Why Don 't Colleges Help With The Transition?

The issue the author has presented in chapter 5 is what should educators teach students with moderate and severe developmental disabilities. The author states that she became interested in studying how students with moderate and severe disabilities might meet grade level academic content expectations mandated by No Child Left Behind. Despite the lack of evidence on teaching grade level academic content to students with cognitive disabilities, the federal government required schools to include students with moderate to severe disabilities in school accountability systems.

The right of entry to education resources is more than uncomplicated admission to a college. The right to use means to provide students with the devices they will need to be victorious in higher learning. Students with a recognized disability ought to be no omission. In reality, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, “ensure that all qualified persons have equal access to education regardless of the presence of any disability.” Objective replacement, class waivers, and revision of classroom management, testing and course necessities are all illustrations of behavior to supply access for the learner with a disability. A break down to the creation of such practical adjustments can place schools in breach of federal and state statutes, ensuing expensive fines.

The importance of school completion in the transition of students with disabilities to postsecondary life has received considerable attention (Blackorby & Wagner, 1996). However, it appears that students with disabilities do not fare well in their lives beyond high school in terms of employment or postsecondary education (Blackorby & Wagner, 1996). Most students who drop out of school because of a disability often find it hard to find a job then does their peers getting a high school diploma.

For my transition interview I interviewed Susan Nixon, who is the coordinator of learning and programming at Old Dominion University. Her job entails helping students with disabilities transition from high school to college. When students with disabilities are in high school they have an IEP or 504 to help them. However, when they come to college they no longer have an IEP, they become protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act. During my interview with Ms. Nixon, she pointed out how there’s no transition plan for post-college and into the work force. So, she feels it’s extremely helpful for students with disabilities to become self-advocates while in college.

Section 504 is a federal law that ensures that students with disabilities will have equal opportunities to participate in educational programs in the least restrictive environment. To be protected under Section 504, a student will: (1) have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; or (2) have a record of such an impairment; or (3) be regarded as having such an impairment. When a student is found eligible, an accommodation plan is written that eliminates barriers so that he/she can participate in school programs and extra curricular activities.

A majority of people do not think about the transitioning from high school to real world for students with a disability. This article was a great read for people who need a better understanding of the transitioning especially students with high standards that are included in the general education setting for the entire day. The article explained the Triangulated Gap Analysis Tool (TGAP), which is designed to assist educators, students, and IEP teams to identify and create annual goals that address the gap in skills, including nonacademic skills, needed to prepare students for postsecondary education, training, employment, and independent living.

IEP’s and 504 plans require school districts to evaluate and identify students with disabilities, at the college level students must be self-advocates and are responsible for disclosing their disability (Oertle’ & Bragg, 2014, p. 61). When a student neglects

M., & Barton, K. (2003). Assessing Students With Disabilities: Issues and Evidence. Los Angeles: The Regents of the University of California. Retrieved from http://cse.ucla.edu/products/reports/TR587.pdf

The Abilities 1st! Pre-Orientation is designed for students with learning disabilities. Various workshops are offered for students and their families to ease the transition to college. Workshops include a writing session, panel discussion, locating classrooms on campus, reviewing a syllabi and other social activities (Abilities 1st! 2017 Pre-Orientation Schedule). Students participating in the program will also be able to meet individually with the Dean of Accessibility Services, to set up their accommodations for the Fall semester. While many of the workshops assist students in developing a better understanding of what to expect in their first year of college, it does not provide much opportunity for students to develop characteristics and skills that are critical for college persistence.

Over the course of our country’s history of the education of students with disabilities has evolved and changed. At the beginning at people with disabilities were treated as if they were inferior to everyone else in society and they were devalued. Also, early on in our history individuals with disabilities were discriminated against and had very few rights. In 1954, the case of Brown v. Board of education was making headlines throughout the nation. When Brown won the case it allowed African American students to now be educated with white students. This case would later help change the education of students with disabilities, because it would be used in the argument for integrating and unifying children with disabilities in education with nondisabled

The researchers present an adequate rationale for conducting their study to identify transitioning services for students with disabilities in postsecondary education. They have found that postsecondary education is vital for someone who plans to further their career and become financially stable (Dutta, Kundu, & Schiro-Geist, 2009). Graduates with disabilities, from a postsecondary education level, are 63% more likely to find a job than people with disabilities who did not attend college (Dutta, Kundu, & Schiro-Geist, 2009). Unfortunately, the lack of resources in postsecondary education has resulted in a decrease of students with disabilities. Dutta, Kundu, and Schiro-Geist (2009) explains how there is a lack of research conducted on students

With the increase of student enrollment, students with Learning Disabilities enrolling in colleges have also increased. The average increase in this population has been 40%, which is a big jump for many of the universities as stated by Reid and Knight (2006) However, it is the two year colleges, which has jumped to 71% of its incoming student as indicated by McCleary-Jones (2007), has had the most dramatic increase. There are many factors that could have attributed to the college enrollment increase of students with learning disabilities. Introduction of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibits discrimination against those that are disabled, ensured that reasonable accommodations where made for students with learning disabilities, and the demystification of the abilities of disabled people have played a factor in increase enrollment of college students, which was mentioned by Reid, and Knight (2006). Regardless of the increase of students with

Balfanz, Bridgeland, Bruce and Fox (2013), estimated that the 2012-2013 national high school graduation rate was approximately 81.4% for the general student population while the graduation rate for Students With Disabilities (SWD) was estimated to be at 61.0%. This difference of twenty percentage points is significant as it demonstrates the disparity between college and career ready general education students who successfully met the requirements for graduation and those SWD that did not. However, for SWD, successful participation in a career and technical education program is shown to be an efficient and operational way of

Bryce is an 18 year old male who struggles academically due to a Specific Learning Disability in reading, writing and math. Due to Bryce’s Specific Learning Disabilities he exhibits weakness in all academic areas which include; reading, reading comprehension, reading fluency, written expression, math calculations and math problem solving abilities. In high school, Bryce received special education accommodations in all academic areas, and he received Speech and Language Services to support him with his Specific Learning Disability. Bryce recently graduated from the Renascence High School in Springfield Massachusetts. This fall Bryce plans on attending Springfield Technical Community College with a vocational goal of receiving

Academic Support. College success amongst students with learning disabilities and the degree of academic support given was measured in a population of 262 students (Troiano, Liefeld, Trachtenberg, 2010). Higher rates of graduation and success overall were more prevalent in students who received higher levels of academic support (Troiano et. al, 2010). Students, who have received a certain level of support while in high school, may not be ready for the level self-control and diligence it takes to function in a post-secondary environment (Troiano et. al, 2010). Students with LD require additional support in order to full transition from high school into college (Troiano et. al, 2010). The number of support programs for students with LD vary