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MCT
Issue date: 11/8/07 Section: News
Detroit (MCT) - Rachael Kollman is proof that having an intellectual disability does not mean you have to write off a college experience.
She is taking classes five days a week at Oakland University, volunteers regularly and enjoys meeting new people.
"I've changed my future," said Kollman, 24.
Her experience is the kind that organizers of a statewide conference held Monday in Dearborn, Mich., want to see more of for students with significant learning, cognitive and other disabilities.
Oakland University is one of several higher education institutions in Michigan that have created programs that allow such students to take college courses, though in some cases they do not receive credit for the classes.
Similar programs exist at Calvin College, Hope College and the University of Michigan-Dearborn.
The students take classes on campus, with extra support and often with peer mentors. There are more than 120 post secondary education programs for students with intellectual disabilities across 28 states, according to thinkcollege.net.
"There's a great demand for this kind of idea," said Barbara LeRoy, director of the Developmental Disabilities Institute at Wayne State University.
Too often, the conference's speakers said, the message is that college is out of reach.
The push for programs is not about creating something special or heart warming, said Stephan Hamlin-Smith, executive director of the Association on Higher Education and Disability, an advocacy group based in North Carolina.
"This is looking at equality of opportunity for everybody," he said. "What we're talking about is a shift in how we think about post secondary education and how open our minds are."
Minds are clearly opening nationwide.
She is taking classes five days a week at Oakland University, volunteers regularly and enjoys meeting new people.
"I've changed my future," said Kollman, 24.
Her experience is the kind that organizers of a statewide conference held Monday in Dearborn, Mich., want to see more of for students with significant learning, cognitive and other disabilities.
Oakland University is one of several higher education institutions in Michigan that have created programs that allow such students to take college courses, though in some cases they do not receive credit for the classes.
Similar programs exist at Calvin College, Hope College and the University of Michigan-Dearborn.
The students take classes on campus, with extra support and often with peer mentors. There are more than 120 post secondary education programs for students with intellectual disabilities across 28 states, according to thinkcollege.net.
"There's a great demand for this kind of idea," said Barbara LeRoy, director of the Developmental Disabilities Institute at Wayne State University.
Too often, the conference's speakers said, the message is that college is out of reach.
The push for programs is not about creating something special or heart warming, said Stephan Hamlin-Smith, executive director of the Association on Higher Education and Disability, an advocacy group based in North Carolina.
"This is looking at equality of opportunity for everybody," he said. "What we're talking about is a shift in how we think about post secondary education and how open our minds are."
Minds are clearly opening nationwide.
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