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Supporting Students With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities to Attend College

Supporting Students With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities to Attend College

There are more than 260 inclusive college programs for students with ID exist across the United States (Think College, 2017). This number represents an exponential increase in programs—nearly 10 times greater than the number of programs available in 2004 (National Coordinating Center Accreditation Workgroup, 2016). Not only are there more programs to choose from, with recent revisions to the Higher Education Opportunity Act, students with ID also can access federal financial aid for attending postsecondary education programs that meet federal requirements. In addition to taking academic courses, students have opportunities to expand their social skills, improve self-determination, and learn other new skills. Although going to college may not be a goal or a good fit for every student with IDD, inclusive postsecondary education opportunities are becoming more widely available to this group of students (National Coordinating Center Accreditation Workgroup, 2016). Yet despite the significant growth of inclusive college programs in recent years (Hart et al., 2010), families of transition-age students with IDD report needing more information and support from teachers to facilitate planning for postsecondary education (Griffin, McMillan, & Hodapp, 2010). The purpose of this article is to provide teachers with tips to support their students with IDD who want to go to college.

APA Citation: 

Griffin, M. & Papay, C. (2017). Supporting Students With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities to Attend College. Teaching Exceptional Children, July/August 2017. pp 411-419.

Year of Publication: 
2017
Media Type(s): 
Publication Type(s): 
Project: 
National Coordinating Center