As required, “J’s” IEP team began discussing transition services at her IEP meetings beginning in her sophomore year. Her guidance counselor, although exceptionally nice and well intentioned, was of a different generation, and had told her once that “college was not for everyone”, encouraging her instead to look for work opportunities near her home. “J” and her family were determined that she go to college, as she now held the distinction of being the first student to go through her entire school system (K-12) in a wheelchair.
She and her family researched colleges that interested her, and then visited each one. “J” said that some campuses were immediately ruled out due to their size, expansiveness, steep inclines or building structures. Some were ruled out because of distance, or course offerings, and some because they simply did not ‘feel right’
“J” chose her small, state college “…mostly for the campus. It was not the only factor, but it was one of the biggest ones.” She stated that it was nice and flat, the walkways were fairly wide and everything seemed to be centered in one area, which would make her daily trips manageable “with a lap filled with books”.
I asked “J” how she felt her high school had prepared her for this transition. Was she given enough information? Was the information that she was given correct? Did she receive enough assistance attaining services for the “next step”- in short, I asked her what we could do better for the next student.
She did choose to disclose her disability on her application. In fact, when she applied and submitted a psycho-educational evaluation instead of SAT scores, her application was put into the pile for a program within the college that offers specialized, additional assistance and services, without her actually having to disclose.
In this particular program, she does have, in addition to her advisor, a specialized advisor whose role is similar to that of her liaison in high school. This person assists her with her work, with scheduling problems, and with specific matters with her professors. Because she is over 18, this person will not speak for her. The health center at this college has also been particularly helpful, but “J” has had to find and hire each of her personal care assistants on her own.
“J” has had the usual ups and downs of most college students- she has changed majors a few times before finally deciding on one, she has had roommate and dormitory issues, she does not always care for the food…. but she states that she would not have traded going to college for anything in the world. In fact, when we met in December, she was lamenting how long the holiday break was and that she could not wait to return to her friends at school. As she finishes up with her undergrad program, she is now looking at graduate schools to pursue a career in social work- not bad for someone who was told that “college is not for everyone”.
[Ed. note: this multipart series is being released one blog at a time over several weeks. See the introduction to the series and
at ChildRC.com. ]
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