Educational

Opportunities
for Students
With
Disabilities

By: Angela Martin

“Students with disabilities are the most recent
marginalized group to move toward equal
opportunity in education.”
Different Worlds

– Fundamentally different with respect to educating students with disabilities.

– Elementary and secondary education is compulsory
– No student with disability may be rejected.
– Higher Education is voluntary & rejects many aspirants.
– Terminates students with disabilities for substandard academic performance
Disabilities

– Students with Learning Disabilities and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

– Student with Visual Impairments
– Students who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing
– Students with Health Impairments
– Students with Mental Health Issues
– Students with Physical Disabilities
– Students with Autism or Asperger’s Syndrome
Numbers

– Each year roughly 78 % of adults with disabilities reported that they have a high
school diploma compared to 91 percent of the general population
– Only 57% of youth with disabilities received standard high school diplomas
– Only 28 % of undergraduates with disabilities earn diplomas in four-year, public
institutions, less than half the rate of undergraduates without disabilities (54%)
– By 2000, 73 percent of high school graduates with disabilities enrolled in some
form of postsecondary education compared to 84 percent of their peers
without disabilities.
Laws Protecting Disabled
Students
– Americans with Disabilities Act

– Rehabilitation Act, Section 504

Learning Disabilities

– According to the National Center for Learning Disabilities just a quarter of

students who received help for their disabilities in high school acknowledge in
college that they need the same assistance,.
– Of the 94 percent of high school students with learning disabilities get some
kind of help, just 17 percent of learning-disabled college students do.
– Learning-disabled students are far more likely than others to drop out of four-
year colleges. Just 34 percent complete a four-year degree within eight years of
finishing high school, —compared to 56 percent of all students nationally
graduate within six years. (National Center for Special Education Research)
Learning Disabilities

– Students with LD are the largest group of students with disabilities (about 40
percent of the freshmen with disabilities).

– The number of freshmen with LD has increased by a factor of ten since 1976,
and students with LD constitute about one in 25 undergraduate students.
Physical Disabilities

– Federal laws also require that all higher education programs be physically accessible
to students with disabilities.

– In recent decades the removal of architectural barriers such as by providing curb

cuts and ramps has been the most visible and successful front in making higher
education more inclusive for students with disabilities.

– Under the Americans With Disabilities Act and Section 504, schools that receive
federal funding are not only prohibited from discriminating against individuals with
disabilities, but are also required to provide equal academic opportunities to their
students and reasonable accommodations for disabilities.
Addressing Disabilities

– To receive accommodations students with disabilities must disclose their

disabilities and take the initiative in requesting accommodations.

– Faculty attitudes and the academic culture are the major barriers to the
successful implementation of accommodations for students with disabilities
Vocational Rehabilitation
Program
– The federal Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) program is an important source of
support to students with disabilities in the transition to higher education. About
a quarter of all undergraduate students with disabilities, between 300,000 and
400,000, annually receive postsecondary education assistance through VR.
Sufficient funds are not available to serve all who could benefit from VR
services.
– Colleges may not discriminate against students with disabilities in admissions or
programs.
Financial Difficulties

– Students with disabilities generally have lower incomes than their peers
without disabilities.

– In addition, it is expensive for low-income students with disabilities to meet the

special needs associated with daily life and academic life.

– The longer time that students with disabilities need to complete their studies
increases their costs and the financial barriers they face
Transitioning to Higher
Education
– In K-12 education, they benefit from Individualized Education Plans (IEP) and
entire teams that help them learn, but in college, the approach is more hands-
off: Students must identify themselves as having disabilities and speak up if
they need help.
– “This transition can be overwhelming and difficult for students to understand”
– It can also be “problematic” when they move to request accommodations only
after classes have begun.
Accommodations

– Common Accommodations
– Modified Courses
– Resource Center
– Disability Counselors
– Living Accommodations
Assistive Technology

– Assistive Technology
– Computer Mouse Alternatives
– Voice Recognition Software
– Eye Tracking Software
– Ability Switches
Choosing a College

– Despite being protected by the law, students with disabilities should make sure
they make smart choices when choosing a college to attend.

– Some colleges have a larger resource center as well as more experience

accommodating students with disabilities.

– According to www.collegechoice.net, The University of Michigan is the top

ranked Disability Friendly University.
Landmark College

– Our Mission
– Landmark College's mission is to transform the way students learn, educators teach,
and the public thinks about education. We provide highly accessible approaches to
learning that empower individuals who learn differently to exceed their aspirations
and to achieve their greatest potential. Through the Landmark College Institute for
Research and Training, the College aims to extend its mission across the nation and
throughout the world.
Landmark College