|
Why College? We Asked Brian...
|
Why college? Well, I
have a lot of career ideas. Plus,
I love to read and I like seeing people I know from the community.
|
Upcoming Events
|
|
Think College Capacity Building Institutes
For people interested in providing high quality postsecondary educational opportunities for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Scheduled or planned events currently include:
March 1, 2010 in collaboration with the Tarjan Center at UCLA. The focus of this event is supporting students with autism in combination with intellectual disabilities in postsecondary education
April 14, 2010 in collaboration with the Annual PacRim Conference, Honolulu, Hawaii.
April 19, 2010 in collaboration with Vanderbilt Kennedy Center and the Tennessee Developmental Disabilities Council, Nashville, TN.
For more information please visit: http://thinkcollege.net/for-professionals/training-and-technical-assistance and look for fliers via our listserv. ---
The Pacific Rim International Conference on Disabilities
April 12-13, 2010
Honolulu, Hawaii
http://www.pacrim.hawaii.edu/
---
Council for Exceptional Children 2010 Convention & Expo, DDD Showcase Session
Nashville, TN
April 21-24, 2010
http://www.cec.sped.org/Content/NavigationMenu/ProfessionalDevelopment/ConventionExpo/
|
|
Think Dormitory!
Micah Moves In
|
|
Micah Fialka-Feldman, a student at Oakland University, north of Detroit,
moved into Vandenberg Residence Hall on January 5 after a two-year court fight
with the university. Micah, who has a
developmental disability, has participated in the university's Post-Secondary Transitions
program, or OPTIONS, a three year program that allows students to audit classes
and participate in campus life in a non-degree track. Oakland's policy has been to allow only
degree seeking students to live in dormitories but on
Dec. 23, 2009, U.S. District Court Judge Patrick Duggan ruled
that Micah should be allowed to live on campus and the university relented for
this semester, even though it plans to appeal the ruling. Micah's court fight has been documented in
national news outlets and stands to create momentum in other postsecondary
programs for residential accommodations for students with developmental
disabilities.
Micah's mother, Janice Fialka, acknowledges
Judy Heumann and her compatriots, who sat-in for nearly four weeks at the
Federal Building in San Francisco in April 1977 to demand that Section 504 of
the Rehab Act be implemented. She says
that the act was the basis to defend Micah's right to move into the dorm.
For a more detailed report on Micah's journey,
see:
http://oaklandpostonline.com/2010/01/05/campus/courtroom-to-dorm-room/
|
A Website We Like
|
|
A
tribute to the founder of Special Olympics and a supporter of individuals with
disabilities all over the world: http://www.eunicekennedyshriver.org/
|
Publications Worth Looking At
|
Big IDEAs: Newsletter from the National Dropout Center for Students with Disabilities (NDPC-SD)
Big IDEAs is NDPC-SD's quarterly newsletter, which addresses current issues in dropout prevention and school completion. It features evidence-based dropout-prevention and recovery programs from around the nation as well as information about past and upcoming NDPC-SD events. Big IDEAs is available via electronic subscription.
http://www.ndpc-sd.org/contact/bigIdeasSubscribe.php
TATRA Project resources on "Family Involvement and VR: Research to Practice"
The staff at TATRA (Technical Assistance on Transition and the Rehabilitation Act) presented a session titled "Family Involvement: Research to Practice," at the National Council on Rehabilitation Education's October 2009 conference. The materials from this presentation are now available. The session focused on strategies promoting family involvement in the transition and vocational rehabilitation processes and related these strategies to the findings of a number of recent studies.
http://www.pacer.org/tatra/index.asp
|
A Resource You Can Use
Students with Disabilities Preparing for Postsecondary Education: Know Your Rights and Responsibilities
|
More and more high school students with disabilities are planning to continue their education in postsecondary schools, including vocational and career schools, two- and four- year colleges, and universities. As a student with a disability, you need to be well informed about your rights and responsibilities as well as the responsibilities postsecondary schools have toward you. It is important to be well informed because that gives the student a full opportunity to enjoy the benefits of the postsecondary education experience without confusion.
The information provided in this pamphlet, by the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in the U. S. Department of Education, explains the rights and responsibilities of students with disabilities who are planning or preparing to attend postsecondary schools. This pamphlet also explains the obligations of a postsecondary school to provide academic adjustments, including auxiliary aids and services, to ensure the school does not discriminate on the basis of disability. Visit
http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/transition.html#reproduction for more information.
|
AHEADD (Achieving in Higher Education with Autism/Developmental Disabilities)
|
AHEADD is a private, community-based organization that provides support for college students with Learning Disabilities, High-Functioning Autism, Asperger's Syndrome, and Attention Deficit Disorder. AHEADD staff support students with impairments in social, communication, and organizational skills by assisting them to develop individualized strategies to manage their college careers with maximum independence. The AHEADD Model of Support complements traditional college accommodations plans and involves four core elements:
AHEADD professional staff involvement
Development of campus and community support network
Utilization of campus resources
Peer mentoring
AHEADD is currently located in Pittsburgh, Albany, Washington DC, and Dallas and is enrolling students in Miami, Baltimore, Long Island, Bakersfield CA, and Boston. Visit http://aheadd.org/ for more information.
|
|
|
|
|
|
