thinking college - chapter 6
Stu and Family Perspectives
For years families of students with intellectual disabilities (ID) heard that their child couldn't:
Have a normal life.
Learn.
Go to his or her neighborhood school.
Get a job.
Learn to use a bus.
Live independently.
Families persisted and proved their child can achieve all of these things, including participation in a college experience.
Students with ID and their families have often been the sole initiator of innovative programs and services in postsecondary settings.
Parents and students, along with supportive and committed professionals, have created opportunity where there once was none.
These opportunities have expanded to be part of the continuum of services in special education.
This path is still one of uncertainty and requires planning to negotiate successfully.
This chapter provides a guide to these paths, through insights from students, families, and professionals who have traveled this nearly uncharted territory.
The chapter provides:
An overview of what historically have been the outcomes for youth with ID.
What motivates anyone to go to college.
The potential outcomes and pitfalls of students with ID going to college.
The changing roles of families.
Ways to navigate the process.
NING FOR E FlJTlJ E RESEARCH SHOWS
Typical 17-year-olds without disabilities:
Preparing for their senior prom and graduation.
Reviewing their prospects for college with their families and getting help with filling out all the applications.
Getting ready to enter the military or start a full-time job.
Families are proudly telling people about their children's leap toward independence and their impending life adventures.
Families are looking forward to the new challenges and adventures ahead; feeling excited, hopeful, proud, energized, and a little anxious as they prepare to launch into the next big phase of their lives.
Typical outcomes for students without disabilities:
The average student without disabilities graduates from high school with a diploma and moves away from home (60%).
Enters college (68%) - a 2-year community college, a 4-year higher education institution, or a trade school.
Their main goals are to determine the kind of job they want and then set out to obtain that job.
The result is that 79% of adults without disabilities have part-time or full-time jobs (Blumberg & Ferguson, 1999).
Typical 17-year-olds with ID:
Preparing to return to their high school, potentially for the next 3 years, while they watch their peers graduate and move on.
If they have been included in general education classes, they will now be the oldest in many of their classes and will likely not be provided with an array of new learning experiences.
If they have been served in a self-contained setting, they will likely return to it and more often than not have the same teacher for another 1-3 years.
Many students with ID remain in school until they are 21 years old, but some do not
Expectations for those who do leave:
Often they leave high school with the prospect of either having nothing to do at home or perhaps attending an adult day center with organized activities only for people with disabilities.
If they are especially lucky, they will eventually receive help finding a job or keep the one they had during school.
For any supports that they do need, they will now suddenly have to be deemed eligible for them; no longer entitled to receive disability services but now enter the insecure world of adult eligibility.
Families are likely to be overwhelmed, confused, and probably a little helpless as they attempt to maneuver through rough roads ahead in an entirely new system: the world of adult services.
What are the outcomes for students with ID after secondary school?
Students with ID typically have not been included in regular education classes.
In 2002-2003, less than 11% of students with ID were fully included in regular education classrooms (Smith, 2007).
As students with ID age, their level of inclusion diminishes.
Beyond high school only 11% of students with ID attend any postsecondary education, which is the lowest percentage of any of the disability categories (National Longitudinal Transition Study-2, 2003a).
In October of 2007, 67.2 percent of high school graduates from the class of 2007 were enrolled in colleges or universities (Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor, 2008).
58.6% of youth with ID have had some form of a paid job in the two years after exit from high school; this is the 2nd lowest percentage of all disability categories researched, with only youth with autism having a slightly lower percentage for the same finding (National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (2003b)).
The population of youth with ID have fewer experiences in both postsecondary education and employment, as compared to other disability categories and youth in general.
Only 37% of youth with disabilities are in some independent living situation 5 years out of school, as compared with 60% of the general population.
Youth with disabilities report a much higher level of social isolation after high school than the typical adult without disabilities (National Organization on Disability, 1998; U.S. Department of Education, 1996, 1999).
Different expectations for youth with and without disabilities lead to different outcomes.
Viable options for the average student are still not presented as expected options or outcomes in the planning process for those students with ID.
Transition services for students with ID in college settings provide an alternative to the scenarios described above.
Students can use the experiences they gain in these settings in a variety of ways:
To build their independence.
To achieve their transition goals in a setting that is socially valued.
To learn with their age-appropriate peers.
To achieve their goals and learn in a typical, integrated community environment.
There are few services that offer these opportunities to students with ID.
Students and their families have to be the catalyst for creating programs and services in postsecondary settings.
The challenge in planning for the future includes: understanding the options available beyond the typical expectations, how to match goals and desired outcomes with appropriate services, and then how to make it all flow smoothly.
0E INFLUENCE OF EXPECTATIONS
Expectations guide the paths of professionals, families, and the students they support, particularly as they work together to plan a student's future.
As families and students with ID expand their expectations to include college, it is important for them to be aware of some of the pitfalls and roadblocks that await them.
Our history of supporting individuals with ID is riddled with many examples of low expectations.
Even with the strides in the field of special education and inclusion, the idea of a young person with ID going to college is still not commonly accepted; it is still not an expected route for most students and their families.
Youth with disabilities in general are much less likely to be expected by their families to continue their education after leaving high school - only 62% compared with 92% of their peers in the general population (as calculated from the 1999 National Household Education Survey for 13- to 17-year-olds).
Only 36% of these parents expected their sons or daughters to complete a 4-year college program, as compared with 88% of parents of general education students.
The type and severity of disability determined parents' levels of expectations, with the highest level of expectation for PSE enrollment from parents of youth with speech/language, visual, or hearing impairments, and the lowest level of expectations from parents of youth with intellectual or multiple disabilities, autism, or deaf-blindness (Newman, 2005).
In order for the college experience to become a reality for young adults with ID, expectations need to be changed on a variety of levels.
Training and technical assistance (TIA) on the various PSE options and the potential for positive student outcomes could be used to change these expectations.
Ideally this kind of TTA would be available to:
Pediatricians and other medical personnel who often dispense advice to families at the earliest stages.
Professionals in school systems who coordinate key special education and transition services.
Families and students, so they can understand the wide spectrum of PSE opportunities available.
Community Service Providers, who should be natural partners in the development of these options.
Personnel in PSE institutions, such as community centers, adult learning programs, community colleges, and 4-year colleges and universities, who will be receiving these students into their educational communities.
Legislators and policymakers, who are responsible for supporting the best interests of everyone - including people with ID and their families - in this venture.
Grigal and Neubert (2004) found that when asked to choose their most desired outcome for their children, given the choices of community college, 4-year college, military, part-time work, supported employment, and segregated workshop, 36.2% of parents of secondary students with low-incidence disabilities, including those with ID, desired a 4-year college, and 21.7% desired a community college.
Parents' desires for their children with ID are now reflecting some of the changes we see in practice.
Desire alone is not enough to make a college experience possible; there also need to be opportunities and clear expectations on the part of the student and family members.
In our society, when someone says "college student," a certain profile or image comes to mind for most people: hard-working, goal-oriented, smart, organized, and independent, among other things. The profile seldom includes an ID.
There are people of all ages, characteristics, intelligence levels, and motivations in college settings.
For parents of children with ID who want their child to go to college, it is important that they recognize the skills, characteristics, and desires of their children and how these may or may not match with the college experience.
Issue of Motivation
Families need to understand their own motivations - and their child's - for going to college.
Families and students with ID and the people who are supporting them throughout the transition process need to have honest conversations about motivation.
Parent Motivation
It is very important for families to be supportive of their children going to college in order for them to be successful.
Parents need to ask themselves why they want their child to go to college.
Some common motivations include:
Personal dreams: They have always wanted their child to go to their alma mater.
Personal history: Because they went to college.
Family history: Because an older sibling went to college.
Pride: They want to talk about their child's college choice, because going to college represents a certain social status in our society.
In order for a child to succeed in college - regardless of the existence of a disability - that child must want to be there.
Parent motivation without student motivation makes it a difficult journey for everyone involved.
Student Motivation
College is often a time when students try out different potential futures.
For students with ID, being motivated to participate in a college experience may be difficult because often these students have limited experiences from which they can draw an understanding of what college is.
Students with ID may require some time, support, and repeated visits to a college to help them conceptualize what going to college means.
Students should be provided with opportunities to meet with other college students to ask questions about their experiences.
Providing students with ID a chance to think about what they might want to get out of a college experience will affect their motivation and allow them to better participate in setting up goals for that experience.
If a student does not have any interest in participating in a college experience, it is likely that if forced to do so, he or she will not succeed.
Families and school personnel should have frank discussions with students about their motivation to ensure that the transition goals for students are truly reflective of the students' desires.
@uEGE: A NATURAL ENVIRONMENT FOR TRANSITION
The most common first reaction is that going to college means getting a degree. Period.
The college experience is where many young adults learn the skills they need to be successful adults:
How to manage time.
How to balance work and social activities.
How to get around new places.
How to meet and interact with new people from different backgrounds.
How to set goals and pursue activities to help achieve those goals.
How to make decisions.
How to navigate various uncharted paths.
How to ask for help and tell people what is needed.
In this respect, like so many others, the college experience is not different for people with ID.
The college experience can be meaningful to students with ID in a variety of ways.
Particularly significant is the opportunity to connect newly learned skills and information to real-life adult outcomes.
For parents of young adults, college is a nice stepping-stone to the adult world.
Transition Goals Met at College
College campuses offer the opportunity to positively affect three important variables for successful transitioning into the adult world:
Employment.
Social networking.
Postsecondary learning.
With a basic foundation in these three areas, a student with ID can start out on the road to becoming a successful and independent citizen in the world beyond high school and special education; these are the building blocks for cultivating independence.
The Impact of College on Employment
A study by Ochs & Roessler (2001) compared career development levels of 95 special education students and 99 general education students, both with optimistic career outlooks.
Findings
The special education students scored significantly lower on career decision-making efficacy, career outcome expectations, and career exploration intentions, showing that the special education students were either less prepared or had lower career expectations - or both.
Workers between the ages of 18 and 38 change jobs an average of 10 times (Dawn Rosenberg McKay (2006).
From 1997 to 2001, the percentage of college-bound high school seniors who took the ACT college placement test and were undecided about their career path jumped from 9.6% to 11.1% (ACT News Release, 2001).
The expanded networks of new situations and people that are available to the students on college campuses can lead to a wider, more diverse variety of experiences, and therefore open the door to more career opportunities.
Social networks in general can positively affect a person's employment situation, even for people with ID (Eisenman, 2007).
Another way that a college- or community-based experience can support a student's employment goal is through the learning environment and course offerings.
Postsecondary education offers students with and without disabilities the chance to take courses that are related to their interests.
These courses may give them insights into a career area, arm them with basic skills to enter a career area, or build upon existing skills to help them advance within a specific career area.
Research has shown other positive employment outcomes related to postsecondary experiences.
A study in Massachusetts (Zafft, Hart, & Zimbrich, 2004) compared the outcomes of 20 students with ID who had PSE experiences with 20 similar students who had no PSE experience.
Findings
100% of the students with PSE experiences who were working were in competitive work environments in the community, whereas only 42.9% of their cohorts who were working were working competitively; the majority were in noncompetitive or sheltered settings.
66.7% of the students with postsecondary experience used no work-related supports (such as a job coach) to do their jobs, whereas only 28.6% of those with no postsecondary experience needed no work-related supports.
No student with postsecondary experience worked below the rate of per hour, whereas several students with no postsecondary experience were either performing piecework and earning per hour or earning per hour.
PSE experience potentially positively affects work settings, level of support needs, and rate of pay.
In PSE settings, students with ID can develop and pursue career goals through the people they have met and the resources they have accessed.
Given access, opportunity, and support, students with ID can have increased confidence and control over their employment outcomes.
Impact of College on Social Networks
High school graduates with disabilities report a high level of social isolation once they exit school and usually participate in activities meant only for other people with disabilities (National Organization on Disability, 1998; U.S. Department of Education, 1996, 1999).
In college, young people are exposed to all types of peers with varying personalities, cultures, backgrounds, experiences, and values.
No More Labels
For many students with ID, college may be the first chance they have had since entering public education to not be defined by their disability.
Given this access to a new identity and social network, young people with ID may have access to natural forms of adult interdependence - friends helping out friends, peers supporting each other.
Simply being a part of that community represents a certain status and recognition and can lead to a boost in self-confidence.
The Natural Social Environment at College
Research has shown that the ability to interact socially with peers is an important skill associated with success in the real world - including maintaining employment (Andrews, 2005; Butterworth & Strauch, 1994).
Developing social skills in PSE settings is an important goal for students with ID and should be supported by staff and families.
Families could help with transportation, which can be a big barrier for students with ID participating in social events (Grigal et al., 2001).
(,-T~E IMPACT Of COLLEGE ON LEARNING: A NEW ~ EWPOINT
A significant difference between high school and college is the motivation for learning, as well as the types of learning available.
Postsecondary learning can be more reflective of personal interests.
For students with ID in college, simply the act of taking a college course may not have significant meaning.
Understanding the process and reason for taking a course: understanding one's own interests, finding a class that matches that interest, learning how to enroll and pay for a class, figuring out how to get to the classroom, learning to schedule activities around a class, learning how to ask for help throughout, and simply knowing that this whole process is possible and desirable - is a huge life lesson.
Students with ID, like everyone else, may wish to take a class for many reasons: They are interested in trying something new, they want to improve a skill they already have, they want to learn something that is related to a career goal and may help them get a job (or get a better job), or they want to experience something just for fun.
p R I SUCCEED IN
ES STUDENTS AND FAMI ES CAN DO TO GET FOR E COLLEGE ENCE
Become knowledgeable:
By having a clear idea of what to expect, families can better prepare their children.
Be a part of the person-centered planning team.
Families know their children better than most and therefore can give invaluable input into goal-setting for their child, offering their own support and ideas for other effective supports that will lead to success.
Begin planning for college early.
Visit colleges and look through course catalogues together
Understand your child's disability, how it affects them, and the accommodations or supports that best help your child to succeed - and then make sure your child knows all this as well.
Practice with your child in describing the disability and asking for supports.