Inclusion in the Workforce for Students with Intellectual Disabilities: A Case Study of a Spanish Postsecondary Education Program.
The Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM) is the first Spanish university to provide training to young people with intellectual disabilities (ID) in the university environment, which qualifies them for inclusion in the workforce. In this practice brief we describe the UAM-Prodis Patronage Chair program, a successful model used at Spanish universities within the European Higher Education convention framework, which addresses the inclusion and occupational training of young people with ID in order to help them obtain employment. We begin with a review of the special education system for young people with ID in Spain. We report outcome data for students with ID who completed the program at UAM during its first four years of implementation. These outcomes indicate that the UAM-Prodis Patronage Chair program has become one of the main strategies to achieve independent living and community integration of people with ID through a postsecondary education option.
Campus Attitudes Toward Academic and Social Inclusion of Students with Intellectual Disability
Empirical evidence suggests that college attendance by students with intellectual disability (ID) results in numerous short- and long-term academic and social benefits. However, insufficient literature has explored the attitudes of constituent groups of universities toward the social and academic inclusion of students with ID before introducing these students to educational programs on campus. This paper reports on the results of a survey applied to administrators, faculty, staff, and students of a Southeastern public university to examine their attitudes toward students with ID in college academics and social activities on campus. The differences in attitudes were also examined based on the participants’ academic discipline, gender, and role within the academic community. The results indicate that all constituencies on campus had positive attitudes toward the participation of students with ID in college academics. However, significant differences were found based on their academic disciplines; participants from the College of Education had the most positive attitudes, while those from the College of Business had the least positive responses. Recommendations for future research are included. The article emphasizes the benefits of planning inclusive post-secondary programs to include students with ID and create a welcoming education environment to provide the best possible education to all students.
Person-Centered and Collaborative Supports for College Success.
Recent studies of innovative supports and services in postsecondary education reveal more effective and cooperative mechanisms with which to provide supports to individuals with disabilities (Stodden, Jones, & Chang, 2003; Whelley, Hart, & Zafft, 2003). Colleges and universities can design supports that permit consumer choice while avoiding establishment of isolating parallel "service systems." Providing individual supports for students with significant disabilities will establish new and creative alliances driven by wishes and dreams of the students. This paper is a participant observation, discussing individual and collaborative supports, providing a discussion of and recommendations for effective strategies, and presenting successful students who have pursued their dreams of postsecondary education.