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Transitions
for disabled students examined
By
Katie De Boer
Online Forty-Niner
Staff Writer
Every
day there are many students having problems
in the classroom when they are faced with
mental and/or physical disabilities. These
students are nervous, worried and require
help, however many teachers are in the same
situation.
The
Special Education Law requires schools to
plan for transition of students with disabilities
to adult life. Taking on a challenge, assistant
professor Kristin Powers in the Educational
Psychology, Administration and Counseling
department teamed up with the Portland Oregon
Health Science University in a three year
research project examining the impacts of
transition planning for students with disabilities.
Powers
states the project is "conducted by
three co-primary Investigators and a number
of research associates, assistants and intern
students" with about six people at
any one time working on the project. The
project itself is funded by the Office of
Special Education Research.
In
the first year of the research 400 transition
plans were collected and analyzed from two
large urban districts.
The
planning starts for students at the age
of 14. Each year the disabled students meet
with an "Individualized Education Program
(IEP) team" Powers says, "to draw
a plan or an outline of activities the student
will complete that year."
The
students are put into teams with similar
goals. Typically, the plan involves goals
like "having a job, getting around
town, health care coverage and recreational
activities," said Powers. The yearly
plans will lead to the overall plan or goal
the student wants to achieve as an adult.
Other
techniques that the students are encouraged
to develop are mentoring and self-determination
training, all which can be found at CSULB’s
Steven Benson Disabled Student Services
Center.
In
the second year of the project 30 focus
groups were set up. There were three types
of groups; students with disabilities, parents
of the disabled students, and K-12 public
school teachers and staff who serve with
students with disabilities.
By
having three different groups the research
team hopes to find different views of transition
planning.
The
final year of the research will continue
the study with K-12 public school students
with disabilities, along with their parents.
The project focuses on the different strategies
that work for girls that may not work for
boys and vise versa.
What
can we do as students to help in the research?
Allison Ehrentraut a senior majoring in
Recreation said, "I have not seen enough
around CSULB to encourage or give ideas
for positive planning for the disabled.
There could be more activities such as on
campus events, clubs and fundraisers to
help the disabled socially because the physical
and mental well-being is important to able
the disabled."
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