentor to a younger student in the
same boat you were or volunteer for one of the organizations that helped you. Encourage your high school and eventually college to implement Medical and Disability Awareness Programs. These programs teach awareness of needs, empathy, courtesy, flexibility and support for people affected with these life-altering conditions. Some of these programs also teach by having the participants become deaf, blind, immobile (through use special glasses, ear plugs, bandages, using wheel chair) for an hour or a day. It is amazing how much the general public takes for granted in just talking on the telephone, reading a newspaper, having a conversation, opening a door and walking down a sidewalk and crossing a street. Treat a person
with disabilities with the same respect you yourself want to be treated.
Campus Disability
Offices provide these services among others:
Tutoring
Letters of introduction to your professors
Coordination with all departments. They will help you to Your college
should have published grievance policies to help you through any rough spots
that may occur due to misunderstandings among personnel and departments.
There are often
special college scholarship programs available through different research and
support organizations. Check it out early and keep checking on it as you move
forward through your college search process. As you get down to your final
college choices, check and see if there are any specialized scholarships through
the college itself for which you meet the qualifications.
Some sites that may help:
FinAid www.finaid.org/otheraid/disabled.phtml
HEATH Resource Center www. For further
information about the general Financial Aid Process for college, please refer to
Chapter 5, “If Only Money Did Grow On Trees – Paying for College” of College
Countdown and the
College Bill Woes Section of this web site
ADA-IDEA - The
Foundation for the Journey
Curb
cuts in sidewalks – elevator buttons in Braille – These are just a couple of
examples of accommodations due to the enactment of the ADA. The American with
Disabilities Act (ADA) became law in 1990. “The ADA prohibits discrimination
on the basis of disability in employment, programs and services provided by
state and local governments, goods and services provided by private companies,
and commercial facilities.” [US Department of Justice web site
www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.htm.]
The ADA also provides for improving physical access and communication for people
with disabilities. The
ADA lays the physical support that will allow you to attend college in an
environment that allows you physically easier access to the dorms, classrooms,
lab tables, restrooms, parking places and the cafeterias. The ADA also lays the
groundwork for accommodations to allow effective communication such as large
print books and optical scanners for the visually impaired and hearing devices
and interpreters for the hearing impaired. The other part of the ADA is that
discrimination, not only in hiring, but in education is prohibited against any
qualified individual with a disability.
Office on the Americans with Disabilities Act
US Department of Justice
Voice
(202)514-0301
toll free (800)514-0301
TDD
(202)514-0383
toll free (800)514-0383 The
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) originally enacted in 1975,
was amended in 1997. What does that have to do with you? The original law
guarantees students with disabilities a free public education. It allowed that
these students would be taught with non-disabled classmates as much as possible
so that they receive the same education. The 1997 amendments allow you to gain
needed planning and services so that you can participate as fully as possible in
your school experience. This covers not only educational experiences, but also
nonacademic activities. In
detail, IDEA was amended in 1997 to address improved teaching and learning for
the disabled child with specific focus on the primary tool of the Individualized
Education Program (IEP). The IEP states the student’s present educational
levels including how the disability(ies) affect that level; a statement of
measurable annual goals; a statement of special education and related and
supplementary aids and services; a statement of program modifications so that
the student will gain if not attain his/her goals, be a part of the general
educational experience and be able to participate in academic and nonacademic
activities; and to be educated with children who are both disabled and
non-disabled students. The 1997 IDEA Amendments also require that the
student’s parents and regular education teacher be part of the IEP team that
formulates and evaluates the IEP goals each year. The
1997 Amendments placed greater emphasis on disabled students being involved in
the general curriculum in their school districts. It also states that disabled
students can no longer be excluded from state testing. Some of these students do
take the tests with special provisions and accommodations. IDEA as of 1997 also
addresses the needs of disabled children placed in private schools. In a private
school setting the term, IEP, is substituted by “service plan”.
The
end result is that more disabled students are mainstreamed and that a greater
percentage of teens with disabilities are graduating from high school.
US Department of Education
IDEA
Voice
(202)205-5465 (202)205-5507 The
ADA and the 1997 amendments to IDEA along with Section 504 of the 1973
Rehabilitation Act set the groundwork and the framework for students with
disabilities to physically attend a college or university. They also lay the
groundwork and the framework for students with disabilities to not experience
discrimination and to have the tools available to them to succeed at the school
of their choice. General
Education Development (GED) – diploma equivalency certificate (social studies,
essay writing, science, reading skills and math)
Testing Accommodations
Registration
and arrangement for these accommodations need to be set up well in advance. You
are required to meet the same registration deadlines as other students. Because
of the additional eligibility form, you cannot register for tests online or by
FAX. Each
testing service has special disability departments that handle these issues.
Your high school guidance counseling office will handle these contacts for you.
You need to follow through with your counselor to make sure the contacts were
made and that you know exactly what is expected of you. Examples
of accommodations are wheelchair access, a sign language interpreter for spoken
instructions, flexible scheduling, flexible settings, recording test answers,
optical and non-optical devices (magnifier, electronic magnification, talking
calculators, Braille writer), extended testing time not only to actually answer
but to read or use the technology to administer the test materials, additional
breaks, a scribe to record answers, a reader to dictate test questions, laptops
and other aids used in your daily life. Appropriate optimal environmental
considerations (good lighting, low sound, etc.) should be provided for test
conditions. Examples
of alternate test formats are Braille, enlarged print, large print, large print
answer sheet, audiocassette with large-print figure supplement, audiocassette
with Braille figure supplement. Modifications
and accommodations will depend on each student’s level of ability and level of
disability. The Individual Education Plan (IEP) should provide information as to
necessary changes. The list of modifications and accommodations used on a
particular test should be sent to the student’s school to be added to the IEP.
Time Out - Temporary Disability
If
you have a temporary
disability, such as a broken arm or temporary RSI (Repetitive Stress
Injury), you need to register for a later date. If that is not possible due to a
college application deadline, ask your counselor to contact the disability
department of the appropriate testing office to see what accommodations can be
made to meet your needs. On
the essay portions of your applications, if there is an option for a Personal
Statement Essay, it is to your benefit to do it. This Personal Statement will
allow you to share with the Admissions Department and/or Financial Aid
Department what your life is like and how you have made progress along with a
Mountain (or two) to climb.
For
a teen with a disability, a campus visit becomes imperative to meet with the
people who will be your advocates, your help and your mentors.
Both
hardware and software have features that make equipment adaptable to a variety
of disabilities and levels. Technology helps you gain independence and access. A
short list of examples are computers, speech recognition software and
specialized motorized (sometimes computerized) wheel chairs.
As
you have learned through school so far, ask for help. Ask your resource teacher
to help you obtain the equipment you need for high school. Keep a list of what
types of things are working for you now and then use that list to work with your
college choices. Each state has its own Office of Technology as does the Federal
Government:
US Department of Education
Voice (202)205-8134
General Services Administration
ACS
Chemists with Disabilities (CWD)
http://membership.acs.org/C/CWD/index.htm Adaptive
Environments Center Americans
with Disabilities Act (ADA)
www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.htm Association
on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) Disabilities
Studies and Services Center Family
Voices Federal
Resource Center for Special Education Federation
for Children with Special Needs HEATH
Resource Center: Financial Aid for
Students with Disabilities http://finaid.org/finaid/documents/heath.html National
Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities National
Parent Network on Disabilities (NPND) National
Transition Alliance for Youth with Disabilities (NTA) AAPD,
American Association for People with Disabilities American Disability
Association ADANet National
Organization on Disability Center
on Disabilities (CSUN) Association
for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) Job
Accommodation Network National
Association of School Psychologists (NASP) American
Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) National
School Boards Association (NSBA) The
Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) National
Center for the Dissemination of Disability Research National
Science Teachers Association (NSTA) National
Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) NIH
Disability Training Opportunities
http://grants.nih.gov/training/disabilities.htm American
Educational Research Association (AERA) The
National Association of State Directors of Special Education, Inc. (NASDSE) National
Institute for People with Disabilities National
Education Association (NEA) National
Rehabilitation Information Center (NARIC) Program
of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) American
Federation of Teachers (AFT) American
Psychological Association The
Virtual Center for Literacy and Disability Studies
www.alliedhealth.unc.edu/lit2k/ National
Center on Education, Disability, and Juvenile Justice Council
for Children with Behavioral Disorders (CCBD) Rehabilitation
Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America Social Security
Administration’s “Ticket to Work” Special
Needs Soccer Association Specialized
Transitional Activities & Rehabilitation Training
US
Department of Education, Wheelchair
Athletic Association Disability
Information for Students and Professionals Sites on the major Internet gateways
 See Chapter 8 for more information and instructions. Click here for more information
© 2003 [Wildwood Country Press]. All rights reserved.
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