Various colleges have adopted the trend of accepting students with intellectual disabilities and transforming their lives by equipping them with fundamental life skills.
This approach has been instrumental in enabling these students to secure employment opportunities.
Nevertheless, the prosperity of students with intellectual disabilities in learning institutions is being threatened by federal funding because some programs may be in a cash crisis from 2020.
Students with intellectual disabilities’ lives enhanced
Some institutions of higher learning have crafted outstanding programs to suit students with intellectual disabilities.
For instance, Utah State University has a program where these learners are taught socialization skills. A game known as ‘Get-to-Know-You-Bingo’ is pivotal in this undertaking.
Courtney Jorgensen is one of the beneficiaries, and her parents have shown their delight of their daughter being able to attend college. Previously, they had the idea that a college education was not guaranteed based on their daughter’s condition.
The programs developed to suit students with intellectual disabilities by institutions of higher education are offering hope to many families, and this is laudable.
Utah University also has another program called Aggies Elevated, and it accommodates students with autism and down syndrome, among others. It has been stipulated that all of them have IQs of at most 70.
Students with intellectual disabilities’ progress
Institutions of higher learning are doing an outstanding job of developing programs to meet the needs of students with intellectual disabilities because most of them would just be confined at home or working menial, minimum-wage jobs.
Statistics show that adults with cognitive disabilities have an employment rate of just 19%. Moreover, their pay is low because they make half of what those without disabilities earn.
Students with intellectual disabilities are, therefore, being equipped with exceptional life skills that will come in handy in eradicating this trend.
For instance, the Aggies Elevated program objective is to prepare learners for independent living and meaningful work. The program takes two years, and students are presented with certificates, as well as confidence and connections required for them to be self-sufficient adults.
On the other hand, disabled learners are being pulled out of WA (West Australian) schools by their parents at an alarming rate. This has been instigated by their concerns that their children are not getting optimal classroom support.
