When Kayla was born, only 13 short years ago, I had no thoughts about college for her. I was still grappling with the diagnosis itself - forget thinking that far ahead to the future! Well that future is getting closer every year.
I'm not sure when post-secondary programs for students with intellectual disabilities became a reality, but I don't think there were many colleges or universities offering such a program only 13 years ago.
But now? The past several years have seen an explosion in these type of programs (the most recent statistic I remember reading put the number at over 200 programs). Post-secondary opportunities are now a realistic option for students with intellectual disabilities to continue their learning after high school.
Here is a great article on just one such program at the Virginia Commonwealth University. Even though there are now over 200 programs, as Seb Prohn, Ph.D and program coordinator at VCU pointed out, "Our best estimate is, despite the national momentum, that around 4 percent of four-year universities offer a pathway to college and a career for individuals with ID. Traditionally this group, like many others, has been excluded from higher education. The effects of exclusion are apparent in unemployment numbers and many aspects of inclusive community living." VCU must be doing something right as about 88% of it's program participants have obtained paid employment within 6 months; nationally the employment rate for people with disabilities is 32%.
Think College is an excellent resource for all things relating to college options for students with intellectual disabilities. Their website is a wealth of information from searching each state for programs, to comparing programs, to providing training and many other resources.
There are 5 options right here in South Carolina; and when we found out Joe would be stationed here after his deployment I was excited about the prospect of Kayla attending the REACH Program at the College of Charleston (CofC); and Kayla was only in 1st grade when we moved here!
After attending the NDSC Convention in Orlando this summer I think CofC might have some competition! I visited the booth for the University of North Carolina Greensboro and talked for several minutes with a currently enrolled student and her life and college experience, and then for several more minutes with a director of their program Beyond Academics. I came away very, very impressed with their program and put it on my list as an option for Kayla.
UNCG is also one of only 34 programs nation wide approved to participate in federal student aid programs. For a program to be eligible to accept federal student aid for students with ID the program has to be designated a Comprehensive Training Program by the US Dept of Ed.
Since Kayla also won a scholarship a few years ago, and all these opportunities opening up for students with ID to attend college, it's looking more and more like a reality for Kayla's future.
Whether I'm going to be able to cut the string and leave her on her own in a college environment or not will be seen when we get to that bridge! Ha! Honestly the thought of that makes me very nervous (ok terrifies me actually!) especially in another state...I have a several more years to get used to it...but I also know how quickly those years will pass!
Showing posts with label education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label education. Show all posts
Thursday, October 20, 2016
Saturday, October 15, 2016
Presidential Candidates and the Disability Platform
In Feb of this year RespectAbility released a "Disability Voter Guide" ahead of Super Tuesday with a rundown of where each candidate stood on disability issues.
In creating this guide they sent each of the candidates a survey of 16 questions on disability-related issues so people with disabilities and their families would know how each candidate planned to address important issues affecting people with disabilities.
Clinton and Sanders returned the survey with all questions answered; Carson and Kasich returned it with some of the questions answered; Cruz, Rubio, and Trump hadn't filled it out. (On the link above you can click on each person's profile to see how they answered the questions.)
This month the website Complex Child takes a closer look at the disability policies of all 4, yes 4, presidential candidates.
Usually they would use the candidates' responses on the disability survey as well as the candidates' campaign websites for their source material to allow the "candidates to speak for themselves about the issues." However, since some candidates have failed to complete the survey they relied only on candidate websites for fairness.
The five categories they compared candidate positions for are
- Disability Rights
- Medicaid, Insurance, and the Healthcare System
- Special Education
- Community Living
- Specific Condition Plans (like autism)
Some things that jumped out to me after looking through the responses to the 5 issues:
1. Clinton is the only one who has a section on her website on Disability or Disability Rights.
2. For each of the 5 issues Clinton's information is a paragraph long and very detailed; the other candidates sometimes have no information given or just a few sentences worth.
3. Johnson does not address disability issues on his website
4. Trump only discuses disability as it relates to veterans - difficulty accessing disability payments and services.
5. Most of the 'hits' on Stein's page on disability are from comments and questions about disability that voters have asked and not statements made by Stein.
6. Clinton has several plans relating to Special Education, one of which is to fulfill the promise to fully fund special education services through the Individuals with Disability Education Act. (Federal government was supposed to pay 40% of special education, the most they've paid is 17%).
7. Johnson, Stein, nor Trump specifically mention Special Education; although Trump does criticize Clinton's plan to fully fund IDEA as too expensive.
I know we don't, or shouldn't anyway, vote for a candidate based on just one platform, such as disability, we need to look at the whole picture and their plans for many other important issues as well.
As a parent of a child with a disability, this is obviously an important issue for me. To see the information, or lack of information/plan, each candidate has for various disability issues was eye-opening for me.
Grab This Button
In creating this guide they sent each of the candidates a survey of 16 questions on disability-related issues so people with disabilities and their families would know how each candidate planned to address important issues affecting people with disabilities.
Clinton and Sanders returned the survey with all questions answered; Carson and Kasich returned it with some of the questions answered; Cruz, Rubio, and Trump hadn't filled it out. (On the link above you can click on each person's profile to see how they answered the questions.)
This month the website Complex Child takes a closer look at the disability policies of all 4, yes 4, presidential candidates.
Usually they would use the candidates' responses on the disability survey as well as the candidates' campaign websites for their source material to allow the "candidates to speak for themselves about the issues." However, since some candidates have failed to complete the survey they relied only on candidate websites for fairness.
The five categories they compared candidate positions for are
- Disability Rights
- Medicaid, Insurance, and the Healthcare System
- Special Education
- Community Living
- Specific Condition Plans (like autism)
Some things that jumped out to me after looking through the responses to the 5 issues:
1. Clinton is the only one who has a section on her website on Disability or Disability Rights.
2. For each of the 5 issues Clinton's information is a paragraph long and very detailed; the other candidates sometimes have no information given or just a few sentences worth.
3. Johnson does not address disability issues on his website
4. Trump only discuses disability as it relates to veterans - difficulty accessing disability payments and services.
5. Most of the 'hits' on Stein's page on disability are from comments and questions about disability that voters have asked and not statements made by Stein.
6. Clinton has several plans relating to Special Education, one of which is to fulfill the promise to fully fund special education services through the Individuals with Disability Education Act. (Federal government was supposed to pay 40% of special education, the most they've paid is 17%).
7. Johnson, Stein, nor Trump specifically mention Special Education; although Trump does criticize Clinton's plan to fully fund IDEA as too expensive.
I know we don't, or shouldn't anyway, vote for a candidate based on just one platform, such as disability, we need to look at the whole picture and their plans for many other important issues as well.
As a parent of a child with a disability, this is obviously an important issue for me. To see the information, or lack of information/plan, each candidate has for various disability issues was eye-opening for me.
Grab This Button
Sunday, December 14, 2014
Rosetta Stone Kids Reading Review
"I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Rosetta Stone. I received a product and a promotional item to thank me for participating."
I am always willing to try new and different kids' reading programs to use at home with Kayla. While she has progressed in reading over the past year she still has a way to go with working on fluency and sounding out words she doesn't know. Anything to encourage her to read and practice (although I'm glad to see her more willing to pick up a book and read more so than she's done in the past.)
Rosetta Stone - well-known for their successful products teaching foreign languages - has a kids reading program called Rosetta Stone Kids Reading.
Rosetta Stone partnered with reading experts at Lexia Learning to create this Kids Reading Program. The program is geared for kids ages 3-7. It is designed to help kids develop core literacy skills in an engaging and effective way.
I like that the program is research-proven and self-paced with engaging and interactive experiences tailored for each child. Each child can have their own profile and set their account to the level that is best for them.
The lessons incorporate phonological awareness, phonics, comprehension, fluency, and vocabulary. The user can move through the different levels by completing assignments and being accompanied by Lingos. The Lingos are a lively bunch of friends that love to tell stories and kids join them on skill-building adventures such as sounding out words, matching rhyming pairs, reading comprehension, and more.
The Lingos give feedback on each correct and incorrect answer. My only complaint about this is the sound they make for correct answers gets annoying to hear (for me anyway) very quickly. I wish that when they get the answer correct they could move on to the next question or have a visual high-five. It hasn't seemed to bother my kids to hear that noise, but as a parent I could do without it.
Although Lucas is 6 and at the age this is recommended for, his reading skills are above his age and grade level. While this product isn't exactly helping him along with his reading (because he is not a beginner reader) he is enjoying using this and he told me that he does like it. He likes the accomplishment of finishing the levels and there are spelling games that he likes doing as well. If he wasn't already reading above his grade level I can see how this would be a very beneficial program to incorporate along with what a typical Kindergartner and 1st grader are learning in school. The comprehension is helpful to keep reinforcing that skill as well.
Kayla, while older, as I mentioned - is below age and grade level for reading. This is geared for kids younger than her, but she, too, is enjoying it. She likes the positive feedback she is getting and I can hear if she is getting too many answers in a row wrong and ask her what she isn't understanding or concentrating on the questions.
They each use it for about 15-20 min a day, a few days a week to encourage, supplement, and reinforce reading and comprehension skills. I like that I can also log in and see the progress they've made by seeing what levels they've completed.
Parents can get a free trial of the first level for their kids and see what this reading program is all about.
I am always willing to try new and different kids' reading programs to use at home with Kayla. While she has progressed in reading over the past year she still has a way to go with working on fluency and sounding out words she doesn't know. Anything to encourage her to read and practice (although I'm glad to see her more willing to pick up a book and read more so than she's done in the past.)
Rosetta Stone - well-known for their successful products teaching foreign languages - has a kids reading program called Rosetta Stone Kids Reading.
Rosetta Stone partnered with reading experts at Lexia Learning to create this Kids Reading Program. The program is geared for kids ages 3-7. It is designed to help kids develop core literacy skills in an engaging and effective way.
I like that the program is research-proven and self-paced with engaging and interactive experiences tailored for each child. Each child can have their own profile and set their account to the level that is best for them.
The lessons incorporate phonological awareness, phonics, comprehension, fluency, and vocabulary. The user can move through the different levels by completing assignments and being accompanied by Lingos. The Lingos are a lively bunch of friends that love to tell stories and kids join them on skill-building adventures such as sounding out words, matching rhyming pairs, reading comprehension, and more.
The Lingos give feedback on each correct and incorrect answer. My only complaint about this is the sound they make for correct answers gets annoying to hear (for me anyway) very quickly. I wish that when they get the answer correct they could move on to the next question or have a visual high-five. It hasn't seemed to bother my kids to hear that noise, but as a parent I could do without it.
Although Lucas is 6 and at the age this is recommended for, his reading skills are above his age and grade level. While this product isn't exactly helping him along with his reading (because he is not a beginner reader) he is enjoying using this and he told me that he does like it. He likes the accomplishment of finishing the levels and there are spelling games that he likes doing as well. If he wasn't already reading above his grade level I can see how this would be a very beneficial program to incorporate along with what a typical Kindergartner and 1st grader are learning in school. The comprehension is helpful to keep reinforcing that skill as well.
Kayla, while older, as I mentioned - is below age and grade level for reading. This is geared for kids younger than her, but she, too, is enjoying it. She likes the positive feedback she is getting and I can hear if she is getting too many answers in a row wrong and ask her what she isn't understanding or concentrating on the questions.
They each use it for about 15-20 min a day, a few days a week to encourage, supplement, and reinforce reading and comprehension skills. I like that I can also log in and see the progress they've made by seeing what levels they've completed.
Parents can get a free trial of the first level for their kids and see what this reading program is all about.
Monday, September 08, 2014
Free Inclusive Education Webinars
There is a free online webinar "From Text Maps to Memory Caps: 7 Easy Ways To Differentiate" presented by Paula Kluth - a leading expert in inclusive education. This webinar is based off of Paula's book From Text Maps to Memory Caps: 100 More Ways To Differentiate Instruction In K-12 Inclusive Classrooms.
I went to one of Paula Kluth's workshops at the annual National Down Syndrome Congress Convention this summer. She is an engaging presenter and has concrete ideas, examples, and explanations on differentiating instruction for inclusive classrooms.
There are also three more upcoming free webinars presented by Brookes Publishing and The Inclusive Class on inclusive education:
Planning for Full Participation and Learning in the Inclusive Class by Cheryl Jorgensen
Supporting Behavior in the Inclusive Class by Whitney Rapp
The Role of the Paraprofessional in the Inclusive Class by Julie Causton
Another great thing about these FREE webinars is that even if the date/time will not work for your schedule - sign up anyway because you'll be sent a link to the recording of the webinar.
This is a great resource to pass along to your child's teachers.
And if you are in South Carolina and have a child with Down syndrome check out the SC Down Syndrome Conference.
If you're familiar with Rachel Coleman of Signing Time she is one of the keynote speakers.
I went to one of Paula Kluth's workshops at the annual National Down Syndrome Congress Convention this summer. She is an engaging presenter and has concrete ideas, examples, and explanations on differentiating instruction for inclusive classrooms.
There are also three more upcoming free webinars presented by Brookes Publishing and The Inclusive Class on inclusive education:
Planning for Full Participation and Learning in the Inclusive Class by Cheryl Jorgensen
Supporting Behavior in the Inclusive Class by Whitney Rapp
The Role of the Paraprofessional in the Inclusive Class by Julie Causton
Another great thing about these FREE webinars is that even if the date/time will not work for your schedule - sign up anyway because you'll be sent a link to the recording of the webinar.
This is a great resource to pass along to your child's teachers.
And if you are in South Carolina and have a child with Down syndrome check out the SC Down Syndrome Conference.
If you're familiar with Rachel Coleman of Signing Time she is one of the keynote speakers.
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