Question's for those who went to College

[duge]

I have a few questions for you. My wife drives a handicapped school bus and there is a boy with CP who is getting ready to graduate high school and wants to go to college. My wife and I were talking about this, he had been asking her if she knew anything and I told her I would ask some of you to kinda get a Idea for him. the questions are.
1. He has to have help getting out of bed, dressing, bathing, and into his chair. Does he have to get his own help or a personal aide? or does the school provide for things like this? In High school they provide a personal aide for him, once he gets to school, to help with his school work and bathroom needs and for anything he might need.
2. Since he can't write, will his work be a modified work? like not as many questions or what? Surely it has to be pretty well the same for him to get a degree.
3.Are almost all schools handicap accessable?

please pardon my spelling :thinking: I never was a spelling champion!

Thanks

[Wheelie_girl_]

i live in Canada so it might not the same in US.
but, yes, college , disability centre, hires someone for him for private care during school hours. for instance, there was a c2 quad in our school and college hired someone to help her with bathroom at certain hour, note taker during class hours, loaned her laptop and tape recorder.. she,same as me, get double time during the exam time since im a quad and im a slow writer and she needed someone to write the answers for her... there is a voice dictation software that school installed on my laptop so i could read then it typed what i said..it didn't work for me since i have an accent ...lol

[ala]

I think a lot has changed on university campuses since I graduated in '98. Back then my university Middle Tennessee State University was quite poor for accessiblity. They now have an ADA Compliance Office as well as Disabled Student Services.

I think this is true of most major universities, but you should at least check the website of any university your wife's friend may be interested in attending. I noticed my old university has much more detailed information about accomodating students and university resposibilites. And more complete contact info too.

[duge]

Bump, any others have any info?

Thanks Ala & Wheelie girl

[Aly]

As far as I know colleges will not provide you with a personal attendant, things are done much different than high school.

Most schools are considered accessable but that is a matter of personal opinion in some ways. IE. I graduated from Radford University, pretty flat few stairs and a small campus. I work at Virginia Tech in the summer and t is a crazy work out to get around that campus. Lots of stairs and you muast know the accessiable routes to get were you want to go.

Work load should not be modified. There are things such as note takers and assistive technology that he could use to get the work done.

[antiquity]

It's imperative that either he or someone on his behalf contact the schools disabilities office. They'll be able to tell him everything he needs to know.

[BillMiller823]

I currently "attend" college online via the University of Florida's online business program (being vent-dependent and having multiple family caregivers involved with my care, online courses were a much better option for me than moving and living on campus).

But I have a C-5 quad friend who actually lived on campus at UF. She said Voc Rehab paid for her to hire personal student assistants to help with her care. The school's Disability Resource Office paid for someone to help her study (30 hours allowed per week). I know that typical accommodations for quads provided by Disability Resources are: extended (double) time for testing; a proctor to write and assist with test-taking (usually at a separate, quiet facility, so the student can give oral answers to the proctor); and they also compensate for a student to take/share their notes. Reduced course load is also possible.

If using a regular textbook with a mouthstick (or otherwise) isn't feasible, it's possible to acquire electronic versions (e-books) from the publishers. That's what I do. If you want or need additional details, just ask and I'll elaborate.

The point is that if someone has the time/ability/desire to continue or return to school, either online or on-campus, there are support mechanisms available to provide appropriate accommodations and help persons with disabilities be successful students. The key is to contact the State Voc Rehab (Vocational rehabilitation) Office and also the Office for Students with Disabilities at prospective schools.

Here's the link to finding State Voc Rehab info:

http://www.vocrehab.com

I hope this helps! :)

Sincerely,

Bill Miller :-)

[wheelchairTITAN]

When I managed the Equity and Access Center at my university, the American professional organization that helped both faculty and students in a variety of ways was an organization called AHEAD (Association for Higher Education and Disability).

AHEAD has many sources and resources available ... check this link out for students. It is not a student advocay organization but is an excellent start.

http://www.ahead.org/students.php

I will write more later today and do more research on this for you. I am running late for a meeting.

William

[Eileen]

I don't think most universities will hire a PCA for you, but it can be managed through the office of disability that you can hire another student/s who are looking to make money. As for access, it is a mixed bag. The University that I attended was mostly accessible, but often through a back door that others rarely used. I had a class once in a building that was not even remotely accessible, and so they moved the class to another building once they realized it was a problem. It took a couple of weeks though, and was disruptive to everyone in the class, which I felt sorry about. There was never an issue about taking longer to write exams, or to tape lectures instead of trying to write or pay someone else to give me a copy. It is possible, and with a few moderate tinkerings with building changes and hungry students willing to do PCA work it should be fine.

[fredmatt75]

I would have to agree with BillMiller823 that the place to start is contacting VocRehab and the Disability Support office at the school of interest. I believe that most times personal assistants for care will be acquired outside the school, but as for helping with classes and class work most schools have programs in place. My school (Southern Illinois University) is quite accessible, but as others have already said each school is different. I was offered many of the services people have already mentioned i.e. extended testing, note takers, book assistance, etc., but have mainly used just testing and notes. As I have been here I have actually done some work with the Disability Support office, and there are ways of helping most anybody go to school. So I would first start by contacting the school and they should be able to guide you in the right direction.

[duge]

Thanks everyone for the info! well the young man about who I asked this infor for, has decided it will be better for him to hang around main st, in his chair. Don't know what he is thinking that it's best for him? He's got into the thing hanging with the wrong crowd, and right now there's NO talking to him. But I will still print this all out for him.
Thanks!!!
Doug

[Ashley]

state schools are generally more accessible than private universities. Just my .02 cents =) when he gets interested again.

[Eileen]

Oh dear, I hope he leaves the hanging around Main St. thing behind as quickly as possible. Realistically, no one is going to hire most of us based on our physical bodies, so we had better have something to make ourselves attractive, and that means from the neck up. There is no quicker route to good employment, and all that comes with it, than a good education. It is also a great part of the maturation process.

[BillMiller823]

Well said Eileen.

[cheesecake]

Duge~
BilMiller gave a pretty good overview but Voc Rehab services vary by state. Given that he currently receives special ed services, his IEP team should be holding a "transition" meeting to help get services in place for college.

I am a voc rehab counselor by background and worked for disabled student services at a University in CA. The services vary based on the students need, the involvement of the VR counselor and the strength of the disabled student services.

One piece of advice, this young man is about to transition into college so he should be advocating for himself. That means to start NOW. He can ask for an IEP meeting and request that VR attend. That is an excellent first step. Another way to assist him is self advocating is to sit with him as he makes the calls. Provide emotional support but have him do the calls himself. Afterwards, review what went well, what he forgot to say, what he would want to do next time.

Duge, you know how to reach me, if you need to contact me, I can get ID resources for this young man. Better yet, tell him how to contact me. :)