Paiewonsky, Maria

Flexible Supports for College Success Presented by Maria Paiewonsky, Ashley Luce*, and Luke Saint-Amour, this webinar covered topics such as supported education, student engagement in college classes, determining accommodation needs, campus resources, and intensive supports. The presentation emphasized the importance of determining the appropriate level of support for student engagement and satisfaction in college classes. It included information on typical classroom supports, academic accommodations, educational coaching, and peer mentoring.

In this webinar, the presenter discusses the many college expectations for entering college freshmen and what middle and secondary school students with intellectual disability, their teachers, and parents can do to prepare for those expectations. They also discussed ways to develop and support IEP goals that align with the preparation, knowledge, and skills students need for college. Tips, tools, and strategies were shared.

One way to help students with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDD) succeed in their college and career endeavors is to provide training and support to secondary staff working with transition-aged students and professionals providing services in college. Think College, in collaboration with the Florida Center for Students with Unique Abilities, created two self-paced learning modules for these groups. Numerous resources have been included throughout each module.

This document identifies many college expectations for entering college freshmen and what middle and secondary school students with intellectual disability, their teachers, and parents can do to prepare for those expectations. There are three categories of expectations: personal independence, academic engagement, and civic and social engagement.

There are certain skills that students can learn and practice in high school so they are better prepared for the demands of college. In this Grab and Go Practices, we focus on three primary campus experiences college students need to be prepare for and skillsets that are good to have to manage them. Student may engage in these activities with little or no support from adults: campus participation, academic preparation, and personal responsibility.

A collaborative model of professional development, using principles of collective inquiry, coaching, reflection and co-writing, has resulted in an online training sequence for three key groups who offer and support college-based transition services. These include college program coordinators, special education administrators and transition staff, and coaches and mentors. Presenters shared strategies and co-authored practitioner materials This session was presented by Think College staffers Maria Paiewonsky & Ty Hanson.

College students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) have been involved in advocacy efforts to promote inclusive postsecondary education. These efforts include informing legislators, higher education personnel, school administrators, and IEP team members, as well as parents and prospective students, that inclusive postsecondary education is not only possible but an effective transition services model.

Bridgewater State University's EXCEL Program has made great strides in creating and maintaining inclusive postsecondary education experiences for students with IDD. This brief focuses on the work EXCEL program staff have accomplished by building an inclusive model, department by department, on their campus.

In this brief, the perspectives of special education administrators from Massachusetts and Indiana, who have been engaged in college-based transition services (CBTS), are shared. It summarizes the conversations they had during a fall 2019 Think College