Many parents of teens with disabilities find themselves planning for vocational training as their child nears graduation. But this isn’t the only option. College is a viable option for many students with disabilities.
Planning for College
While in high school, your teen’s IEP will include specific planning steps to help them transition from high school to adulthood. For some students, this will include vocational training, supported living, independent living or other settings. For others, higher education options will be included. During this time, work with your teen’s IEP team, discuss their goals and plans for the future and then work together to determine the best way to achieve SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely) goals.
High school students with disabilities often require additional services and supports to help them transition to and succeed in a higher education setting. As part of the IEP team, you will be involved in planning how best to prepare your teen. Talk with your them about what they want to do, what schools they’re interested in, and why. Contact those schools to learn more about what is needed to apply for and be accepted.
Preparing for College
As always, it’s important to have a clear understanding of your teen’s needs. Work with IEP team members to identify specific academic, social and physical needs. While planning for your child’s transition to college, consider which accommodations and supports are needed. Putting those in place while a student is in high school can make it easier to get those same or similar supports when in college.
Students with disabilities who plan to attend college are required to meet the same graduation and college admission requirements as other students. Work with your child’s educational team to ensure that instruction meets both state requirements and your child’s needs. Include advanced courses and dual enrollment options, if appropriate.
Most colleges require a standardized admissions test like the PERT, ACT, SAT or CLT. At the discretion of the IEP team and the specific test guidelines, students with disabilities are eligible for accommodations when taking these tests. Most often, these include extended time to complete the test or possibly taking the test in a small group or one-on-one setting. Work with the school to obtain the proper request for accommodations and what you and the school need to do to ensure that they are in place when testing day arrives.
Selecting a College
While websites today offer a lot of valuable information about the school, student life and countless other reasons to attend, there’s nothing quite like visiting a college in person. Schedule a campus tour to see firsthand what the school is like. Consider factors like accessibility, location, program offerings and disabilities support services. Colleges are required to offer accommodations to eligible students through an office of disability services (although the name of the office may differ across universities).
Transitioning to College
After your child is accepted, new students should attend a college orientation session to ease the transition and to familiarize themselves with campus resources, including libraries, counseling services, etc. Discuss options for on-campus and off-campus housing with careful consideration of your child’s independent living skills and needs.
As soon as your child accepts an offer from a specific college, contact their accessibility office and begin the process of obtaining accommodations. A critical consideration is that colleges will not provide special education services as public schools do. But they will provide physical and educational supports students need to get to class and succeed. Many of these accommodations will be similar to those the child may receive in high school, such as extended time, a note-taker, preferential seating, etc.
Even after transitioning to college, some students with disabilities require ongoing support and a little extra encouragement from families. Encourage your child to take advantage of all the supports and services available to them at college and to continue practicing their own preferred learning strategies to help them succeed.
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