Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Program promotes confidence in workforce for people with autism
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/westmoreland/s_672793.html
Program gives autistic students confidence to join work force
Shawn Curren hates when his hands are dirty.
When the students in his class at NHS Human Services Autism School in Whitney pass around cheese curls to eat, Curren, 16, of Greensburg immediately has to wash off the orange powder left on his fingers.
But when his boss at Adam and Eve Pet Station near Latrobe asks him to dig into a bag of hay and pull out handfuls to put in a rabbit cage, Curren obliges happily.
"Try to get it around the bowl here," pet store owner David Shultz tells Curren as he scoops up one last handful. "That's good!"
Curren's foray into the working world is part of NHS Human Services' transition program for autistic students who attend the organization's schools in Herminie and Unity.
It's an opportunity for autistic students at the two NHS schools in Westmoreland County to go out into the community, learn about different jobs and hone their skills so they're ready to work when they graduate from high school at age 21.
"If we don't start early, we're really setting them up for failure when they turn 21," said Sharon Greene, senior director of the schools.
With the unemployment rate for autistic adults as high as 80 percent and with one in 110 American children being diagnosed with the developmental disorder, the need to better prepare the students for adulthood takes on urgent importance, said Dr. Cathy Pratt, board chairwoman of the Autism Society of America.
"As the numbers increase, if these individuals are graduating into unemployment that means there will be a greater stress put on our economy and our social services," Pratt said. "We spend a lot of resources on early intervention and on educational programs and individuals are going to spend more of their years as adults than as children."
The schools began strengthening their transition services for students ages 14 and older last fall.
At the beginning of the school year, NHS opened laboratory work sites at both schools where kids could learn vocational skills, including office work, food preparation and horticulture.
They've put together pizza boxes and have done collating for offices in preparation for the real world.
About a month ago, students about age 16 began going out into local businesses to put what they learned in school to the test.
Tiffany Baer, an NHS intern, called businesses throughout the county to find places willing to give the students a chance. Some businesses were reluctant, Baer said, because they don't understand autism.
But those business operators who stepped forward have embraced the program.
"They work so well with the kids, and they're so willing to give us a chance," Baer said.
At Adam and Eve, students clean animal cages, feed fish and do other tasks to prepare Shultz for his business day.
"They come in on time, and they pick it up really well," Shultz said.
Curren said cleaning the cages is his favorite part of working at Adam and Eve.
"I want to have a job at the Pittsburgh Zoo to take care of the animals," Curren said.
The students get an opportunity to learn about a variety of jobs. NHS students have been going to Unique Pizza in Unity, Allante Hair Designs and Spa in Greensburg, and New Haven Court nursing home and Align Chiropractic, both in Hempfield, for their job experiences.
Students go to a site once a week and they rotate among businesses for variety, Greene said.
On a recent day, chiropractor Leah Samuels had some students placing Align Chiropractic labels on water bottles she is donating to a charity walk while another student cleaned the office.
She thinks she'll have the students do some office work, such as filing.
"As I learn their skills better, we'll try to find things that will make their skills grow," Samuels said.
Cassie Maywood, 15, found her skill set, cleaning the chiropractor's office.
She wiped down exam tables, dusted window blinds and vacuumed the floors. While she liked cleaning and did so with gusto, Maywood said her favorite job experience has been at the pet store working with the mice and birds.
Greene said NHS is preparing to open a new center in Greensburg in the fall where the transition program will be housed. Students will go there to develop portfolios, undergo evaluations and work on job skills.
"We can help them figure out what is it they want. Is it possible they are going to go onto education after they graduate? Are they going to need supported employment? Are they going to be able to do independent employment?" Greene said.
Program gives autistic students confidence to join work force
Shawn Curren hates when his hands are dirty.
When the students in his class at NHS Human Services Autism School in Whitney pass around cheese curls to eat, Curren, 16, of Greensburg immediately has to wash off the orange powder left on his fingers.
But when his boss at Adam and Eve Pet Station near Latrobe asks him to dig into a bag of hay and pull out handfuls to put in a rabbit cage, Curren obliges happily.
"Try to get it around the bowl here," pet store owner David Shultz tells Curren as he scoops up one last handful. "That's good!"
Curren's foray into the working world is part of NHS Human Services' transition program for autistic students who attend the organization's schools in Herminie and Unity.
It's an opportunity for autistic students at the two NHS schools in Westmoreland County to go out into the community, learn about different jobs and hone their skills so they're ready to work when they graduate from high school at age 21.
"If we don't start early, we're really setting them up for failure when they turn 21," said Sharon Greene, senior director of the schools.
With the unemployment rate for autistic adults as high as 80 percent and with one in 110 American children being diagnosed with the developmental disorder, the need to better prepare the students for adulthood takes on urgent importance, said Dr. Cathy Pratt, board chairwoman of the Autism Society of America.
"As the numbers increase, if these individuals are graduating into unemployment that means there will be a greater stress put on our economy and our social services," Pratt said. "We spend a lot of resources on early intervention and on educational programs and individuals are going to spend more of their years as adults than as children."
The schools began strengthening their transition services for students ages 14 and older last fall.
At the beginning of the school year, NHS opened laboratory work sites at both schools where kids could learn vocational skills, including office work, food preparation and horticulture.
They've put together pizza boxes and have done collating for offices in preparation for the real world.
About a month ago, students about age 16 began going out into local businesses to put what they learned in school to the test.
Tiffany Baer, an NHS intern, called businesses throughout the county to find places willing to give the students a chance. Some businesses were reluctant, Baer said, because they don't understand autism.
But those business operators who stepped forward have embraced the program.
"They work so well with the kids, and they're so willing to give us a chance," Baer said.
At Adam and Eve, students clean animal cages, feed fish and do other tasks to prepare Shultz for his business day.
"They come in on time, and they pick it up really well," Shultz said.
Curren said cleaning the cages is his favorite part of working at Adam and Eve.
"I want to have a job at the Pittsburgh Zoo to take care of the animals," Curren said.
The students get an opportunity to learn about a variety of jobs. NHS students have been going to Unique Pizza in Unity, Allante Hair Designs and Spa in Greensburg, and New Haven Court nursing home and Align Chiropractic, both in Hempfield, for their job experiences.
Students go to a site once a week and they rotate among businesses for variety, Greene said.
On a recent day, chiropractor Leah Samuels had some students placing Align Chiropractic labels on water bottles she is donating to a charity walk while another student cleaned the office.
She thinks she'll have the students do some office work, such as filing.
"As I learn their skills better, we'll try to find things that will make their skills grow," Samuels said.
Cassie Maywood, 15, found her skill set, cleaning the chiropractor's office.
She wiped down exam tables, dusted window blinds and vacuumed the floors. While she liked cleaning and did so with gusto, Maywood said her favorite job experience has been at the pet store working with the mice and birds.
Greene said NHS is preparing to open a new center in Greensburg in the fall where the transition program will be housed. Students will go there to develop portfolios, undergo evaluations and work on job skills.
"We can help them figure out what is it they want. Is it possible they are going to go onto education after they graduate? Are they going to need supported employment? Are they going to be able to do independent employment?" Greene said.
Breaking barriers to employment for youth with disabilities
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/22/AR2010032202680.html
Breaking barriers to employment for youth with disabilities
As a teenager, Rachael Dorman participated in a program designed to help students who were visually impaired navigate the job market and transition into the next stage of life. This experience eventually led her to the Department of Labor in 2002, where she now devotes her energies to helping young people with disabilities prepare for the world of work or college long before their high school graduation day arrives.
"I realized this was an area where I wanted to work. It was a positive transition experience for me, and I wanted others to have that experience," Dorman said.
Dorman, who is legally blind, is a youth policy advisor in the Labor Department's Office of Disability Employment Policy. In this role, she promotes a series of government initiatives aimed at getting employers to consider hiring young people with disabilities and helping provide guidance for those coming out of high school or college.
"Employment is the barrier that impacts people with disabilities," Dorman said. "Our goal is to get the people who deal with employment to think about those with disabilities and give them the tools to work with youth with disabilities."
Many employers have misconceptions about people with disabilities, making it difficult when the disabled look for jobs, thus resulting in a high rate of unemployment for this sector of the population.
Dorman has worked on a variety of programs, including one that gave disabled high school students the chance to explore careers in science, mathematics and technology. She has helped run Disability Mentoring Day, a job shadowing day at workplaces for youth with disabilities, and managed an internship program to give youth with disabilities meaningful work experiences in government and the private sector.
Last year, the program recruited and interviewed about 2,000 students that resulted in 545 getting either summer internships or permanent positions in government or the private sector. Students routinely have been placed at a wide range of federal agencies including the Census Bureau, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Department of Defense and the Labor Department.
Currently, Dorman is developing a 15-hour curriculum to help young people learn skills such as communication, problem solving, and taking initiative.
Dorman's office partners with government agencies and employer associations across the country to ease the transition for youth with physical, mental, learning, visual and other disabilities. She has also worked with community organizations like the Boys and Girls Clubs and other after-school programs offering advice and technical assistance to staff who work with youngsters who have disabilities.
Dorman noted that the transition to the workplace can be especially difficult for young people with disabilities. For example, she said one of the main conflicts is the choice of disclosure, particularly if the individual has a "hidden" disability but still might need some special assistance.
"College students think they are not supposed to disclose their disability," Dorman explained. "The choice is theirs, but if they will need an accommodation ¿ like flexible work schedules or specially designed software ¿ then they will have to disclose."
In her own case, Dorman said she uses a large screen computer with screen magnification software and carries a monocular wherever she goes to help her read things from a distance.
Nadia Ibrahim, senior policy advisor at the Labor Department disability program, said Dorman is committed both professionally and personally to her work, and is able to bring important insights to the job.
"She has a unique ability to help people understand what is necessary for young people with disabilities to succeed in the workplace," Ibrahim said.
Dorman said she gets great satisfaction from her job and the opportunity to help people. And she said there's the added benefit that "government agencies are flexible, which can allow them to create a more comfortable work environment for people with disabilities."
Breaking barriers to employment for youth with disabilities
As a teenager, Rachael Dorman participated in a program designed to help students who were visually impaired navigate the job market and transition into the next stage of life. This experience eventually led her to the Department of Labor in 2002, where she now devotes her energies to helping young people with disabilities prepare for the world of work or college long before their high school graduation day arrives.
"I realized this was an area where I wanted to work. It was a positive transition experience for me, and I wanted others to have that experience," Dorman said.
Dorman, who is legally blind, is a youth policy advisor in the Labor Department's Office of Disability Employment Policy. In this role, she promotes a series of government initiatives aimed at getting employers to consider hiring young people with disabilities and helping provide guidance for those coming out of high school or college.
"Employment is the barrier that impacts people with disabilities," Dorman said. "Our goal is to get the people who deal with employment to think about those with disabilities and give them the tools to work with youth with disabilities."
Many employers have misconceptions about people with disabilities, making it difficult when the disabled look for jobs, thus resulting in a high rate of unemployment for this sector of the population.
Dorman has worked on a variety of programs, including one that gave disabled high school students the chance to explore careers in science, mathematics and technology. She has helped run Disability Mentoring Day, a job shadowing day at workplaces for youth with disabilities, and managed an internship program to give youth with disabilities meaningful work experiences in government and the private sector.
Last year, the program recruited and interviewed about 2,000 students that resulted in 545 getting either summer internships or permanent positions in government or the private sector. Students routinely have been placed at a wide range of federal agencies including the Census Bureau, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Department of Defense and the Labor Department.
Currently, Dorman is developing a 15-hour curriculum to help young people learn skills such as communication, problem solving, and taking initiative.
Dorman's office partners with government agencies and employer associations across the country to ease the transition for youth with physical, mental, learning, visual and other disabilities. She has also worked with community organizations like the Boys and Girls Clubs and other after-school programs offering advice and technical assistance to staff who work with youngsters who have disabilities.
Dorman noted that the transition to the workplace can be especially difficult for young people with disabilities. For example, she said one of the main conflicts is the choice of disclosure, particularly if the individual has a "hidden" disability but still might need some special assistance.
"College students think they are not supposed to disclose their disability," Dorman explained. "The choice is theirs, but if they will need an accommodation ¿ like flexible work schedules or specially designed software ¿ then they will have to disclose."
In her own case, Dorman said she uses a large screen computer with screen magnification software and carries a monocular wherever she goes to help her read things from a distance.
Nadia Ibrahim, senior policy advisor at the Labor Department disability program, said Dorman is committed both professionally and personally to her work, and is able to bring important insights to the job.
"She has a unique ability to help people understand what is necessary for young people with disabilities to succeed in the workplace," Ibrahim said.
Dorman said she gets great satisfaction from her job and the opportunity to help people. And she said there's the added benefit that "government agencies are flexible, which can allow them to create a more comfortable work environment for people with disabilities."
NCLB Embraces Transition
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2010/0323/No-Child-Left-Behind-embraces-college-and-career-readiness
No Child Left Behind embraces 'college and career readiness'
Read any article on education these days, and chances are you'll come across the words "college- and career-ready." It's the catchphrase du jour – the goal of almost every education reformer on both the right and the left.
It's also the aim of the Common Core State Standards for student academic achievement across America, a draft report released earlier this month by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers.
In addition, the Obama administration's recently released proposal for rewriting the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 calls for doing away with the 2014 goal of 100 percent proficiency in reading and math in favor of getting all students college- and career-ready by the time they graduate from high school.
Many education advocacy groups have already shifted their focus from simply raising graduation rates to making sure that students who graduate are ready for the next step.
But it's not always clear how such a shift toward college- and career- readiness standards would change the current education system.
What does 'college- and career-ready' mean?
Loosely, it means ensuring that students are prepared for college-level courses upon matriculation, or for a job that can support a family.
Another definition, suggested by Marc Tucker, president of the National Center on Education and the Economy, is whatever skills are required to succeed in credit-bearing courses at the community-college level.
Shouldn't graduation from high school mean that students are ready for the next step?
Currently, between 30 and 40 percent of students enrolling in college require at least one remedial class. Such courses don't give credits, don't qualify for tuition aid, and contribute to America's abysmal college completion rate: About half of all students who start college never finish. In a survey that the standards-advocate group Achieve conducted several years ago, employers said that about 40 percent of the high school graduates they hired didn't have the skills to advance in their jobs.
Is there agreement on what the standards should be?
The Common Core standards are the ones with the most buy-in so far. They emphasize cognitive skills – such as the ability to analyze a text coherently; write clearly and logically; and demonstrate precise, strategic mathematical thinking – in addition to core subject knowledge.
Some educators say an even broader range of attributes is necessary to succeed in college.
Any true measurement of college readiness has to include self-management skills and knowledge about the culture of college – including how to choose and apply to the right one – as well as academic skills and content knowledge, says David Conley, director of the Center for Educational Policy Research at the University of Oregon in Eugene.
"What students need to know in high school is not every detail," says Professor Conley. "They need a structure of knowledge, big ideas, and large organizing concepts."
.Is there a difference between college and career readiness?
It depends on whom you ask. The skills needed in college and at a job with a viable career path are very similar, says Mike Cohen, president of Achieve. This indicates, he adds, that high schools should be preparing every student for college-level work.
Others say there are some distinctions between college and job preparedness, although less research has been done on career readiness.
"They need to be a little more clear about what jobs they're really referencing," says Michael Kirst, a professor emeritus of education at Stanford University in California, who adds that the lack of specificity about "career readiness" is a weakness of the proposed common standards.
What progress has already been made?
Thirty-one states now have college- and career-ready standards, according to an Achieve report this year. That's up from the three that the organization counted five years ago.
Eight states, meanwhile, have signed on with Mr. Tucker's organization to begin measuring how well students measure up to such standards.
What tools do we have to measure college and career readiness?
Very few, which leads some critics to say that reformers are getting ahead of themselves. Almost everyone agrees that the current exams – generally computer-scored, multiple-choice tests designed for efficiency – are poor at measuring the sort of complex analytical skills and reasoning that are key to college readiness. The Obama administration has promised $350 million to help states develop good assessments.
Conley, of the University of Oregon, envisions a combination of teachers' assessments of skills that are hard to measure on tests and exams that require more sophisticated student responses, which will be graded partly by the teacher and partly by the state.
"It's harder to measure these skills, but it's not impossible," says Tucker. "The only way you can find out if students can write a decent 20-page history research paper is to ask them to write a 20-page research paper."
Is this a real change or just a repackaging of old goals?
Changing the standards without changing curricula, teacher training, and accountability would do little, but most advocates of college and career readiness hope it will eventually affect every aspect of the current system.
"Up until this time, our testing system has been designed as normative tests: Compare student A to all other students," says Tucker. "Now we're saying, here's a fixed standard and we have to get all or almost all kids to it. That's a shift of enormous proportions."
The change is much needed, says Conley. "If we don't get this right, I have a hard time seeing how the United States economy is going to maintain its place in the world. If we create two classes of people in this society – those who have access to these kinds of cognitive strategies and knowledge jobs and those who don't – the gap is going to continue to grow dramatically."
No Child Left Behind embraces 'college and career readiness'
Read any article on education these days, and chances are you'll come across the words "college- and career-ready." It's the catchphrase du jour – the goal of almost every education reformer on both the right and the left.
It's also the aim of the Common Core State Standards for student academic achievement across America, a draft report released earlier this month by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers.
In addition, the Obama administration's recently released proposal for rewriting the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 calls for doing away with the 2014 goal of 100 percent proficiency in reading and math in favor of getting all students college- and career-ready by the time they graduate from high school.
Many education advocacy groups have already shifted their focus from simply raising graduation rates to making sure that students who graduate are ready for the next step.
But it's not always clear how such a shift toward college- and career- readiness standards would change the current education system.
What does 'college- and career-ready' mean?
Loosely, it means ensuring that students are prepared for college-level courses upon matriculation, or for a job that can support a family.
Another definition, suggested by Marc Tucker, president of the National Center on Education and the Economy, is whatever skills are required to succeed in credit-bearing courses at the community-college level.
Shouldn't graduation from high school mean that students are ready for the next step?
Currently, between 30 and 40 percent of students enrolling in college require at least one remedial class. Such courses don't give credits, don't qualify for tuition aid, and contribute to America's abysmal college completion rate: About half of all students who start college never finish. In a survey that the standards-advocate group Achieve conducted several years ago, employers said that about 40 percent of the high school graduates they hired didn't have the skills to advance in their jobs.
Is there agreement on what the standards should be?
The Common Core standards are the ones with the most buy-in so far. They emphasize cognitive skills – such as the ability to analyze a text coherently; write clearly and logically; and demonstrate precise, strategic mathematical thinking – in addition to core subject knowledge.
Some educators say an even broader range of attributes is necessary to succeed in college.
Any true measurement of college readiness has to include self-management skills and knowledge about the culture of college – including how to choose and apply to the right one – as well as academic skills and content knowledge, says David Conley, director of the Center for Educational Policy Research at the University of Oregon in Eugene.
"What students need to know in high school is not every detail," says Professor Conley. "They need a structure of knowledge, big ideas, and large organizing concepts."
.Is there a difference between college and career readiness?
It depends on whom you ask. The skills needed in college and at a job with a viable career path are very similar, says Mike Cohen, president of Achieve. This indicates, he adds, that high schools should be preparing every student for college-level work.
Others say there are some distinctions between college and job preparedness, although less research has been done on career readiness.
"They need to be a little more clear about what jobs they're really referencing," says Michael Kirst, a professor emeritus of education at Stanford University in California, who adds that the lack of specificity about "career readiness" is a weakness of the proposed common standards.
What progress has already been made?
Thirty-one states now have college- and career-ready standards, according to an Achieve report this year. That's up from the three that the organization counted five years ago.
Eight states, meanwhile, have signed on with Mr. Tucker's organization to begin measuring how well students measure up to such standards.
What tools do we have to measure college and career readiness?
Very few, which leads some critics to say that reformers are getting ahead of themselves. Almost everyone agrees that the current exams – generally computer-scored, multiple-choice tests designed for efficiency – are poor at measuring the sort of complex analytical skills and reasoning that are key to college readiness. The Obama administration has promised $350 million to help states develop good assessments.
Conley, of the University of Oregon, envisions a combination of teachers' assessments of skills that are hard to measure on tests and exams that require more sophisticated student responses, which will be graded partly by the teacher and partly by the state.
"It's harder to measure these skills, but it's not impossible," says Tucker. "The only way you can find out if students can write a decent 20-page history research paper is to ask them to write a 20-page research paper."
Is this a real change or just a repackaging of old goals?
Changing the standards without changing curricula, teacher training, and accountability would do little, but most advocates of college and career readiness hope it will eventually affect every aspect of the current system.
"Up until this time, our testing system has been designed as normative tests: Compare student A to all other students," says Tucker. "Now we're saying, here's a fixed standard and we have to get all or almost all kids to it. That's a shift of enormous proportions."
The change is much needed, says Conley. "If we don't get this right, I have a hard time seeing how the United States economy is going to maintain its place in the world. If we create two classes of people in this society – those who have access to these kinds of cognitive strategies and knowledge jobs and those who don't – the gap is going to continue to grow dramatically."
Assistive Technology helps people live independently
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/DN-technology_28met.ART0.Central.Edition1.4d2d9f4.html
United Cerebral Palsy of North Texas helps those with disabilities use technology, live independently
Connie Prilliman has gone through life for 63 years without being able to say a word – until this month.
Prilliman was born with cerebral palsy, which limits muscle control. She cannot speak or type. She has communicated mostly by leaning toward the yellow sticker on her wheelchair that says "Yes" or shaking her head to indicate "No."
But earlier this month, Prilliman found her voice – through a computer that lets her eyes do what her fingers cannot.
It's a computerized female voice, but a voice nonetheless.
Instead of typing, Prilliman "presses" the keys on her computer-screen keyboard by looking at them. There are several phrases on the monitor, which is attached to her wheelchair. They include simple greetings such as "What's new?" and "Good to see you." There's also "Talk to me like an adult," for those who talk down to people with disabilities.
When she dwells on a phrase for a certain amount of time, the cameras reflect the glint in her eye to activate the key. Then the computerized voice says the phrase, said Leah Gardner, director of assistive technology for United Cerebral Palsy of North Texas.
Prilliman just received the device from the local branch of United Cerebral Palsy, which provides a wide range of services – from child development and education to adult rehabilitation and housing – to help people live as independently as possible. The branch even has its own technology lab.
The communication device requires great effort as Prilliman struggles to keep her eyes on one spot.
"It's recognizing her eyes," said Bill Knudsen, president and chief executive of United Cerebral Palsy, as Prilliman practiced one recent morning. "The challenge is focusing on what she wants to say."
Prilliman said her first words on March 4: "Please tell me if you don't understand what I am saying."
The device is one of many types of assistive technologies that United Cerebral Palsy uses to help people with disabilities go back to work, continue their educations or reconnect with friends and family.
The technology in Prilliman's communication device, similar to what physicist Stephen Hawking uses, has been available for about two years. But the costs – up to $18,000 for a system like Prilliman's – can make it out of reach for many.
United Cerebral Palsy receives state funding and private donations to purchase the equipment by a variety of manufacturers, and clients either pay for the technology or receive aid.
Prilliman received money from the state and got her ERICA II system by Eye Response Technologies on March 2.
Gardner said the next step will be advances in technology that can read brain waves, which would enable people who are completely paralyzed to use computers.
Steve Prilliman, Connie's brother, said he created a very rudimentary communication system for her in the 1970s when he was in college. With that system, Connie shifted her left arm to move blades that hit letters on a table.
Prilliman said he was happy his sister now has "something more advanced and easier to operate."
"She'll be able to do much more than she's ever been able to do before," he said. "It's a whole new world."
Prilliman's recent breakthrough also was exciting news at the nonprofit group's office.
"I sent out an e-mail to the entire building to say Connie was talking for the first time," Gardner said. She said people have been coming to observe and congratulate her ever since.
Prilliman, who lives on her own with help from caretakers, has been coming to United Cerebral Palsy for services for 30 years.
But Gardner said she has gotten to know Prilliman better in recent months by helping her use a service that provides books online to people with disabilities. Gardner showed her several categories of books, and Prilliman indicated "Yes" when she saw the biographies. Since then, she has read several books, including biographies on President Abraham Lincoln and Abigail Adams.
"I knew there was more in Connie than being able to say 'Yes' or 'No,' " Gardner said.
The technology takes a lot of practice. On a recent morning, Prilliman worked with Gardner in the lab as they continued to try out the new device.
"Hello, how are you?" Prilliman said. "What's up?"
"You're talking!" Gardner said. "That's what's up, Miss Connie.
United Cerebral Palsy of North Texas helps those with disabilities use technology, live independently
Connie Prilliman has gone through life for 63 years without being able to say a word – until this month.
Prilliman was born with cerebral palsy, which limits muscle control. She cannot speak or type. She has communicated mostly by leaning toward the yellow sticker on her wheelchair that says "Yes" or shaking her head to indicate "No."
But earlier this month, Prilliman found her voice – through a computer that lets her eyes do what her fingers cannot.
It's a computerized female voice, but a voice nonetheless.
Instead of typing, Prilliman "presses" the keys on her computer-screen keyboard by looking at them. There are several phrases on the monitor, which is attached to her wheelchair. They include simple greetings such as "What's new?" and "Good to see you." There's also "Talk to me like an adult," for those who talk down to people with disabilities.
When she dwells on a phrase for a certain amount of time, the cameras reflect the glint in her eye to activate the key. Then the computerized voice says the phrase, said Leah Gardner, director of assistive technology for United Cerebral Palsy of North Texas.
Prilliman just received the device from the local branch of United Cerebral Palsy, which provides a wide range of services – from child development and education to adult rehabilitation and housing – to help people live as independently as possible. The branch even has its own technology lab.
The communication device requires great effort as Prilliman struggles to keep her eyes on one spot.
"It's recognizing her eyes," said Bill Knudsen, president and chief executive of United Cerebral Palsy, as Prilliman practiced one recent morning. "The challenge is focusing on what she wants to say."
Prilliman said her first words on March 4: "Please tell me if you don't understand what I am saying."
The device is one of many types of assistive technologies that United Cerebral Palsy uses to help people with disabilities go back to work, continue their educations or reconnect with friends and family.
The technology in Prilliman's communication device, similar to what physicist Stephen Hawking uses, has been available for about two years. But the costs – up to $18,000 for a system like Prilliman's – can make it out of reach for many.
United Cerebral Palsy receives state funding and private donations to purchase the equipment by a variety of manufacturers, and clients either pay for the technology or receive aid.
Prilliman received money from the state and got her ERICA II system by Eye Response Technologies on March 2.
Gardner said the next step will be advances in technology that can read brain waves, which would enable people who are completely paralyzed to use computers.
Steve Prilliman, Connie's brother, said he created a very rudimentary communication system for her in the 1970s when he was in college. With that system, Connie shifted her left arm to move blades that hit letters on a table.
Prilliman said he was happy his sister now has "something more advanced and easier to operate."
"She'll be able to do much more than she's ever been able to do before," he said. "It's a whole new world."
Prilliman's recent breakthrough also was exciting news at the nonprofit group's office.
"I sent out an e-mail to the entire building to say Connie was talking for the first time," Gardner said. She said people have been coming to observe and congratulate her ever since.
Prilliman, who lives on her own with help from caretakers, has been coming to United Cerebral Palsy for services for 30 years.
But Gardner said she has gotten to know Prilliman better in recent months by helping her use a service that provides books online to people with disabilities. Gardner showed her several categories of books, and Prilliman indicated "Yes" when she saw the biographies. Since then, she has read several books, including biographies on President Abraham Lincoln and Abigail Adams.
"I knew there was more in Connie than being able to say 'Yes' or 'No,' " Gardner said.
The technology takes a lot of practice. On a recent morning, Prilliman worked with Gardner in the lab as they continued to try out the new device.
"Hello, how are you?" Prilliman said. "What's up?"
"You're talking!" Gardner said. "That's what's up, Miss Connie.
Helping people with Autism work
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10088/1046417-114.stm
The Thinkers: Duquesne professor working to help autistic people work
A young man was cleaning an elevator at a local hotel recently when some guests entered the car.
"Say hi," said a young woman standing near the man. She wasn't being rude; she was just doing her job. The woman was a Duquesne University student who was assigned to mentor the young man, who had a high-functioning form of autism and was working at his first full-time employment.
Encounters like this one are a key part of the program devised by Duquesne special education professor Ann X. Huang to help people with autism succeed in the workplace.
Young men with Asperger syndrome or other forms of high-functioning autism, a neurobiological disorder that affects communication skills, can often learn the skills of a job fairly easily. What they struggle with is how to behave with people.
Dr. Huang's solution? Pair them with mentors who will stay with them throughout the work shift and coach them on how to interact with bosses, co-workers and customers.
After getting a pilot grant two years ago from the state Department of Public Welfare, Dr. Huang has now received a $25,000 grant from the advocacy group Autism Speaks to extend the program to Wesley Spectrum Services, a local agency that works with the families of developmentally disabled children.
Although the program's scope is modest -- it will be able to help only a few children to start with -- it is tackling one of the most critical and overlooked problems in the world of autism.
As children on the autism spectrum enter their teens, even those who can finish college often have extreme difficulty finding work. The unemployment rate for people with autism is estimated at 80 percent in America, and of the 20 percent who work, most are in part-time jobs, says Peter Bell, executive vice president of programs and services at Autism Speaks.
The challenge is so great that a new group called Advancing Futures for Adults with Autism was begun last year. At its national town hall meeting in November, Mr. Bell, speaking of his own teenage son, posed the questions that worry many families of young adults with autism.
"What happens when the school bus stops coming to our house? Where will he live? Will he have a job? Who will take care of him when we are not around? These questions weigh heavily on us."
Dr. Huang said the answers to those questions do not necessarily lie with teaching such children how to perform a job, but how to treat others while they're on the job.
"Some of them do not greet people mutually. People will say hi, but they will respond with no eye contact, or they might not respond at all," she said.
"On other occasions, they might be too nice to other people -- they don't realize they should keep a certain distance. Some of them are very sensitive to sensory stimuli, so if they like the smell of someone else's shampoo they might come too close to the other person and that might offend some people or scare them."
One good way to meet those challenges, she said, is to pair the autistic workers, most of them young men, with college-age peers who understand all those unwritten rules of social engagement.
In her pilot programs, Dr. Huang has tended to use young women as mentors, because the autistic men respond better to them. But for certain situations, such as when the men are in a public setting, she prefers male mentors.
One example: on a public bus trip, an autistic man was very attracted to a young woman who had boarded the bus. "We say to these young men, 'If you see a woman, you should keep a certain distance from her and you should not stare at her all the time.' A lot of autistic people have good memories so they can remember those rules, but it is sometimes hard for them to generalize the behavior."
In this case, she said, the young man told his mentor that even though he knew the rules, he still wanted to sit near the young woman, but his male mentor physically pulled him back.
Dr. Huang's pilot program worked with the St. Anthony School Programs, a Catholic system for children with Down syndrome, autism and other disabilities. She is now trying to extend the mentoring system to Wesley Spectrum Services, which works with more than 7,000 children across Western Pennsylvania.
So far, the autistic students have worked at Duquesne's cafeteria, law school and copying center, as well as at the Pittsburgh Marriott City Center housekeeping program and a few other work sites.
Finding willing employers is crucial, she said, but even when she can do that, there is sometimes still the issue of insensitive co-workers.
She went to observe one of her students at a local grocery store recently, where he was bagging at a checkout counter. The boy has Down syndrome and autism, she said, so he is both friendly and tends to repeat himself.
"He was saying, 'It's fun outside, do you like it?' He has good verbal communication and he was trying to greet people, but the problem is he repeats things again and again and again." It clearly irritated the cashier, said Dr. Huang, who did not let on that she knew the young man.
"The cashier was not very happy about the way he was acting. I had bought some eggs, and she asked if I wanted her to put my eggs in a bag, because 'I don't want him to ruin your eggs.' I said 'No, no, no, he's doing fine.'
"He was doing his job very well. The only part that embarrassed the cashier was that he was very friendly and didn't know the boundaries."
Dr. Huang never expected to end up doing this kind of work. When she was 24, she was a successful young English teacher at an elite school in Beijing for the children of wealthy parents. Then, she happened to visit a school for developmentally disabled children, and her life changed.
"The school I was teaching in was so different from this one, and it totally changed my mind. In Chinese society, we always think out of sight, out of mind. But I decided we cannot ignore them."
She applied for a graduate program at Tennessee Tech University, where her mentor specialized in autism, and joined the Duquesne faculty after getting her Ph.D.
Her only frustration has been that her funds for the mentoring program have been so limited. "If other agencies would like to replicate this program or other school districts were interested in developing such a program, I'd be more than happy to help them develop it.
"I hate to refuse parents. They ask, 'How can we get our kids into your program?' and too often, I have to say 'I'm so sorry, the money is limited.' "
The Thinkers: Duquesne professor working to help autistic people work
A young man was cleaning an elevator at a local hotel recently when some guests entered the car.
"Say hi," said a young woman standing near the man. She wasn't being rude; she was just doing her job. The woman was a Duquesne University student who was assigned to mentor the young man, who had a high-functioning form of autism and was working at his first full-time employment.
Encounters like this one are a key part of the program devised by Duquesne special education professor Ann X. Huang to help people with autism succeed in the workplace.
Young men with Asperger syndrome or other forms of high-functioning autism, a neurobiological disorder that affects communication skills, can often learn the skills of a job fairly easily. What they struggle with is how to behave with people.
Dr. Huang's solution? Pair them with mentors who will stay with them throughout the work shift and coach them on how to interact with bosses, co-workers and customers.
After getting a pilot grant two years ago from the state Department of Public Welfare, Dr. Huang has now received a $25,000 grant from the advocacy group Autism Speaks to extend the program to Wesley Spectrum Services, a local agency that works with the families of developmentally disabled children.
Although the program's scope is modest -- it will be able to help only a few children to start with -- it is tackling one of the most critical and overlooked problems in the world of autism.
As children on the autism spectrum enter their teens, even those who can finish college often have extreme difficulty finding work. The unemployment rate for people with autism is estimated at 80 percent in America, and of the 20 percent who work, most are in part-time jobs, says Peter Bell, executive vice president of programs and services at Autism Speaks.
The challenge is so great that a new group called Advancing Futures for Adults with Autism was begun last year. At its national town hall meeting in November, Mr. Bell, speaking of his own teenage son, posed the questions that worry many families of young adults with autism.
"What happens when the school bus stops coming to our house? Where will he live? Will he have a job? Who will take care of him when we are not around? These questions weigh heavily on us."
Dr. Huang said the answers to those questions do not necessarily lie with teaching such children how to perform a job, but how to treat others while they're on the job.
"Some of them do not greet people mutually. People will say hi, but they will respond with no eye contact, or they might not respond at all," she said.
"On other occasions, they might be too nice to other people -- they don't realize they should keep a certain distance. Some of them are very sensitive to sensory stimuli, so if they like the smell of someone else's shampoo they might come too close to the other person and that might offend some people or scare them."
One good way to meet those challenges, she said, is to pair the autistic workers, most of them young men, with college-age peers who understand all those unwritten rules of social engagement.
In her pilot programs, Dr. Huang has tended to use young women as mentors, because the autistic men respond better to them. But for certain situations, such as when the men are in a public setting, she prefers male mentors.
One example: on a public bus trip, an autistic man was very attracted to a young woman who had boarded the bus. "We say to these young men, 'If you see a woman, you should keep a certain distance from her and you should not stare at her all the time.' A lot of autistic people have good memories so they can remember those rules, but it is sometimes hard for them to generalize the behavior."
In this case, she said, the young man told his mentor that even though he knew the rules, he still wanted to sit near the young woman, but his male mentor physically pulled him back.
Dr. Huang's pilot program worked with the St. Anthony School Programs, a Catholic system for children with Down syndrome, autism and other disabilities. She is now trying to extend the mentoring system to Wesley Spectrum Services, which works with more than 7,000 children across Western Pennsylvania.
So far, the autistic students have worked at Duquesne's cafeteria, law school and copying center, as well as at the Pittsburgh Marriott City Center housekeeping program and a few other work sites.
Finding willing employers is crucial, she said, but even when she can do that, there is sometimes still the issue of insensitive co-workers.
She went to observe one of her students at a local grocery store recently, where he was bagging at a checkout counter. The boy has Down syndrome and autism, she said, so he is both friendly and tends to repeat himself.
"He was saying, 'It's fun outside, do you like it?' He has good verbal communication and he was trying to greet people, but the problem is he repeats things again and again and again." It clearly irritated the cashier, said Dr. Huang, who did not let on that she knew the young man.
"The cashier was not very happy about the way he was acting. I had bought some eggs, and she asked if I wanted her to put my eggs in a bag, because 'I don't want him to ruin your eggs.' I said 'No, no, no, he's doing fine.'
"He was doing his job very well. The only part that embarrassed the cashier was that he was very friendly and didn't know the boundaries."
Dr. Huang never expected to end up doing this kind of work. When she was 24, she was a successful young English teacher at an elite school in Beijing for the children of wealthy parents. Then, she happened to visit a school for developmentally disabled children, and her life changed.
"The school I was teaching in was so different from this one, and it totally changed my mind. In Chinese society, we always think out of sight, out of mind. But I decided we cannot ignore them."
She applied for a graduate program at Tennessee Tech University, where her mentor specialized in autism, and joined the Duquesne faculty after getting her Ph.D.
Her only frustration has been that her funds for the mentoring program have been so limited. "If other agencies would like to replicate this program or other school districts were interested in developing such a program, I'd be more than happy to help them develop it.
"I hate to refuse parents. They ask, 'How can we get our kids into your program?' and too often, I have to say 'I'm so sorry, the money is limited.' "
Friday, March 12, 2010
Students with LD Visit College
http://republicanherald.com/news/students-with-learning-disabilities-visit-penn-state-1.457529
Students with learning disabilities visit Penn State
SCHUYLKILL HAVEN - Students with learning disabilities sometimes find it difficult to get through high school and rely on help from programs designed to meet their needs, officials say.
On Tuesday, students with learning difficulties who are interested in attending college were invited to experience campus life and find out what help is available during College Day at Penn State Schuylkill.
"The event is to offer high school juniors and seniors with disabilities a chance to experience college for a day," said Melinda Anthony Spolski, coordinator of counseling and disability services at Penn State. "Hopefully they will take away from this what they need to be doing now to prepare for the college transition."
The first College Day event was held last year at Lehigh Carbon Community College.
About 70 students attended this year's event hosted by Penn State Schuylkill and sponsored by Schuylkill Intermediate Unit 29 and the Schuylkill County Transition Coordinating Council.
All of the county districts' high school juniors and seniors with individualized education plans - plans set to establish goals for a child with educational needs during the school year and any special support needed to help achieve the goals - were invited to attend.
"Knowledge is power and there are different laws that affect students with IEPs, and they need to know that IEPs do not follow them to college," said IU employee Melanie Wagner, who provides training and consultation in the area of transition.
Wagner said the transition council, made up of IU staff, district teachers and social service agencies, meets four times a year and sets up events for students with learning disabilities to ensure a seamless transition from high school to either college, the work force or assisted living.
"Some of these students might have a reading or math disability and may require extra time for test taking or a device to assist them," Wagner said. "Others might need a note-taker."
On Tuesday, the students toured the campus, attended classes and spoke with current Penn State students with learning disabilities.
"It was good to hear what some of the students had to say," said Josh, a senior from Pottsville.
On Tuesday, the high schoolers also did some college research online and met with members of the campus disability services staff.
"It was good to know that there are different ways that colleges will help you," said Gary, a senior at Mahanoy Area. "This helped us realize that there is help for us at college and where we need to go to get it."
"This is not going to be like high school, when you can just ask for another test," Rachel, a Mahanoy Area junior, said.
Teachers who accompanied students Tuesday said modifications were made for the students throughout the four years of high school in response to their learning difficulties. In college, accommodations are made only when sought out by the student.
"For some students, this was an eye-opening experience," said Mahanoy Area Special Education teacher Casey Moyer. "They learned their IEPs don't come with them and they need to get in touch with disability services when they get here to get the help they need. In high school this is all done for them. They learned today that there is help available but they need seek help if they need it and talking to disability services early is important."
Students with learning disabilities visit Penn State
SCHUYLKILL HAVEN - Students with learning disabilities sometimes find it difficult to get through high school and rely on help from programs designed to meet their needs, officials say.
On Tuesday, students with learning difficulties who are interested in attending college were invited to experience campus life and find out what help is available during College Day at Penn State Schuylkill.
"The event is to offer high school juniors and seniors with disabilities a chance to experience college for a day," said Melinda Anthony Spolski, coordinator of counseling and disability services at Penn State. "Hopefully they will take away from this what they need to be doing now to prepare for the college transition."
The first College Day event was held last year at Lehigh Carbon Community College.
About 70 students attended this year's event hosted by Penn State Schuylkill and sponsored by Schuylkill Intermediate Unit 29 and the Schuylkill County Transition Coordinating Council.
All of the county districts' high school juniors and seniors with individualized education plans - plans set to establish goals for a child with educational needs during the school year and any special support needed to help achieve the goals - were invited to attend.
"Knowledge is power and there are different laws that affect students with IEPs, and they need to know that IEPs do not follow them to college," said IU employee Melanie Wagner, who provides training and consultation in the area of transition.
Wagner said the transition council, made up of IU staff, district teachers and social service agencies, meets four times a year and sets up events for students with learning disabilities to ensure a seamless transition from high school to either college, the work force or assisted living.
"Some of these students might have a reading or math disability and may require extra time for test taking or a device to assist them," Wagner said. "Others might need a note-taker."
On Tuesday, the students toured the campus, attended classes and spoke with current Penn State students with learning disabilities.
"It was good to hear what some of the students had to say," said Josh, a senior from Pottsville.
On Tuesday, the high schoolers also did some college research online and met with members of the campus disability services staff.
"It was good to know that there are different ways that colleges will help you," said Gary, a senior at Mahanoy Area. "This helped us realize that there is help for us at college and where we need to go to get it."
"This is not going to be like high school, when you can just ask for another test," Rachel, a Mahanoy Area junior, said.
Teachers who accompanied students Tuesday said modifications were made for the students throughout the four years of high school in response to their learning difficulties. In college, accommodations are made only when sought out by the student.
"For some students, this was an eye-opening experience," said Mahanoy Area Special Education teacher Casey Moyer. "They learned their IEPs don't come with them and they need to get in touch with disability services when they get here to get the help they need. In high school this is all done for them. They learned today that there is help available but they need seek help if they need it and talking to disability services early is important."
Life Skills Center in Texas
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/education/87187842.html
Special-needs kids get help with independent living
Like most young adults, Emilia Garcia hopes to get a job and an apartment of her own. But Emilia, 21, and the other students at the Edgewood Transition Center have cognitive impairments that make independent living more difficult.
The center, which celebrated its grand opening Tuesday, will help students learn the skills they'll need to navigate the world after graduating from high school.
“I like the teachers here. They help us a lot,” Garcia said. “They try to teach us how to be responsible that we can learn how to pay our apartment, pay our bills and things and clean our apartment.”
Located on the second floor of the district's Burleson Early Childhood Center, the transition center includes spaces for students to meet with representatives from support agencies, to host workshops where they can learn how to fill out job applications or hone various skills and a mock studio apartment complete with a washer and dryer, working stove and full bathroom.
Students learn what it takes to run a household and eventually could take turns spending the night — chaperoned — in the apartment. They also leave the center to spend time on job sites, where they serve as greeters or fold boxes for pizza parlors.
Other district campuses send work to the center, which has been dubbed the ETC, as in etcetera, and students shred papers or make decorations for various Edgewood departments. They punch in and out using a time clock on one of the classroom walls.
Tuesday's grand opening featured finger sandwiches and other refreshments prepared in the food services classroom by the 16 students attending the center.
Since January, the center has been open for half-days but will begin operating full time March 22, after the district's spring break. Students who attend the ETC are graduates of one of the Edgewood Independent School District's two high schools, but because they have special needs, they are entitled to services through the public school district until they reach age 21.
The district had provided those services at its high schools, but David Costello, special education accountability and assessment specialist, said the comprehensive center is a better solution.
“At the high schools, we really weren't meeting their needs,” he said. “They were taking the same courses over and over again until they aged out.”
Such stand-alone centers are not a new concept but the ETC is a first for Edgewood and has been years in the making. No new staff was hired for the project; the district spent about $15,000 to $20,000 in start-up costs, most of which was federal stimulus money.
“If it hadn't been for the stimulus, we probably couldn't have opened it this year,” said Oralia Lara, the district's director of special education.
At a ceremony to celebrate the opening, philanthropist Gordon Hartman said helping individuals with special needs to lead more independent lives will ultimately benefit all of San Antonio.
Superintendent Elizabeth Garza said the district really was just doing its job.
“It's our goal for every student in the district to have an excellent education, and so we try to meet each student's individual needs,” she said.
Special-needs kids get help with independent living
Like most young adults, Emilia Garcia hopes to get a job and an apartment of her own. But Emilia, 21, and the other students at the Edgewood Transition Center have cognitive impairments that make independent living more difficult.
The center, which celebrated its grand opening Tuesday, will help students learn the skills they'll need to navigate the world after graduating from high school.
“I like the teachers here. They help us a lot,” Garcia said. “They try to teach us how to be responsible that we can learn how to pay our apartment, pay our bills and things and clean our apartment.”
Located on the second floor of the district's Burleson Early Childhood Center, the transition center includes spaces for students to meet with representatives from support agencies, to host workshops where they can learn how to fill out job applications or hone various skills and a mock studio apartment complete with a washer and dryer, working stove and full bathroom.
Students learn what it takes to run a household and eventually could take turns spending the night — chaperoned — in the apartment. They also leave the center to spend time on job sites, where they serve as greeters or fold boxes for pizza parlors.
Other district campuses send work to the center, which has been dubbed the ETC, as in etcetera, and students shred papers or make decorations for various Edgewood departments. They punch in and out using a time clock on one of the classroom walls.
Tuesday's grand opening featured finger sandwiches and other refreshments prepared in the food services classroom by the 16 students attending the center.
Since January, the center has been open for half-days but will begin operating full time March 22, after the district's spring break. Students who attend the ETC are graduates of one of the Edgewood Independent School District's two high schools, but because they have special needs, they are entitled to services through the public school district until they reach age 21.
The district had provided those services at its high schools, but David Costello, special education accountability and assessment specialist, said the comprehensive center is a better solution.
“At the high schools, we really weren't meeting their needs,” he said. “They were taking the same courses over and over again until they aged out.”
Such stand-alone centers are not a new concept but the ETC is a first for Edgewood and has been years in the making. No new staff was hired for the project; the district spent about $15,000 to $20,000 in start-up costs, most of which was federal stimulus money.
“If it hadn't been for the stimulus, we probably couldn't have opened it this year,” said Oralia Lara, the district's director of special education.
At a ceremony to celebrate the opening, philanthropist Gordon Hartman said helping individuals with special needs to lead more independent lives will ultimately benefit all of San Antonio.
Superintendent Elizabeth Garza said the district really was just doing its job.
“It's our goal for every student in the district to have an excellent education, and so we try to meet each student's individual needs,” she said.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Teens with Special Needs write a book about their goals and hopes
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/brooklyn/2010/01/27/2010-01-27_telling_teen_tales_specialneeds_students_book_a_library_hit.html
Teen Tales: Book by Special Needs Students
Dana Johnson was told she'd never learn to read.
But, a book she and seven other Staten Island special-needs students wrote made its debut on New York Public Library shelves this week.
They authored and illustrated "Teen Tales," their stories of what they want to do with their lives, in an arts program at the Hungerford School at New Dorp High School.
Tears mixed with cheers at an awards ceremony on Monday at the Staten Island library's St. George branch, where the new book can be found. Starting March 1, it will also be posted online at readers.org .
"I am proud," said teary-eyed Mary Scherzinger, whose son Paul's story is about his dream of taking computer training courses.
"Maybe one day I can work at Apple or Google," wrote Paul, 18.
One of his classmates, Karen Freire, 19, hopes to become a bank teller.
"I want to...help people take care of their money," she wrote.
Another classmate, Johnson, was told at a Long Island high school she previously attended that she'd never be able to read. Since enrolling at Hungerford, she has learned to read at third-grade level, said her dad, Keith.
"From the moment she arrived at Hungerford, she really started to accelerate," he said.
Johnson, 20, expects to graduate in June and wants to become a veterinarian's assistant. Writing the book was hard work, but well worth it, she said, adding: "You had to think about it a lot."
At the beginning of their 10-session course in November, instructor Victoria Larimore took the students to the St. George library for inspiration.
"You're going to be part of this," she promised. "You will have a book here, too."
The course was funded with a $2,500 grant from the Council on the Arts & Humanities for Staten Island. Larimore, a West Village filmmaker, hopes to replicate the program at other city schools serving special-needs teens.
"I wanted to give them a creative visualization of their future," she said. "Some are graduating soon; they won't have their school to help them."
Teen Tales: Book by Special Needs Students
Dana Johnson was told she'd never learn to read.
But, a book she and seven other Staten Island special-needs students wrote made its debut on New York Public Library shelves this week.
They authored and illustrated "Teen Tales," their stories of what they want to do with their lives, in an arts program at the Hungerford School at New Dorp High School.
Tears mixed with cheers at an awards ceremony on Monday at the Staten Island library's St. George branch, where the new book can be found. Starting March 1, it will also be posted online at readers.org .
"I am proud," said teary-eyed Mary Scherzinger, whose son Paul's story is about his dream of taking computer training courses.
"Maybe one day I can work at Apple or Google," wrote Paul, 18.
One of his classmates, Karen Freire, 19, hopes to become a bank teller.
"I want to...help people take care of their money," she wrote.
Another classmate, Johnson, was told at a Long Island high school she previously attended that she'd never be able to read. Since enrolling at Hungerford, she has learned to read at third-grade level, said her dad, Keith.
"From the moment she arrived at Hungerford, she really started to accelerate," he said.
Johnson, 20, expects to graduate in June and wants to become a veterinarian's assistant. Writing the book was hard work, but well worth it, she said, adding: "You had to think about it a lot."
At the beginning of their 10-session course in November, instructor Victoria Larimore took the students to the St. George library for inspiration.
"You're going to be part of this," she promised. "You will have a book here, too."
The course was funded with a $2,500 grant from the Council on the Arts & Humanities for Staten Island. Larimore, a West Village filmmaker, hopes to replicate the program at other city schools serving special-needs teens.
"I wanted to give them a creative visualization of their future," she said. "Some are graduating soon; they won't have their school to help them."
Helping Haiti while getting Job Skills
http://www.walb.com/Global/story.asp?S=11884988
Special needs students package meals for Haiti
CAIRO, GA (WALB) - Some special needs students from Thomas County Central High School are helping to feed the Haiti earthquake survivors.
They spent the day putting together pre-packaged meals as part of the Kids Against Hunger program based out of Cairo.
Dominic Reddick saw the images of Haiti after the devastating earthquake and knew something needed to be done.
"Earthquake has been erupted in Haiti and they need some kind of help," said an emotional Reddick.
So help is what these special needs students are giving. They're packaging non-perishable meals to send to a country so desperately in need.
"Wherever it goes in the world it is nutritionally sound," said co-founder and director of Kids Against Hunger Cairo, Anne Horne. "It doesn't just fill the hollow hole, it rebuilds their immune system."
But the joy of lending a helping hand isn't the only lesson these kids are learning.
"Very good job skill training for these kids to get opportunities to work in the community when they graduate," said their teacher, Betty Worthington.
Each student has a job at one of the three tables on the assembly line.
"Kids put the labels on the bags," continued Worthington. "Then they go to the assembly line. And the first step is the yellow protein, then our vegetables, then our soy and then we have our rice. Then we take the bags and they are weighed and vacuumed sealed."
The last step of the assembly process happens to also be my favorite, pounding the bags to make them flat for the boxes.
The boxes contains 36 bags of food which feed six people each. That means one box, which costs only $55, can feed 216 people.
"Last Saturday we had a group that packaged 50,000 meals and they are already in Haiti as we speak," said a proud Horne.
The special needs students are proud to be a part of the Haitian relief.
"I'll do whatever I can to make Haiti feel better," exclaimed Reddick.
And these kids are doing just that, making Haiti feel better with every completed bag of food.
If you'd like to sponsor a Kids Against Hunger meal packaging event, you can call their office at (229) 377-0968 or visit their web site at http://www.kahcairo.org/.
Special needs students package meals for Haiti
CAIRO, GA (WALB) - Some special needs students from Thomas County Central High School are helping to feed the Haiti earthquake survivors.
They spent the day putting together pre-packaged meals as part of the Kids Against Hunger program based out of Cairo.
Dominic Reddick saw the images of Haiti after the devastating earthquake and knew something needed to be done.
"Earthquake has been erupted in Haiti and they need some kind of help," said an emotional Reddick.
So help is what these special needs students are giving. They're packaging non-perishable meals to send to a country so desperately in need.
"Wherever it goes in the world it is nutritionally sound," said co-founder and director of Kids Against Hunger Cairo, Anne Horne. "It doesn't just fill the hollow hole, it rebuilds their immune system."
But the joy of lending a helping hand isn't the only lesson these kids are learning.
"Very good job skill training for these kids to get opportunities to work in the community when they graduate," said their teacher, Betty Worthington.
Each student has a job at one of the three tables on the assembly line.
"Kids put the labels on the bags," continued Worthington. "Then they go to the assembly line. And the first step is the yellow protein, then our vegetables, then our soy and then we have our rice. Then we take the bags and they are weighed and vacuumed sealed."
The last step of the assembly process happens to also be my favorite, pounding the bags to make them flat for the boxes.
The boxes contains 36 bags of food which feed six people each. That means one box, which costs only $55, can feed 216 people.
"Last Saturday we had a group that packaged 50,000 meals and they are already in Haiti as we speak," said a proud Horne.
The special needs students are proud to be a part of the Haitian relief.
"I'll do whatever I can to make Haiti feel better," exclaimed Reddick.
And these kids are doing just that, making Haiti feel better with every completed bag of food.
If you'd like to sponsor a Kids Against Hunger meal packaging event, you can call their office at (229) 377-0968 or visit their web site at http://www.kahcairo.org/.
Internship offers jobs for students with disabilities
http://btop.courierpress.com/news/2010/feb/09/work-study/
Program Helps Students w/ disabilities get jobs
BOONVILLE, Ind. — In many ways, Margaret Uhde, Laura Hartig, Andrew Embry and Hajira Mufti are like any other employees at St. Mary's Warrick Hospital.
They spend every weekday at the facility doing whatever needs to be done. It might involve filing papers, making deliveries, doing laundry or any number of other tasks.
But as high school seniors with various disabilities, the four students needed a way into the hospital to get that valuable, on-the-job experience.
A new partnership between the hospital, the Gibson-Warrick-Pike Special Education Cooperative and Southern Indiana Resource Solutions is making the endeavor possible.
St. Mary's Warrick Project SEARCH is based on a nationally recognized program developed at Cincinnati Children's Hospital.
It provides adults aged 18-21 with unpaid internship experience in preparation for full-time, real-world employment in the future.
"Hopefully it's been a positive experience for the interns, but it's been a positive experience for St. Mary's as well," said Carol Godsey, administrator of the Boonville hospital.
Uhde, Hartig and Embry are students at Boonville High School and Mufti is a student at Castle High School. They are the program's first four students; organizers say the program will be able to accommodate 10 or so.
Each day, the students — who are all on nondiploma tracks at their high schools — have a fairly set agenda.
It includes an hour of classroom instruction about employability and independent living skills, two hours of job rotations, lunch, two more hours of job rotations and a final hour of classroom instruction.
Students spend time working in medical records, environmental and custodial services, dietary and nutrient services, health information management, mail room and delivery, data entry and more.
Those who spend an academic year in Project SEARCH leave with a detailed portfolio of their work experiences. It includes pictures, recognitions and letters of recommendation that the students can show employers.
Funding for Project SEARCH comes from Vocational Rehabilitation Services, which is part of the state's Family and Social Services Administration. Indiana University's Institute on Disability and Community is providing technical assistance.
Organizers say the program's goal is to build independent living skills among participants.
Once the students leave their classroom and begin their daily work, "they are interns and they are learning," said Sam Whisenant of the Gibson-Warrick-Pike Special Education Cooperative. "They are workers, and they are good workers."
Program Helps Students w/ disabilities get jobs
BOONVILLE, Ind. — In many ways, Margaret Uhde, Laura Hartig, Andrew Embry and Hajira Mufti are like any other employees at St. Mary's Warrick Hospital.
They spend every weekday at the facility doing whatever needs to be done. It might involve filing papers, making deliveries, doing laundry or any number of other tasks.
But as high school seniors with various disabilities, the four students needed a way into the hospital to get that valuable, on-the-job experience.
A new partnership between the hospital, the Gibson-Warrick-Pike Special Education Cooperative and Southern Indiana Resource Solutions is making the endeavor possible.
St. Mary's Warrick Project SEARCH is based on a nationally recognized program developed at Cincinnati Children's Hospital.
It provides adults aged 18-21 with unpaid internship experience in preparation for full-time, real-world employment in the future.
"Hopefully it's been a positive experience for the interns, but it's been a positive experience for St. Mary's as well," said Carol Godsey, administrator of the Boonville hospital.
Uhde, Hartig and Embry are students at Boonville High School and Mufti is a student at Castle High School. They are the program's first four students; organizers say the program will be able to accommodate 10 or so.
Each day, the students — who are all on nondiploma tracks at their high schools — have a fairly set agenda.
It includes an hour of classroom instruction about employability and independent living skills, two hours of job rotations, lunch, two more hours of job rotations and a final hour of classroom instruction.
Students spend time working in medical records, environmental and custodial services, dietary and nutrient services, health information management, mail room and delivery, data entry and more.
Those who spend an academic year in Project SEARCH leave with a detailed portfolio of their work experiences. It includes pictures, recognitions and letters of recommendation that the students can show employers.
Funding for Project SEARCH comes from Vocational Rehabilitation Services, which is part of the state's Family and Social Services Administration. Indiana University's Institute on Disability and Community is providing technical assistance.
Organizers say the program's goal is to build independent living skills among participants.
Once the students leave their classroom and begin their daily work, "they are interns and they are learning," said Sam Whisenant of the Gibson-Warrick-Pike Special Education Cooperative. "They are workers, and they are good workers."
Modified Diplomas in Oregon
http://www.gazettetimes.com/news/local/article_0bbc774e-15fe-11df-b236-001cc4c03286.html
Town hall covers modified diplomas
New categories of high school diplomas for students with various kinds of disabilities will be the topic of a town hall with state Rep. Sara Gelser, D-Corvallis, on Thursday.
The new diplomas are intended to provide meaningful documentation of educational attainment by students with developmental disabilities, autism, dyslexia and other special needs.
The modified diploma, approved by the 2007 Legislature, requires the completion of 24 credits, just like the standard diploma, but the credits can be earned by completing courses modified to accommodate the needs of disabled learners.
The extended diploma is aimed at students with more profound learning challenges, often those enrolled in Life Skills classes. These students need only earn 12 credits, but at least half of them must be for courses taught outside the self-contained environment of a Life Skills or other special education classroom.
To be eligible for the new diplomas, students must have a documented disability and must have the written consent of their parents. Higher-achieving students can still pursue a standard diploma, and the most severely disabled can still receive an alternative certificate.
“Nobody is required to pursue either of these,” said Gelser, the chief sponsor of both bills. “For those students who can or want to try, state law now says they have the opportunity to do that.”
Gelser said the legislation was needed because some districts were shortchanging students with disabilities, either by forcing them into an all-vocational track or giving them an alternative certificate even if their classwork merited some higher level of recognition. Employers who might consider hiring some of these students were left in the dark about their true capabilities.
“There were no standards and there really were no expectations” for students with learning disabilities, Gelser said. “In many districts they weren’t earning credits, and in a lot of districts they weren’t even allowed to go through commencement exercises to receive a certificate of attendance.”
The new laws also guarantee access to academic as well as vocational classes to students with disabilities in Oregon public schools.
“That’s really consistent with what the federal special education law says,” Gelser said.
At Thursday’s town hall meeting, Gelser will discuss how the new diplomas work, who may be eligible, credit and class requirements, and planning strategies for families.
She will also answer questions from the audience.
The event is aimed at parents, teachers, educational assistants, high school counselors and others involved in educating or supporting students with disabilities.
Town hall covers modified diplomas
New categories of high school diplomas for students with various kinds of disabilities will be the topic of a town hall with state Rep. Sara Gelser, D-Corvallis, on Thursday.
The new diplomas are intended to provide meaningful documentation of educational attainment by students with developmental disabilities, autism, dyslexia and other special needs.
The modified diploma, approved by the 2007 Legislature, requires the completion of 24 credits, just like the standard diploma, but the credits can be earned by completing courses modified to accommodate the needs of disabled learners.
The extended diploma is aimed at students with more profound learning challenges, often those enrolled in Life Skills classes. These students need only earn 12 credits, but at least half of them must be for courses taught outside the self-contained environment of a Life Skills or other special education classroom.
To be eligible for the new diplomas, students must have a documented disability and must have the written consent of their parents. Higher-achieving students can still pursue a standard diploma, and the most severely disabled can still receive an alternative certificate.
“Nobody is required to pursue either of these,” said Gelser, the chief sponsor of both bills. “For those students who can or want to try, state law now says they have the opportunity to do that.”
Gelser said the legislation was needed because some districts were shortchanging students with disabilities, either by forcing them into an all-vocational track or giving them an alternative certificate even if their classwork merited some higher level of recognition. Employers who might consider hiring some of these students were left in the dark about their true capabilities.
“There were no standards and there really were no expectations” for students with learning disabilities, Gelser said. “In many districts they weren’t earning credits, and in a lot of districts they weren’t even allowed to go through commencement exercises to receive a certificate of attendance.”
The new laws also guarantee access to academic as well as vocational classes to students with disabilities in Oregon public schools.
“That’s really consistent with what the federal special education law says,” Gelser said.
At Thursday’s town hall meeting, Gelser will discuss how the new diplomas work, who may be eligible, credit and class requirements, and planning strategies for families.
She will also answer questions from the audience.
The event is aimed at parents, teachers, educational assistants, high school counselors and others involved in educating or supporting students with disabilities.
Prom for Students with Special Needs (WI)
http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/84810057.html
Teachers make Special Needs Prom truly special
Over the years, teachers have taken a beating. They've been blamed for the achievement gap, poor test scores and even the financial woes of the school district.
But if you're looking for some teacher bashing in this column, move on. Nothing to see here. This is a story of above and beyond, of doing extra simply because this makes someone important happy.
Last week, more than 100 young people with special needs arrived at Washington High School in Milwaukee in tuxedos, suits and formal dresses - for a prom.
For more than 15 years, the Special Needs Prom - which invites students from all over the area for a special night - would not be possible if it weren't for dozens of teachers and their volunteerism.
Remember your own prom? Perhaps everyone in your school felt welcome, but I'm betting that generally kids with special needs - those in wheelchairs and those with cognitive disabilities - can find such events daunting.
The idea here - a great one - is to simply make one night as special for them as proms are for most other students. And it happened at Washington High School on Feb. 12 for one reason - because of teachers, often maligned but not as often appreciated.
These teachers transformed Washington's cafeteria into "Casino Night," this year's theme for the prom. They raised money for the event, found a sponsor to cater dinner and created and hung all the decorations and table ornaments.
And they did it for free - on their own time.
And don't think they were just mere chaperones. Not at all. Some of the teachers even got out on the dance floor to learn the latest moves. Some of the teachers taught a few moves as well.
Stephanie O'Connor, a seventh-grade special education teacher at Audubon Technology & Communications Center Middle School, told me that her peers do what they do because they love children.
O'Connor acted like a schoolgirl herself after she saw two girls in the prom dresses she donated to them.
"She's wearing the dress better than I did," O'Connor told another teacher. "She looks so cute in it, and she was smart enough to wear a shawl over it. I wish I would have done the same thing."
O'Connor experienced a major wardrobe malfunction when she wore the one-strap, black formal dress to her high school prom 12 years ago.
Let's just say, she was doing the bunny-hop, and, well, you get the picture.
But there would be no wardrobe malfunctions on this night. Like proms that take place at high schools across the country, this prom crowned the class clown, the most likable and most outgoing.
It also featured students like 17-year-old Matthew Hanrahan, who is autistic. When Matthew arrived, he kept his hands in his pockets and stood near O'Connor, not wandering too far away.
As the music started to play and more students rushed to the dance floor, you could see Matthew's confidence build. First, he walked on the dance floor, took his hands out of his pockets and tried a really quick dance move, which resembled something John Travolta did in "Saturday Night Fever."
When no one seemed to notice, he tried another move, then another and yet another. And soon, he was busting all kinds of moves.
This was a huge step for Matthew, O'Connor told me. But that's the best part about the Special Needs Prom: The children can just be themselves. The prom caters to the physical and mental challenges of these students.
We all know that children in school can be mean at times. But at this event, there were hugs and screeches from girls when they saw friends they have not seen in a year.
Teen girls ran out on the dance floor holding hands and tried to dance together, while the teen boys rapped with the music and performed various dances.
Ike Walters, 26, who graduated from Washington High School eight years ago, keeps coming back because he says it gives him a chance to see his old teachers and friends.
"I will never miss one of these," Walters said as he danced to song after song. Walters, who is cognitively disabled, greeted his friends with a contagious smile as he strolled through the doors.
Mario Ogunbowale, 21, a 2007 Washington grad, told me that seeing his friends is the best part.
Ogunbowale said he has not missed a Special Needs Prom. That's probably because his father, Gregory, is the principal of the school and is instrumental in keeping the event going.
Gregory Ogunbowale has been involved with the program for more than 12 years. He said it couldn't happen without the teachers.
"Just look around," he told me as he ate his prom dinner of smothered turkey, green beans and potatoes. "Every one of these teachers is here because they want to be. These are the stories that are rarely told."
As Gregory Ogunbowale pointed out the dozen or so teachers by name, he described in detail what they did to keep the prom going.
The teachers prepare for the prom all year, but the real execution occurs two weeks prior to the event. Operating on a shoestring budget until this year - receiving a donation of $4,000 from the Milwaukee Foundation - the teachers do everything to keep the costs down and make sure the students' special night goes on without a hitch. This involves everything from hiring a DJ from Running Rebels to blowing up the hundred or so balloons the event is remarkable.
The event can best be summed up when you look at the prom through the eyes of Lois Starms, a special education teacher for more than 16 years.
Starms brought her two grandchildren with her to the event, much like she used to bring her children until they got too big.
Her eyes started to water up as students she had not seen in a year came up to her to give her a hug and tell her how they have been doing.
Starms told me that the hugs and smiles make it worth all of the effort.
But it's the teachers' unfailing commitment that makes the night special for those most in need.
Teachers make Special Needs Prom truly special
Over the years, teachers have taken a beating. They've been blamed for the achievement gap, poor test scores and even the financial woes of the school district.
But if you're looking for some teacher bashing in this column, move on. Nothing to see here. This is a story of above and beyond, of doing extra simply because this makes someone important happy.
Last week, more than 100 young people with special needs arrived at Washington High School in Milwaukee in tuxedos, suits and formal dresses - for a prom.
For more than 15 years, the Special Needs Prom - which invites students from all over the area for a special night - would not be possible if it weren't for dozens of teachers and their volunteerism.
Remember your own prom? Perhaps everyone in your school felt welcome, but I'm betting that generally kids with special needs - those in wheelchairs and those with cognitive disabilities - can find such events daunting.
The idea here - a great one - is to simply make one night as special for them as proms are for most other students. And it happened at Washington High School on Feb. 12 for one reason - because of teachers, often maligned but not as often appreciated.
These teachers transformed Washington's cafeteria into "Casino Night," this year's theme for the prom. They raised money for the event, found a sponsor to cater dinner and created and hung all the decorations and table ornaments.
And they did it for free - on their own time.
And don't think they were just mere chaperones. Not at all. Some of the teachers even got out on the dance floor to learn the latest moves. Some of the teachers taught a few moves as well.
Stephanie O'Connor, a seventh-grade special education teacher at Audubon Technology & Communications Center Middle School, told me that her peers do what they do because they love children.
O'Connor acted like a schoolgirl herself after she saw two girls in the prom dresses she donated to them.
"She's wearing the dress better than I did," O'Connor told another teacher. "She looks so cute in it, and she was smart enough to wear a shawl over it. I wish I would have done the same thing."
O'Connor experienced a major wardrobe malfunction when she wore the one-strap, black formal dress to her high school prom 12 years ago.
Let's just say, she was doing the bunny-hop, and, well, you get the picture.
But there would be no wardrobe malfunctions on this night. Like proms that take place at high schools across the country, this prom crowned the class clown, the most likable and most outgoing.
It also featured students like 17-year-old Matthew Hanrahan, who is autistic. When Matthew arrived, he kept his hands in his pockets and stood near O'Connor, not wandering too far away.
As the music started to play and more students rushed to the dance floor, you could see Matthew's confidence build. First, he walked on the dance floor, took his hands out of his pockets and tried a really quick dance move, which resembled something John Travolta did in "Saturday Night Fever."
When no one seemed to notice, he tried another move, then another and yet another. And soon, he was busting all kinds of moves.
This was a huge step for Matthew, O'Connor told me. But that's the best part about the Special Needs Prom: The children can just be themselves. The prom caters to the physical and mental challenges of these students.
We all know that children in school can be mean at times. But at this event, there were hugs and screeches from girls when they saw friends they have not seen in a year.
Teen girls ran out on the dance floor holding hands and tried to dance together, while the teen boys rapped with the music and performed various dances.
Ike Walters, 26, who graduated from Washington High School eight years ago, keeps coming back because he says it gives him a chance to see his old teachers and friends.
"I will never miss one of these," Walters said as he danced to song after song. Walters, who is cognitively disabled, greeted his friends with a contagious smile as he strolled through the doors.
Mario Ogunbowale, 21, a 2007 Washington grad, told me that seeing his friends is the best part.
Ogunbowale said he has not missed a Special Needs Prom. That's probably because his father, Gregory, is the principal of the school and is instrumental in keeping the event going.
Gregory Ogunbowale has been involved with the program for more than 12 years. He said it couldn't happen without the teachers.
"Just look around," he told me as he ate his prom dinner of smothered turkey, green beans and potatoes. "Every one of these teachers is here because they want to be. These are the stories that are rarely told."
As Gregory Ogunbowale pointed out the dozen or so teachers by name, he described in detail what they did to keep the prom going.
The teachers prepare for the prom all year, but the real execution occurs two weeks prior to the event. Operating on a shoestring budget until this year - receiving a donation of $4,000 from the Milwaukee Foundation - the teachers do everything to keep the costs down and make sure the students' special night goes on without a hitch. This involves everything from hiring a DJ from Running Rebels to blowing up the hundred or so balloons the event is remarkable.
The event can best be summed up when you look at the prom through the eyes of Lois Starms, a special education teacher for more than 16 years.
Starms brought her two grandchildren with her to the event, much like she used to bring her children until they got too big.
Her eyes started to water up as students she had not seen in a year came up to her to give her a hug and tell her how they have been doing.
Starms told me that the hugs and smiles make it worth all of the effort.
But it's the teachers' unfailing commitment that makes the night special for those most in need.
Deli offers job training for students with disabilities
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-a5_5foodcart.7183214feb22,0,5800524.story
Portable, practical learning
Allentown special ed students prepare for work force by running a food and coffee cart, the DelectABLE Deli
February 22, 2010By Steve Esack OF THE MORNING CALL
For 29 years, Deborah Hartman spent her days in the classroom, working with special education students.
When she was promoted six years ago to special education director, headquartered at the downtown Central Administration Building of the Allentown School District, Hartman missed the daily interaction with her students. She was sure others in the central office did too.
''I've always wanted kids in the administration building to keep people's eyes on the target,'' she said. ''We are in a business, but it's not a business about widgets. It's a business about kids.''
With the help of federal stimulus money, Hartman got her wish. She and her staff founded DelectABLE Deli, a food and coffee cart staffed by special education students from Allen and Dieruff high schools.
It is part of the district's effort to prepare mentally and physically challenged students to enter the work force after graduation.
''Everything we have with the cart is to develop skill sets,'' Hartman said. ''It's not just providing beverages and food for administrators.''
Allen students like Luis Rodriguez, 19, work on their verbal skills by greeting customers and taking their breakfast or lunch orders. They work on their math skills by adding prices ($1.25 for a muffin plus 75 cents for coffee) with the help of first-year special education teacher Danielle Jones.
''Have a good weekend,'' Luis called to customer R. Brook Porch, a consultant from the state Department of Education, on Friday.
''It gives them real life experience,'' said Porch, who walked away with a cranberry muffin and coffee.
Preparing students for life after school is all part of the mandate of special education, which is available to students ages 3 to 21 who have a wide range of disabilities, from autism and Down syndrome to blindness and emotional illnesses.
Under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004, school districts must work with parents to develop personalized learning plans for such students.
Once special education students turn 14, their learning begins to move from the classroom to a work-based learning experience via introductions to trade school or jobs within the school district or outside companies.
But meeting special education mandates can be costly.
The two-year, $787 billion stimulus package Congress passed last year included $12 billion for school districts for special education.
Allentown received about $10 million in stimulus money, including $3.6 million for special education.
Allentown spent $5,000 in special education money to start the DelectABLE Deli. The ABLE is an acronym for Allentown Building Life Experiences. A total of 27 students work in three shifts from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Hartman said she hopes to use the next round of stimulus money to rent a handicapped accessible apartment near Allen High School. The apartment would be used to teach students how to live independently because an apartment, like the food cart, is more realistic than a classroom, she said.
Portable, practical learning
Allentown special ed students prepare for work force by running a food and coffee cart, the DelectABLE Deli
February 22, 2010By Steve Esack OF THE MORNING CALL
For 29 years, Deborah Hartman spent her days in the classroom, working with special education students.
When she was promoted six years ago to special education director, headquartered at the downtown Central Administration Building of the Allentown School District, Hartman missed the daily interaction with her students. She was sure others in the central office did too.
''I've always wanted kids in the administration building to keep people's eyes on the target,'' she said. ''We are in a business, but it's not a business about widgets. It's a business about kids.''
With the help of federal stimulus money, Hartman got her wish. She and her staff founded DelectABLE Deli, a food and coffee cart staffed by special education students from Allen and Dieruff high schools.
It is part of the district's effort to prepare mentally and physically challenged students to enter the work force after graduation.
''Everything we have with the cart is to develop skill sets,'' Hartman said. ''It's not just providing beverages and food for administrators.''
Allen students like Luis Rodriguez, 19, work on their verbal skills by greeting customers and taking their breakfast or lunch orders. They work on their math skills by adding prices ($1.25 for a muffin plus 75 cents for coffee) with the help of first-year special education teacher Danielle Jones.
''Have a good weekend,'' Luis called to customer R. Brook Porch, a consultant from the state Department of Education, on Friday.
''It gives them real life experience,'' said Porch, who walked away with a cranberry muffin and coffee.
Preparing students for life after school is all part of the mandate of special education, which is available to students ages 3 to 21 who have a wide range of disabilities, from autism and Down syndrome to blindness and emotional illnesses.
Under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004, school districts must work with parents to develop personalized learning plans for such students.
Once special education students turn 14, their learning begins to move from the classroom to a work-based learning experience via introductions to trade school or jobs within the school district or outside companies.
But meeting special education mandates can be costly.
The two-year, $787 billion stimulus package Congress passed last year included $12 billion for school districts for special education.
Allentown received about $10 million in stimulus money, including $3.6 million for special education.
Allentown spent $5,000 in special education money to start the DelectABLE Deli. The ABLE is an acronym for Allentown Building Life Experiences. A total of 27 students work in three shifts from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Hartman said she hopes to use the next round of stimulus money to rent a handicapped accessible apartment near Allen High School. The apartment would be used to teach students how to live independently because an apartment, like the food cart, is more realistic than a classroom, she said.
Changes in High School Diplomas for Sped Students in Michigan
http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2010/02/state_halts_practice_of_giving.html
State halts practice of giving diplomas to special-education graduates
MUSKEGON COUNTY -- State law is forcing local high schools to stop their practice of awarding diplomas to all graduating seniors, regardless of their abilities.
That means students with significant cognitive impairments at Muskegon High School will instead receive "certificates of completion" when they attend commencement along with their classmates.
Muskegon and Muskegon Heights high schools are among very few statewide that have handed out high school diplomas to low-functioning special education students who complete an "adaptive curriculum."
"It's just one of those things the (school) board has always done," said Larry Foster, director of special education for Muskegon Public Schools. "They completed their coursework, whatever course it was, and they were granted a diploma."
But the state law that beefed up high school graduation requirements specifically singles out those students taking "adaptive" coursework as not eligible for diplomas, Foster said.
"It's telling school boards they can't do what they've been doing," said Linda Riepma, executive director of secondary education for Muskegon Public Schools.
As a result, this will be the last year that all Muskegon High graduates will get diplomas. About 20 students in next year's class, the first to be affected by the new requirements, will get certificates of completion tucked inside their diploma cases.
"The kids won't know any different," Foster said. "They're still going to go through (graduation) exercises. They'll be seniors and graduating in their own minds."
Muskegon Heights Superintendent Dana Bryant said officials there are still evaluating how they will comply with the law.
The graduation requirements have raised concerns among educators who worry that students who know they can't meet them will drop out. The requirements -- which include four credits of math, including algebra II, four credits of English Language Arts and three credits each of science and social studies -- have been criticized as being too rigid and leaving behind students who aren't strong in academics but are in other areas such as the arts.
Riepma pointed out that some other states provide varying levels of diplomas depending on the type of coursework students complete, a practice she said also is common in European countries.
Bryant said the current graduation requirements threaten to further divide society into class systems.
"If we're not careful and don't think this thing out, we're going to create some class structure in this country that is not healthy," Bryant said.
"Are we labeling people too early in their development and then discourage them from aggressively trying to improve themselves and affect their self-esteem as well?"
State halts practice of giving diplomas to special-education graduates
MUSKEGON COUNTY -- State law is forcing local high schools to stop their practice of awarding diplomas to all graduating seniors, regardless of their abilities.
That means students with significant cognitive impairments at Muskegon High School will instead receive "certificates of completion" when they attend commencement along with their classmates.
Muskegon and Muskegon Heights high schools are among very few statewide that have handed out high school diplomas to low-functioning special education students who complete an "adaptive curriculum."
"It's just one of those things the (school) board has always done," said Larry Foster, director of special education for Muskegon Public Schools. "They completed their coursework, whatever course it was, and they were granted a diploma."
But the state law that beefed up high school graduation requirements specifically singles out those students taking "adaptive" coursework as not eligible for diplomas, Foster said.
"It's telling school boards they can't do what they've been doing," said Linda Riepma, executive director of secondary education for Muskegon Public Schools.
As a result, this will be the last year that all Muskegon High graduates will get diplomas. About 20 students in next year's class, the first to be affected by the new requirements, will get certificates of completion tucked inside their diploma cases.
"The kids won't know any different," Foster said. "They're still going to go through (graduation) exercises. They'll be seniors and graduating in their own minds."
Muskegon Heights Superintendent Dana Bryant said officials there are still evaluating how they will comply with the law.
The graduation requirements have raised concerns among educators who worry that students who know they can't meet them will drop out. The requirements -- which include four credits of math, including algebra II, four credits of English Language Arts and three credits each of science and social studies -- have been criticized as being too rigid and leaving behind students who aren't strong in academics but are in other areas such as the arts.
Riepma pointed out that some other states provide varying levels of diplomas depending on the type of coursework students complete, a practice she said also is common in European countries.
Bryant said the current graduation requirements threaten to further divide society into class systems.
"If we're not careful and don't think this thing out, we're going to create some class structure in this country that is not healthy," Bryant said.
"Are we labeling people too early in their development and then discourage them from aggressively trying to improve themselves and affect their self-esteem as well?"
Special Education Students Work in School Restaurant
http://www.muscatinejournal.com/news/local/article_dc55a06e-2351-11df-a505-001cc4c002e0.html
Muskie Inn gives special education students food for thought
MUSCATINE, Iowa - While his peers sit at their desks waiting for lunch, Muscatine High School sophomore Clyde Staats is in the kitchen cooking.
Staats is one of 16 MHS special education students who participate in the Muskie Inn, a vocational foods class that serves and sells lunch to MHS staff during the school's regular lunch period.
Associate principal Diane Campbell said the primary purpose of the Muskie Inn is to provide special education students with real-life experiences.
Students learn economic and social skills as they plan and cook meals and assist customers.
"Students have a strong sense of accomplishment when they make something and can serve others," said Campbell. "This is a win/win scenario."
Staats enjoys browning hamburger meat and washing dishes. Soon, he will learn how to use the cash register.
"My parents think it's good for me to work here," said Staats, who also helps in the kitchen at home.
Debbi Castle, teacher of the vocational foods class, said the reading and math involved in a standard home economics class can be challenging for some special education students, but the Muskie Inn is designed to help them succeed.
"We provide instruction in a step-by-step manner," said Castle, who is assisted by two paraeducators and two one-on-one paraeducators.
Photos on the outside of the kitchen cupboards, refrigerator and freezer show what's inside. The students also learn other important skills.
"We stress hygiene," said Castle. "If someone scratches their head they have to wash their hands."
The Muskie Inn crew also recycles and everyone learns how to clean up after themselves.
Beginnings
Campbell said the Muskie Inn was established in the early 1980s by special education teacher Jan Tank, who ran the restaurant as a way to provide vocational experiences for students.
When Tank died of cancer, the program ended. Campbell and fellow teacher Lori Melhus, put the Muskie Inn back in business.
"We started by just having a baked potato bar on Fridays," said Campbell. "It was so popular that the restaurant grew into a service that is provided five days a week."
A busy day
The Muskie Inn staff begins each day by checking the duties listed next to each student's name.
As he worked in the Muskie Inn on Feb. 17, senior Eric St. Clair was thinking about making dinner for his own family later that day.
"I'm actually cooking at home on Thursdays now," said St. Clair. "I make spaghetti, pigs in the blanket and I'm thinking about trying taco salad."
St. Clair looks forward to gaining more independence after he graduates. He plans to move to an area group home and said he will be getting a job soon. St. Clair said the skills he learned at the Muskie Inn provide him with confidence.
"Eric is willing to do any job that's put in front of him," said Castle.
Freshman Daija Philpott said the kitchen is a busy place during the lunch hour.
"There's always something that needs to be done," said Philpott. "We don't stand around."
Lynn Plett, a paraeducator at MHS for 16 years, has spent the past five years working at the Muskie Inn.
Like the students, she's learning new things.
"We all work so well together. And I like the cooking," said Plett. "I didn't cook at home when I was a kid. My mom thought I'd mess the place up."
Paraeducator Judy Crile said she comes to the Muskie Inn for friendly lunch-time company.
Plus, she said, "Lynn makes really good salads."
Plenty of choices
The Muskie Inn serves up to 50 customers a day, cooking up tacos, burgers, home-style casseroles and other menu items.
Making desserts is one of junior Brad Curtis' favorite jobs and his work is always appreciated.
The chocolate earthquake cake is popular with diners and easy to make. Castle also uses a simple cheesecake recipe that lists just four ingredients. Cookies and pies are also part of the sweet line up.
Menu specials can be ordered the day before and prices start at $3 for main dishes. Desserts are 50 cents and ice cream sundaes are $1.
Paraeducator Tammy McLaughlin enjoys watching the students at work when she dines at the Muskie Inn.
Sometimes her husband, Mike, joins her there on Fridays.
"I love their chicken tacos," said Tammy McLaughlin. "And their earthquake cake is awesome."
The economics
Jean Garner, director of finance for the district, said the Muskie Inn is operated as a self-supported program. The money from the food sold there goes to purchasing the groceries and supplies to prepare and sell.
The students receive tips which are saved for an end-of-the-year outing to a restaurant.
Muskie Inn gives special education students food for thought
MUSCATINE, Iowa - While his peers sit at their desks waiting for lunch, Muscatine High School sophomore Clyde Staats is in the kitchen cooking.
Staats is one of 16 MHS special education students who participate in the Muskie Inn, a vocational foods class that serves and sells lunch to MHS staff during the school's regular lunch period.
Associate principal Diane Campbell said the primary purpose of the Muskie Inn is to provide special education students with real-life experiences.
Students learn economic and social skills as they plan and cook meals and assist customers.
"Students have a strong sense of accomplishment when they make something and can serve others," said Campbell. "This is a win/win scenario."
Staats enjoys browning hamburger meat and washing dishes. Soon, he will learn how to use the cash register.
"My parents think it's good for me to work here," said Staats, who also helps in the kitchen at home.
Debbi Castle, teacher of the vocational foods class, said the reading and math involved in a standard home economics class can be challenging for some special education students, but the Muskie Inn is designed to help them succeed.
"We provide instruction in a step-by-step manner," said Castle, who is assisted by two paraeducators and two one-on-one paraeducators.
Photos on the outside of the kitchen cupboards, refrigerator and freezer show what's inside. The students also learn other important skills.
"We stress hygiene," said Castle. "If someone scratches their head they have to wash their hands."
The Muskie Inn crew also recycles and everyone learns how to clean up after themselves.
Beginnings
Campbell said the Muskie Inn was established in the early 1980s by special education teacher Jan Tank, who ran the restaurant as a way to provide vocational experiences for students.
When Tank died of cancer, the program ended. Campbell and fellow teacher Lori Melhus, put the Muskie Inn back in business.
"We started by just having a baked potato bar on Fridays," said Campbell. "It was so popular that the restaurant grew into a service that is provided five days a week."
A busy day
The Muskie Inn staff begins each day by checking the duties listed next to each student's name.
As he worked in the Muskie Inn on Feb. 17, senior Eric St. Clair was thinking about making dinner for his own family later that day.
"I'm actually cooking at home on Thursdays now," said St. Clair. "I make spaghetti, pigs in the blanket and I'm thinking about trying taco salad."
St. Clair looks forward to gaining more independence after he graduates. He plans to move to an area group home and said he will be getting a job soon. St. Clair said the skills he learned at the Muskie Inn provide him with confidence.
"Eric is willing to do any job that's put in front of him," said Castle.
Freshman Daija Philpott said the kitchen is a busy place during the lunch hour.
"There's always something that needs to be done," said Philpott. "We don't stand around."
Lynn Plett, a paraeducator at MHS for 16 years, has spent the past five years working at the Muskie Inn.
Like the students, she's learning new things.
"We all work so well together. And I like the cooking," said Plett. "I didn't cook at home when I was a kid. My mom thought I'd mess the place up."
Paraeducator Judy Crile said she comes to the Muskie Inn for friendly lunch-time company.
Plus, she said, "Lynn makes really good salads."
Plenty of choices
The Muskie Inn serves up to 50 customers a day, cooking up tacos, burgers, home-style casseroles and other menu items.
Making desserts is one of junior Brad Curtis' favorite jobs and his work is always appreciated.
The chocolate earthquake cake is popular with diners and easy to make. Castle also uses a simple cheesecake recipe that lists just four ingredients. Cookies and pies are also part of the sweet line up.
Menu specials can be ordered the day before and prices start at $3 for main dishes. Desserts are 50 cents and ice cream sundaes are $1.
Paraeducator Tammy McLaughlin enjoys watching the students at work when she dines at the Muskie Inn.
Sometimes her husband, Mike, joins her there on Fridays.
"I love their chicken tacos," said Tammy McLaughlin. "And their earthquake cake is awesome."
The economics
Jean Garner, director of finance for the district, said the Muskie Inn is operated as a self-supported program. The money from the food sold there goes to purchasing the groceries and supplies to prepare and sell.
The students receive tips which are saved for an end-of-the-year outing to a restaurant.
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