http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20120322/NEWS01/203220334/Poudre-School-District-Cooper-Home-helps-special-needs-students-live-independently?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CNews
Lindsey Caddoo, 19, is like a lot of girls her age.
She likes to watch TV, especially the ABC Family show "Pretty Little Liars." She loves to watch "Twilight," and is "obviously" an Edward fan. She dreams of being as famous as her distant cousin Taylor Swift and wants to be "just like her" someday.
But to some, Caddoo might not seem so typical.
She has Down syndrome.
"I have trouble talking about myself sometimes," she explained.
But one Poudre School District program is helping Caddoo and 16 other students with mild to moderate disabilities transition into the real world and gain a sense of belonging after high school: Cooper Home Learning 4 Living.
Cooper Home, 740 E. Stuart St., is a transitional support facility that helps 18- to 21-year-old students with some form of disability transition from high school to independent living.
For Caddoo, it's a place where she can learn the basics, maintain three internships throughout the community and meet new people.
"It's fun to be here," she said. "I have friends here. I have friends that love me a lot."
At Cooper Home, Caddoo and her classmates learn and practice the basics of everyday life, from riding the bus alone to completing daily chores and cooking to participating in recreational opportunities available for adults with disabilities.
This week, students from the Cooper Home learned dance moves at local Club Tico as part of the Adaptive Recreation Opportunities, a service available to people of all ages with disabilities.
"We want the kids to be able to go from high school to the Cooper Home to adulthood," said Gayna Jobe, teacher coordinator for Cooper Home.
"We try to look at what's available in the community that they could use in adulthood, working with them now so they can bridge that gap to independent living."
The ultimate goal is the highest level of independence possible for each of her students, Jobe added. For some, complete independence is possible. Others will always live with family members but will leave the program with the skills necessary to lead a normal life and converse with the average person on the bus or at work.
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"We read the paper everyday and talk about various things that are happening in the world and in Fort Collins and Denver, so they can talk about, for example, how Peyton Manning is coming and Tim Tebow is leaving," she said. "It makes them more able to communicate with other adults. In order to be a part of your community, you have to know what's going on.
Overcoming hurdles
Jobe said the biggest hurdle to young adults with disabilities is their own perception of themselves, perpetrated by society's sometimes less-than-favorable view of the disabled.
"When they come to me, they don't see themselves as young adults," she said. "They don't see themselves as being able to ride the bus by themselves because they haven't been given to that opportunity.
"But when they come to me, I don't look at them like they're disabled. I recognize that they have challenges and disabilities - I don't ever deny that, but I don't let that stop them from being all that they can be."
One of the biggest hurdles for many students in the program is transportation. For some, riding the bus alone presents emotional difficulties.
For Qwalon "Q" Tabb-Tandy, 19, public transportation is sometimes physically challenging.
Tabb-Tandy was born with a spinal condition that limits the functionality of his legs. He has used a wheelchair or canes to navigate the world from the time he was a small child.
Doctors aren't entirely sure what caused his disability. He's been told it's either cerebral palsy or a spinal injury.
"The hardest thing for me is transportation," he said. "I ride the bus, but it's a long way to walk on my canes sometimes and the wheelchair is a lot harder to use than my canes."
After he gets on the bus, the challenge can be entirely different when he's greeted - or stared at - by people.
"I wish the community would be able to respect people who are different," he said. "Sometimes people look at you and laugh or say mean things behind your back. You may not know what they say, but you know inside that they're talking about you.
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"It's unfair for us to go through that every single day, depending on what your disability is."
Jobe said community members often don't know how to treat people with disabilities, making interactions at times painful for both sides.
The best solution is to treat people with disabilities how they should be treated, she said: like people.
"People are afraid because they don't know what to expect," she said. "But we're all more alike than we are different. No matter who you are, you want to know that you're accepted and that you're loved. Just come get to know us. Come see what we're all about."
Inspiring dreams
Cooper Home helps move past stereotypes and inspire confidence in its students, an aspect that Jobe said is the most rewarding part of her job.
"Ideally, the last day with us will look like the first day of the rest of their lives," she said.
When students earn positions either as interns, volunteers or paid employees, they begin to see that independence really is a possibility.
"When students see themselves as successful and start to think 'I can do this,' it's so empowering for them," she said. "It makes them feel like they aren't as disabled as the world thinks they are.
Jobe said she tries to gradually change the mindset of her students by introducing them to mentorship opportunities, service projects and other activities.
Every Thursday morning, the group mentors students with disabilities at Laurel Elementary, which student Gabe Garcia, 19, says helps him see that he can be a leader despite his seizure disorder.
"I like hanging out with the younger kids," Garcia said. "Cooper Home has helped me a lot."
Garcia has also found fulfillment and purpose as a part-time cook at local restaurant Hacienda Real - fulfilling one of many goals he keeps in a cup at home: to get a job.
Tabb-Tandy also has big goals for his life, chief of which is to use his creative talents and passions to design specialized rollercoasters for people with disabilities.
"It's hard for family members to go on a great trip to an amusement park, but their family members with disabilities can't go on the rides because they could trigger their emotions or conditions," he said. "I want to make it so anyone can ride those rides without having a negative reaction."
"We read the paper everyday and talk about various things that are happening in the world and in Fort Collins and Denver, so they can talk about, for example, how Peyton Manning is coming and Tim Tebow is leaving," she said. "It makes them more able to communicate with other adults. In order to be a part of your community, you have to know what's going on.
Overcoming hurdles
Jobe said the biggest hurdle to young adults with disabilities is their own perception of themselves, perpetrated by society's sometimes less-than-favorable view of the disabled.
"When they come to me, they don't see themselves as young adults," she said. "They don't see themselves as being able to ride the bus by themselves because they haven't been given to that opportunity.
"But when they come to me, I don't look at them like they're disabled. I recognize that they have challenges and disabilities - I don't ever deny that, but I don't let that stop them from being all that they can be."
One of the biggest hurdles for many students in the program is transportation. For some, riding the bus alone presents emotional difficulties.
For Qwalon "Q" Tabb-Tandy, 19, public transportation is sometimes physically challenging.
Tabb-Tandy was born with a spinal condition that limits the functionality of his legs. He has used a wheelchair or canes to navigate the world from the time he was a small child.
Doctors aren't entirely sure what caused his disability. He's been told it's either cerebral palsy or a spinal injury.
"The hardest thing for me is transportation," he said. "I ride the bus, but it's a long way to walk on my canes sometimes and the wheelchair is a lot harder to use than my canes."
After he gets on the bus, the challenge can be entirely different when he's greeted - or stared at - by people.
"I wish the community would be able to respect people who are different," he said. "Sometimes people look at you and laugh or say mean things behind your back. You may not know what they say, but you know inside that they're talking about you.
"It's unfair for us to go through that every single day, depending on what your disability is."
Jobe said community members often don't know how to treat people with disabilities, making interactions at times painful for both sides.
The best solution is to treat people with disabilities how they should be treated, she said: like people.
"People are afraid because they don't know what to expect," she said. "But we're all more alike than we are different. No matter who you are, you want to know that you're accepted and that you're loved. Just come get to know us. Come see what we're all about."
Inspiring dreams
Cooper Home helps move past stereotypes and inspire confidence in its students, an aspect that Jobe said is the most rewarding part of her job.
"Ideally, the last day with us will look like the first day of the rest of their lives," she said.
When students earn positions either as interns, volunteers or paid employees, they begin to see that independence really is a possibility.
"When students see themselves as successful and start to think 'I can do this,' it's so empowering for them," she said. "It makes them feel like they aren't as disabled as the world thinks they are.
Jobe said she tries to gradually change the mindset of her students by introducing them to mentorship opportunities, service projects and other activities.
Every Thursday morning, the group mentors students with disabilities at Laurel Elementary, which student Gabe Garcia, 19, says helps him see that he can be a leader despite his seizure disorder.
"I like hanging out with the younger kids," Garcia said. "Cooper Home has helped me a lot."
Garcia has also found fulfillment and purpose as a part-time cook at local restaurant Hacienda Real - fulfilling one of many goals he keeps in a cup at home: to get a job.
Tabb-Tandy also has big goals for his life, chief of which is to use his creative talents and passions to design specialized rollercoasters for people with disabilities.
"It's hard for family members to go on a great trip to an amusement park, but their family members with disabilities can't go on the rides because they could trigger their emotions or conditions," he said. "I want to make it so anyone can ride those rides without having a negative reaction."
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