Time Out - Temporary Disability

Applications   

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.

 College is tough stuff. It is also great stuff. You need to be academically prepared as other students are prepared to succeed.

         Time Out

Treat a person with disabilities with the same respect you yourself want to be treated.

Campus Disability Offices 

Campus Disability Offices provide these services among others:

            Tutoring

            Letters of introduction to your professors

            Coordination with all departments. They will help you to 
            assist you in succeeding with support services, transportation,
            equipment, testing accommodations, campus support groups, etc.

Your college should have published grievance policies to help you through any rough spots that may occur due to misunderstandings among personnel and departments.

     College Bill Woes

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

            www.ed.gov/offices/OSERS/IDEA

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

 Make special arrangements for college admissions tests, you will need to complete a Student Eligibility Form (obtained from your high school guidance counselor) and provide current (within the last three years) diagnostic test results, evaluations and comprehensive documentation with your application. You must also provide documentation that you receive specialized services and/or testing situations in your current school.