Join LINCS Live on March 22nd and discuss disability resources for WIOA practitioners

Comments

Hi all, 

I hope you join us on Thursday to discuss the playslist as we tackle some difficult questions. How do you create an environment where students choose to disclose their disability? What resources can you find at your fingertips, and how to you put these resources to practice. Join Mike Cruse, Leecy Wise, and Kathy Tracey as we meet unpack this list of resources! 

March 22nd
11:00 Central Time 
Simply select this link: https://zoom.us/j/309304663 and join the conversation! 

We look forward to 'seeing' you tomorrow. 

Sincerely, 
Kathy Tracey

Friends, 

We had a few Community of Practice Members join our live discussion on the WIOA Playlist. We spent a great deal of time talking about Person First Language and direct instruction as a method for assisting students with learning differences. Learning to Achieve is a LINCS Resource many of you may find interesting. The focus is on best-practice and evidence-based resources that will help with instructional strategies. 

One of our participants asked, "I am particularly interested in finding better ways to serve students with learning disabilities in developmental college classrooms. Specifically, many students who had IEPs in K-12 don't qualify for accomodations in the college environment (except extended testing time). However, there is an expectation of the same style of instructional accomodation. Likewise, some students are aware of their label, but unaware of how it may impact their learning in a more intense academic environment." 

So, I'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas about this question. What do you recommend? How would you address this question? 

We are looking forward to your comments. 

Sincerely, 
Kathy Tracey
@Kathy_Tracey

I join Kathy and Mike in thanking those who joined us yesterday to throw around ideas and practices related to students who deal with disabilities of all kinds: mental, physical, and neurological.   I'll add my two cents to responding to the question posed. Transitioning into the college environment is a challenge for nearly everyone who wasn't a straight "A" student in high school. College, and more so, university environments often throw students into the their waters without teaching them to swim! Most new students require a bit of handholding and support from instructors and staff who can be trained to get to know and serve them. Students with disabilities, even those benefitting from accommodations, often struggle even more than most. I'll throw out a few tips.   1. Get to know the student beyond the disability. What are his strengths? What are his fears? What kind of help can benefit the most, disability or not? 2. Provide students with practice in applying basic study skills: taking notes from oral information delivered, organizing class information, getting information from textual information on and offline, setting aside specific times in the day to work, finding ideal places to study, and taking advantage of community or institutional resources like the library and other community resource.   3. Have students practice asking teachers for help. Most are scared to death of approaching teachers for many different reasons. 4. Eating and sleeping well can play a big role in how students do. Find out patterns they follow. 5. Provide very predictable and structured instruction with a lot of repetition. Online resources can provide a lot of that kind of practice. Students need to feel safe, and structure provides that, especially for students with some disabilities. Structure also develops trust, a critical aspect in learning. I would venture that most students who lack the required academic skills do not trust educational institutions and most instructors unless they have a positive experience to replace the negative memories! 6. I am an advocate of helping students recognize their strengths and areas where they will want to develop. There is not need to call those areas disabilities. Of course, learning disabled students cannot adapt to new ways of doing things, but they can become aware of how to make up for their inability to learn in certain ways. Helping them discover those is exciting for both student and instructor.   I hope others jump in with additional tips! Let's identify more innovative ways to get our students over the walls that face them! Leecy

Thanks to everyone who was able to join us for Thursday's chat about the Disability Playlists.  These are great resources for anyone working in adult education. One of the concerns share with us was that many times learners aren't well versed in self-advocacy and disclosure.  We discussed the importance of modeling this for persons with disabilities, and helping them reflect on the pros, and potential cons, of disclosure.  Ultimately, the decision must be the individual's.  In order to help people model disclosure, I want to share a few videos that could be used as part of a larger conversation on disclosure, or as a pre-practice activity, before doing mock disclosure interviews.

Disability Inclusion Starts with You

The Job Search and Disclosing Your Disability

Disclosing a Disability to an Employer

I'd Like You to Know

Best,

Mike Cruse

Disability and Equitable Outcomes Moderator

Michaelcruse74@gmail.com