Breaking Barriers-Realizing the Potential of Higher Education to Embrace Inclusion of People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Many colleges and universities offer experiences in which college students can engage in service projects with people who have intellectual and developmental disabilities (ID/DD). However, few college students engage with people with ID/DD on a day-to-day basis as fellow students on their campuses. Thus, in a setting that is heralded as a utopia for higher learning, inclusion, and ethical thinking and behavior shaping future generations of leaders, there often exists blatant exclusion of a specific population of our community. As adolescents with ID/DD complete their public school experiences they frequently recall educational experiences with their typically developing peers in elementary, middle, and high school. Though they may have had the same dreams of transitioning to a college experience, traditionally students with ID/DD were excluded from post secondary experiences on the beautiful and stimulating college campuses enjoyed by their same age typically developing peers. As this becomes a more clearly focused civil rights issue, especially in light of the accumulating research in developmental psychology regarding the important stage of emergent adulthood and the significance of a college experience in supporting development and growth, progressive college campuses across the United States are considering post-secondary education experiences for young adults with ID/DD in their communities. In this presentation we will discuss the post-secondary movement in the United States to allow people with ID/DD to attend college classes, shadow and work with mentors to experience job training and student work experiences on campus, and engage in student recreational and learning student life experiences with college students. We will discuss a project at a small liberal arts college that included a young adult with an ID/DD in a college course and mentored educational and recreational experiences during the 2015 fall semester. Our talk will highlight the grassroots connections and trust building with local nonprofits that led to a discussion about how to include our traditionally marginalized community members on our campus and the student enthusiasm and initiatives that emerged (including a Bonners service group and a year of service themed dorm). We will also discuss the barriers, biases, and fears encountered as we attempted to implement community engagement inclusion projects. Our discussion will include sharing and reflecting about our most recent project including a young man with an ID/DD in a college Introduction to Psychology course at Berry College. Finally, we will offer suggestions for extending this vision of inclusion of people with ID/DD on our college campus and creating such opportunities on campuses where this idea may be quite new. This presentation will be led by a faculty member and a student mentor