From the Washington Post:

A planned four-acre development at Gallaudet University represents a dramatic shift in philosophy at the nation’s only institution of higher learning for deaf students. For the first time in its 144-year history, the school is designing buildings and streetscape with the express purpose of bringing together deaf and hearing people.

Officials say the changes at the campus in Northeast Washington are driven by cultural shifts, as a younger generation of students desires more integration into the broader world. Historically, the school’s separation was prompted by public stigma against deaf people, and a corresponding belief that they were better off immersing themselves in their own culture.

“It would create a connection to the city and tear down the walls,” said Hansel Bauman (above left), an architect retained by Gallaudet to help design the project. “It’s a sea change in thinking.”

Gallaudet drew national attention two years ago, when students shut down the campus to demonstrate against the selection of a new president.

(Photo: Hansel Bauman and Fred Weiner, Gallaudet’s executive director for preogram development. From the Washington Post )

NPR features a series on students with disabilities preparing and transitioning to college with the following segments:

Q&A: Prepping Kids With Disabilities For College—NPR

Roger Diehl (photo left), a freshman at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who has Asperger’s, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and depression, and his mother Sita Diehl, who runs Tennessee’s National Alliance On Mental Illness (NAMI), answer questions about getting ready for college.

Roger emphasizes the importance of focusing on the individual strengths and interests of students while learning social rules. Sita says social support is essential, particularly family and good friends, when considering placement.

See earlier post on Roger Diehl here.

10 Tips For College Students With Disabilities—NPR

Clinical psychologist and author Kathleen G. Nadeau shares strategies from her book, “Survival Guide for College Students with ADHD or LD” for developing learning and organization strategies to cope with learning disabilities at college.

Learning To Thrive With Attention Deficit Disorder—NPR

Emily Algire shares her story of transitioning to college as a student with attention deficit disorder (ADD).

“I think she’s got very good self-awareness” says [Emily's mother Betty] Overby. And all the tools she’s been taught for coping with her ADD are helping her feel strong.”

Editor’s note: Are Emily and Betty any relation to NPR correspondent Peter Overby?

(NPR photo)

By Sue Shellenbarger in the Wall Street Journal:

Students with learning disabilities are applying to colleges at five times the rate of the 1980s; colleges have only recently begun to provide services for qualified students with disabilities and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Attitudes and programs vary widely between schools.

While federal law has led to standardized jargon and services in K-12 education, the law for colleges simply requires them to make “reasonable accommodations” for students with disabilities.

Colleges lack universal labels to describe their supports, and guidebooks and educational consultants use no less than a half-dozen terms … to describe various service levels.

Shellenbarger offers tips and resources to help parents cut through the thicket, and says campus visits are crucial in selecting a school.

See also : Peterson’s: Colleges for Students with Learning Disabilities.

Guest commentary:

What Kind of Advocacy Do Americans with Disabilities Really Need?

By Paul K. Longmore

Ever since Sarah Palin’s acceptance speech, the “needs” of children with disabilities have gotten a lot of press. Palin pledged to be a “friend and advocate” for those children. News stories have reported the excitement of parents and other people in the disability rights constituency that disability issues are finally getting some attention. Some of them have decided to support the election of Palin and John McCain. But do the Republican candidates offer the kind of advocacy Americans with disabilities really need? I don’t believe they do, and I want to explain why I am voting for Barack Obama and Joe Biden instead.

(more…)

From the Greenville, SC, News:

The University of South Carolina and Clemson University are starting up programs for students with intellectual disabilities, with the goal of helping the students become productive, independent citizens. Each school is accepting three students at first, and enrollment is expected to grow over time.

While students graduate with certificates rather than diplomas, research shows they will be more employable and find jobs “that pay a little more money,” said Karen Pettus, director of USC’s Student Disability services office. “The opportunity to participate in programs like this has opened a lot of doors.”

Students will pay tuition, and will attend some classes with the general student population and others tailored just for them. Carolina Life and ClemsonLIFE were developed by the College Transition Connection, the National Down Syndrome Society, and the Center for Disability Resources at USC.

See also: Getting a life at Clemson gives special kids a chance –  Anderson, SC, Independent Mail-News

(Anderson Independent Mail-News photo)

UPDATE: The Greenville News carries a feature on the Clemson program: Special Clemson students join higher education trend

Readers of the Chronicle of Higher Education are vigorously debating the wisdom of a provision of the Higher Education Act that would improve access and supports for students with disabilities. The measure awaits the president’s signature.

The bill would for the first time allow students with intellectual disabilities to receive some types of federal financial aid for higher education, and would establish two national centers to support students with disabilities in higher education.

Some commenters to the site question the appropriateness of the measure, arguing that scarce higher education funds should be reserved for those who can best benefit from them. Others say such views underestimate the capabilities of people with intellectual disabilities and amount to prejudice.

An excerpt from the site’s comment section:

1. I think I’m missing something here – federal financial aid so a mentally retarded student can attend college? – Lee

2. We have admitted some students to our institution who “graduated” with special education type certificates of attendance. I have yet to find a student in this situation who was successful. – M

(more…)

From the Associated Press, Christian Science Monitor:

Congress has sent to President Bush the first major overhaul in a decade of the federal higher education act, giving strong, bipartisan backing to a bill aimed at making college more accessible and affordable for hundreds of thousands of low-income, minority, military and disabled students.

… Among other provisions, the bill would create a program to expand postsecondary opportunities for students with intellectual disabilities.