Under the cherry-pink glow announcing spring’s arrival in Washington, DC and the Metro area I reflect how far individuals with disabilities have come: moving from denial of education services to the federal guarantee of equal access in public school and college. Changes in the field continue and we are pleased that we are able to share with you those reforms efforts. Research by Eve Müller and Paula Burdette of Project Forum at the National State Directors of Special Education, Inc. (NASDSE) describes high school reform in three states and efforts to include special education in the high school reform process at both state and local levels.
To help high school graduates plan for their college experience HEATH brings you the PDF version of Wisconsin's recently published (September 2007) handbook, "Opening Doors to Postsecondary Education: Planning for Life After High School."
Individuals with disabilities often find benefits received from Social Security Administration (SSA) provide added financial support to access college and career goals. For some it seems that just getting through the paperwork and financial formulas requires a specialized college degree. However, Roger Shelley, Marsha Katz and David Hammis reassure us "it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand and use Social Security Work Incentives. And these Work Incentives can dramatically improve the lives of people with disabilities!" We encourage you to read their informative training manual that includes a basic overview of Work Incentives and their parent programs to help you decipher the SSA forms and regulations.
The HEATH website provides added information about social security benefits and programs in our LINKS pages under the topic: Social Security and Supplemental Security Income. We also invite you to visit our FAQ pages to learn of other ways to fund your college or help you in your career, and find answers to many other questions.
Our Project Investigator recently challenged students in her Special Education Course: 236, Introduction to Career, Vocational and Transition Services, The George Washington University, Graduate School of Education & Human Development to select websites they considered their favorite transition websites. We present them here for your use as well.
As we anticipate the transition to spring’s full burst of color and the eventual warm glow of summer, HEATH knows you will soon be preparing for your own transition from high school to postsecondary education. To help with that transition HEATH once again provides you a listing of Summer Pre-College Programs for youth investigating the prospects of college and postsecondary education.
Stay connected with HEATH whatever the season! We encourage you to subscribe to our website pages using our RSS Feed service. For those of you wishing an accessible RSS Feed Reader you may find downloading WebbIE useful: http://www.webbie.org.uk/accessiblerss/index.htm.
And of course, we invite you to be a frequent visitor at www.HEATH.gwu.edu!
All the best,
Donna Martinez
Director, The GW HEATH Resource Center
