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This website was created by the Center for Independent Futures, a non-profit organization in Illinois. This organization aims to help "adults with disabilities and their families plan, support and sustain new ways of living in their community." The website and organization provides information about having a disability, as well as services and accommodations that they can provide for adults with disabilities. Because the Center for Independent Futures is a non-profit organization, they host a variety of fund raising events each year. These events, as well as other ways to donate to the organization can be found on the website. If I were a special educator working on transition and career development, I would use this website for students who are looking at attending school in Illinois. The site would provide very useful information for the student because it would tell them what kind of supports they can receive in the state and where they can get those supports. Illinois has a variety of colleges and universities, and the Center for Independent Futures would be a very positive support system for new students in the state.

This article is short, but sweet. It discusses the importance of proper transition planning and the laws that are involved. It also talks about how assistive technology is necessary to enable individuals to communicate and receive the accommodations they need.  This article is helpful to brush up on the laws of the IDEA and how they play an important role in the transition process. 

This is a great article to brush up on IDEA like you said. All those laws and regulations can be to much at times and it is always good to have a resource nearby to double check yourself.

Learning what your college has to offer is so important! Keene State has wonderful resources but not all colleges do. Students really need to do their research to be sure they are getting what they need and take their education into their own hands.

It is crucial to know what your college offers! Learning this prior to starting school is so incrediably important and will help the student be successful in school. Schools have so much to offer typically you just have to seek it out.

This is great for students who are planning on going to college to read. I know of some students who don't even want to research/contact any colleges regarding assistive technology or other assistance they might be able to provide. I hope that students do consider what resources are available at the school of their choice and that they've developed the self-advocacy confidence to seek out help when they need it.

The laws affecting college students with disabilities and the process of obtaining assistive technology in college are completely different from the K-12 world. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is not in effect in higher education. Summary: This article is located on the webiste for the University of New Jersey. The article describes how IEPs are not in effect in college and that it is the student's repsonsibility to request the assistance that they need. The article also describes that although college's are required to provide assistive technology for students, they are not required to provide the most sophisticated technology available. Professional Practice: In order to prepare our students for college, we need to understand what services college provides. This article helps us to see how asstitive technology is addressed at the college level. We can use this knowledge to teach students how to ask for the assitance that they need. We can also work with the students to identify what services their particular college may provide and help them to get in contact with the neccessary people.

This article was written by Amy G. Dell from The College of New Jersey. It discusses the difference between IEP's and assistive technology in the K-12 world versus the college world, and the laws that surround them. Dell states that "Colleges have no legal responsibility to identify students with disabilities or involve parents in decision making. Parents are often surprised to learn that there are no IEP's in college." Instead of an IEP, the law that protects students with disabilities is a civil rights law. The article continues by discussing reasonable accommodations that students with disabilities can receive in college and how to obtain them. If I were a special educator working on transition and career development, I would use this information to educate my students about the difference between K-12 school and college. I would teach them the difference between having an IEP and using the civil rights law in college. The student needs to learn that they must advocate for themselves in college to receive the academic assistance to help them succeed.

"The Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) has published,"Navigating College: A Handbook on Self Advocacy,"a guide for autistic students written by autistic adults, and also launched the companion Website, www.navigatingcollege.org. The handbook provides first-person insights from current and past college students on the autism spectrum on various aspects of the higher education experience including disclosure, classroom accommodations, dorm life and sexuality."

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires public accommodations (businesses and non-profit organizations) to provide goods and services to people with disabilities on an equal basis with the rest of the public. Businesses and non-profit organizations that serve the public are to remove architectural barriers when it is "readily achievable" to do so. The information and website links in the message I am forwarding (below my signature) are available courtesy of the Great Lakes ADA Center.

"Prospective college students with disabilities will find that many campuses are equipped with offices and services that address accessibility, accommodation, and assistive technology for a diverse range of needs. Student services offices and disability coordinators at many colleges work to make campuses inclusive environments through specialized advocacy, support, and academic services."

For those looking for information and resources about college and post-secondary options and accommodations Elizabeth Hamblet has a wonderful listing of resources and information with links on her website. http://www.ldadvisory.com/links Elizabeth is the author of the article in the January 2014 issue of Teaching Exceptional Children titled, "Nine Strategies to Improve College Transition Planning for Students With Disabilities ." You may also wish to read her book, which covers transition to college in depth - 7 Steps for Success: High School to College Transition Strategies for Students with Disabilities .

"Welcome to the Exceptional Nurse Blog! I am Donna Maheady, EdD, ARNP, founder of www.ExceptionalNurse.com, the nonprofit resource committed to inclusion of people with disabilities in nursing. We facilitate inclusion of students with disabilities in nursing education programs and foster resilience and continued practice for nurses who are, or become, disabled. We celebrate abilities, share resources and examples of nurses with disabilities who work with and without accommodations."

"Transition skills and academic skills can be taught simultaneously. With this tool, we aligned Common Core College and Career Readiness Standards, Common Core Language Arts Standards, and research-identified skills students need to obtain employment or participate in further education after high school. The activities and annual transition goals are arranged on a continuum to accommodate students with the least support needs to students with more support needs."