UpDate - Vol. 14, No. 14, Page 5
December 8, 1994
New transition project assists disabled students

     Life has become a lot fuller for four college-age, special
education students with severe disabilities thanks to the combined
efforts of the University's Affiliated Program for Families and
Developmental Disabilities and the Red Clay Consolidated School
District.
     Known as the Transition Partnership Project, the new effort
enabled the students, ages 19-21, to move from the Meadowwood Program
in Dickinson High School to the University-a more age-appropriate
setting. The program is aimed at bridging the gap that often exists
for special education students between their high school and adult
years, something Warren Ellis, project co-director and visiting
lecturer in the College of Education, called "a classic problem for
students with disabilities.
     "In special education, students are entitled to an education and
certain services until they reach the age of 21. At 21, there is no
more entitlement, and there is often a break in service between the
school and the adult service system. We hope this project will solve
some of those problems," Ellis said.
     At the University, the students work with teacher Mary Anne
Mieczkowski, formerly of the Meadowwood Program, and two job coaches
from Dickinson High School. They also are paired with volunteer
University students through a program called "Best Buddies."
     Together, the pairs attend football games, work out in the
Carpenter Sports Building, do homework in the library and hang out at
the student center.
     Mieczkowski works to help the students find jobs in the community
and teaches them work skills and other preparatory skills necessary to
enter adult life. Three of the students are employed, and their
schoolwork is tied to needed job skills.
     Ellis calls the project a "model demonstration project for
students with severe disabilities.
     "The Department of Public Instruction...hopes to replicate this
experience at other colleges and postsecondary programs in the
future," Ellis said.
     The project also works to develop cooperative relationships among
the public schools, the University, the Division of Vocational
Rehabilitation and the Division of Mental Retardation, so that the
students will graduate with a job, with the skills to keep the job and
with the connections they need to the adult service system.
                                                          -Beth Thomas