Table Of ContentGUIDE
PLAI\II\IING
FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
AND THEIR FAIVIILIES
Ahem
’ ‘-Jir-'j
,vnceofAlberta,asrepresentetffe^
Success
Stories
•dents” educatioi
PtfjeysJOpaoncoiCiaJ8*^
Introduction
\/\/lCOME! ifyouareastudentwitha disability—ortheparentofa
—
Studentwith adisability andyou are interestedinpost-secondaryeducation, thisguide
isforyou. Itoffersinformation andideasto helpyouplanthe journeyfrom high school
totheworldofpost-secondaryeducation. Itlooks atissuesandchallengesthatallyoung
peopleandtheirfamiliesfacewhentheyprepareforthistransition. Italsolooksatissues
andchallengesthatareuniqueto studentswith disabilities.
Thisbookaimstoencourageyoutoplayan activeroleinthisimportantprocessandto
feel confidentthatyoucantakethisexcitingjourney.
A word about words... aryeducationcantakemonthsoreven
—
Thebookusesthefollowingwordsin years thinkofthisguideasaresource Ifyou areastudent,you
specificways: thatyoukeepcomingbackto asyou need canstarttakingthesteps
— more, ordifferent, information.
Studentswithdisabilities Thisguide in partonetoday.Then,
referstodisabilitiesingeneral termsthat Asbigasitis, thisbookwillnotgiveyou depending onyourinter-
areintendedtoincludedifferenttypesof alltheanswersyouwillneedtomakethis estandwhereyouareon
physical, mental health, learning, intellec- transition. Butitwill startyou thinking yourjourney(Grade9?
toupaml,ennteuarloldoigsaibcialli,tibeeshaasvwieolulraalsahenadridenvgela-nd Tabhoeurteqsouuerscteisonlsisttoedaastktahnedbsatcekpsoftothteake. Grade 12?),checkoutpart
visionloss. Itdoesnotprovideinformation guideinpartthreewillalsodirectyouto two. Itcoverschallenges
aboutspecificconditions. usefulInternetwebsites, contacts, govern- like:Wherewillyou go?
— mentandothertypesofinformation. Howwillyou payforit?
Student(s) Inthisbooktheterm means
Partthreetellsyou about
studentwi—th adisability. How the content is organized yourparent'sroleinthe
Parent(s) Thiswordmeanstheperson Theguideisdividedintothree parts: process.
takingtheroleofan adultinvolvedinthe —
student'slife. Thispersoncouldbeapar- • partone—ForStudents Ifyouarea parent, itis
ent, legalguardian, grandparentorother • parttwo ForStudentsand Parents agood ideato readthe
familymember, teacher, counselloror • partthree—ForParents entirebooktogainan
mentor. — Thebestwayforyoutomakethemost overviewofthetransition
Disability Thistermreferstoaper- oftheinformation istoreadthewhole process.
manentdisability, defined asafunctional book. Verylittlecontent repeatsfrom
limitationbyaphysicalormentalimpairment sectionto section. Youwillfindactivities
thatrestricts theabilityofaperson toperform andcheckliststhroughoutto helpyou
thedailyactivities necessarytoparticipatein plan andkeeptrackofthe stepsyou are
studiesatapost-secondarylevelorthelabour taking.
forceandisexpectedtoremainwith theperson Onthenextpage in "SuccessStories," you
fortherestof—theperson'sexpectednaturallife. willmeetfouryoungpeoplewho have
Transition Thistermusesthiswordto madethetransitiontopost-secondaryand
mean change, movingfromoneplaceor beyond. Theirstoriescontinuethroughout
one situationtoanother; ora journey. thebook, givingyouan opportunityto
sharetheirdreams, challengesand suc-
How to use this guide cesses—andthinkaboutyourown!
A lotofinformation ispresentedandit
coversaverycomplextopic. Do notfeel
thatyou need toread it, covertocover, in
one sitting.Thetransitiontopost-second-
HE FOUR PEOPLEYOUAREABOUTTO MEEThavegenerouslyagreedtosharetheir
stories. Likeyou,each ofthem hasadisability. Each ofthem hasmadethejourneyfrom
highschooltoa post-secondaryprogram.
Today,Kim Gerritsen,26, isaspecial edu-
me did mhat cationteacherin Calgary. Shehasa bachelor
ofeducationdegreefromtheUniversity
me are capable of ofAlbertaand hasjustfinisheda master's
degreeattheUniversityofCalgary.Yetat
doing, me mould onepoint,Kimwastoldthatherlearning ReneeAeyelts,21,copedwith dyslexia
disabilitywasmoreseverethanthatofany allthewaythroughelementary,juniorand
astound ourselues. studentwho hadeverattendedthe U ofA. seniorhighschoolwithoutreceivingad-
equatesupportin asmalltown schoolwith
ThomasEdison Roman Sokolowski,22,sayshewas veryfewresources. Nowshe isinthefourth
"loud, unpredictableandshort-tempered" yearofa bachelorofartsprogram atMount
inelementaryschool.Asateen,hestrug- Royal College.
gledwith depressionanda lackofinterest
James Stainton,25, hasbeen blindsince
inschool beforebeingdiagnosedwith
AspergerSyndrome(atypeofautism). birth. Adownhillskierfromtheageoffive,
Today,Roman isin hisfourthyearofartsat Jamesiscurrentlyattending atthe Universi-
Athabasca University, majoring in Political tyofAlberta,majoring in psychology.While
Economyand Information Systems,while taking ayearofffrom university,James
completedan advancedwoodworkingand
maintaining agrade pointaverageof3.97.
designcourseatNAITandworkspart-time
makingfurnitureanddoingfinishingwork
inthe houseconstruction industry. Healso
volunteerswithchildrenwith disabilities.
Continuedon page 1
PART ONE: FOR STUDENTS
il
01 Planningforchange
02 Findingoutaboutyou
14 Yournext step: post-secondary
15 Yourtransition plan; makingitwork
19 Buildyourskills
21 Creatingaportfolio
22 Areyouready?
25 Whenyougetthere
UJhen one door closes,
another opens: but we
often look so long and
so regretfully upon the
closed door that uie do
not see the one uihich
has opened for us.
flIeKanderGrahamBell
"
Planning for change
I RANSmONMEANSCHANGE. Ina Tocreateaneffectivetransition plan, you
transition, youmovefrom oneplaceor will needthe help ofateam. Yourtransi-
one situationtoanother. Youhavealready tion planningteamwill probablyinclude
—been throughmanytransitions inyourlife yourparents andotheradultsinyourlife.
frombabytolittlekidtoteenager, from It shoulddefinitelyincludeyou!
kindergartento Grade 1 andfromelemen- Thebestwayto makesurethatyourplan
taryto juniorhigh, to name justafew. reflectswhoyouare andwhatyouwant Itisnevertooearly,
Thetransitionyou makewhenyouleave isto takeanactive partinthetransition and itisnevertoo late,
high school canbeboth excitingand planningprocess. To findouthow, check tostartthetransition
challenging. Itmeansthinkingaboutyour outtheinformationabouttransitionplan- planning process.
dreamsandgoals andaboutwhoyouare ninginparttwo.
andwhoyouwanttobecome. Yourtransition plan preparesyoutoleave
Thistransitionisajourneyand, asmost high schoolandtakeyournextstep. What
travellerswilltellyou, the smoothestjour- willthatstepbe?
neysoftenbeginwithagood map.
—
You finish school then what?
Yourtransition plan Goodquestion. Anditisonethatonlyyou
Yourtransitionplanisthemap. Youcreate cananswer. (Nottoworry—youwill find
itthroughaprocessknownastransition manysourcesofsupportandinspiration.)
planning, whichhelpsyoudecidewhat Toanswerthisquestion, startbyfinding
stepstotakeandwhatdirectiontoheadin. outaboutyourself—yourdreams, goals,
Transition planninginvolves: skills and strengths. Self-knowledgegives
• knowingyourinterests, strengths and youafirm foundation forexploringcareer
options andcreatingyourtransitionplan.
challenges
In the next section, youwillfindexercises
• findingoutaboutcareers andideastohelpyougetstarted.
• understandingtheoptionsforpost- Kim, Roman, ReneeandJameswent
secondaryeducation through this process, too. Howdidthey
• developingaplantopayforpost- handleit? Readon...
secondarystudy.
Kim recallsthatinelementaryschool,she hadenjoyed helpingoutinaclassforstudentswith I realized that I
tsoevgeor,e"isnhteelsleacytsu.al"SdiosaIbwileintitesb.a"cIknthoitghhatscehloeomlenfotrarwyorskcheoxoplercliaesnscetothheelypaosuktedagmaien.whIelroveedIwiat!nted had to keep my
Afterthisexperience, Kim knewwhatshewantedtodo.
marks up and my
Roman remembersthatinjuniorhigh,becoming anadultseemed likeadistantprospect. He
was "naiveand unaware"when itcametocareerexploration. Perhapsbecauseofhisparents' options open.
influence, healwaysassumed hewouldattenda post-secondaryprogram. "TheRESPtheyhad
forme madethataconcreteassumption," hesays. Sometimeinjuniorhigh, Roman became
awarethathismarkswouldaffectthecourseshecouldtakein high school. "I realizedthatI had
totryand keepmymarksupand myoptionsopen," hesays.
continued nextpage
1
Finding out about you
FUTURE
POWER LINEMAN? U
'SETHEACTIVITIESinthis sectiontodevelopyourself-knowledge. The
moreyouknowaboutyourself, thebetterpreparedyouwillbeto makedecisions
aboutyourfuture.
-Know your strengths
Identifyingyourstrengthsis an importantwaytodevelop self-knowledge.Thinkingabout
yourstrengthshelpsyourecognizeandactonopportunities. Usethisexercisetoidentify
andbuildonthe strengthsyoualreadyhave. Includethe strengthsyouusein all areasof
yourlife, notjustschool.
iMSESSSSM
Listtwopositiveexperiencesyouhave Listfourthingsthatreally
hadinthelast 12months. interestyou.
Listfourthingsyoudowell. Listyourtwofavourite classes.
Listfourpeoplewhoyoucancountonfor
helpandsupport.
Forinformationonthis Listsixpositivewordsthatdescribeyou.
andothertrades,contact
yourlocalAlbertaAppren-
ticeshipand Industry
Training officeorvisit AdaptedfromtheGovernmentofAlberta,MakeSchoolWorkforYou:AResourceforJuniorandSeniorHighStudents
www.tradesecrets.gov.ab.ca WhoWanttoBeMoreSuccessfulLearners,(Edmonton,AB;AlbertaLearning,2001).Toorderthisresourcevisitthe
LearningResourceswebsiteatwww.lrc.learning.gov.ab.ca
How did Kim, Roman, Renee andJames discoverand explore their
career paths?
m
Continued mt--:
During her year Reneealwaysknewthatshewantedtoworkwith peoplebutitwasn'tuntil heryearabroad(be-
tween high school andcollege)thathercareergoalsbegantotakeshape.Working asa nannyin
abroad, Renee’s the Netherlands,she hadtheopportunitytospendtimewith heraunt,a psychologist.Thisexperi-
enceawakened herinterestinthefield.
career goals began
Jamesbeganto realizesometime injuniororseniorhighschool,thathewasverygoodwith
to take shape. peopleandthathevaluedtalkingaboutmutual problemswith hisfriends.Thisinteresthasled
himtopsychologywith a plantobecomeacounsellor.
Continuedon page20
2 PART ONE: FOR STUDENTS
Know your challenges
Everybodyfaceschallenges. Whenyou knowyourchallenges, you canfigureoufhowfo
workwith them mosteffectively.
Mychallenges Answeronlythequestionsthatapplytoyou.
STRATEGIES
Knowing my disability AND
ACCOMMODATIONS
Whatwould I liketofindoutaboutmydisability? I
Astrategyisa plan or
approachthathelpsyou
Whatdisability-relatedconcerns affectmeatschool? to learn moreeffectively.
Forexample,youcan use
strategiestomotivateyou
orto helpyou listen better
Whatdisability-relatedconcerns affectme inthecommunity? inclass.
Anaccommodationisa
changeinthetypicalway
astudentisexpectedto
To find out more aboutyourdisability, checkoutthelinks atwvvrw.accd.net learn,completeassign-
mentsortakepartinclass.
Accommodationsinclude
thingslikealternativeread-
Knowing my strategies and accommodations ing materialorphysical
Whatstrategies/accommodationsdo 1useat school? : changestotheclassroom.
You mayalreadyknowa
lotaboutaccommodations
buttofindoutmore,see
Whatstrategies/accommodationsdo Iuseinthecommunity? "UnderstandingAccom-
modationsandAssess-
ments" in partthree.
Whatotherstrategies/accommodations/supportsdo 1 knowaboutthat
wouldhelp medobetterat school ormakeiteasierformetotakepartin
communityactivities?
Howdo I findout aboutotheraccommodation/strategies/supportsthat
mighthelpme?
Who should1 askaboutthis?
continued nextpage
Know your challenges
continued
Knowing how learn
I
Howdo I learninthesubjects I enjoy?
Howdoesthiscomparewithmyexperience inthesubjects I donotenjoy?
Howdo I completeassignmentsinthe subjects 1 enjoy?
life shrinks Howdoesthiscomparewith myexperienceinthe subjects 1 donotenjoy?
or enpands in
proportion to Some studentsmemorize; some studentswrite studynotes; somerepeatwhat
theystudyoutloud. Whatisthebestwayformetostudyfortests?
one’s courage.
Some studentswritetests inaquietroombythemselves orwheretheycan
movearound. What isthebestwayformetotaketests?
—
When do I needhelpatschool in certain subjects? In certaintopics?
On projects?
Whodo 1 askforhelpat school?
Whatsubjectsarethemostchallengingforme? Why?
What subjectsdo1 liketheleast?Why?
PART ONE:, FOR STUDENTS
