Iowa COMPASS News

 

 

Preparing for College

 

Clearly it is important to plan for college early. The college environment will be new and in many ways different from your high school. The skills and support you used successfully in high school are still important, but continuing that success in college will require the development of additional skills and resources. While many colleges and universities do provide support for students with disabilities, the type and extent of support varies greatly. The more precisely you are able to anticipate what your needs will be, the easier it will be to identify a college program and environment to meet your needs.

 

The Iowa Program for Assistive Technology (IPAT) has a useful on-line guide: Going to College? A Guide to Help Students Select A.T. for the College Experience. It is available at: www.uiowa.edu/infotech/College.htm.

 

Get the most from your Summer Break

 

Summer internships can lead to work byhelping college students get real world experiences and skills. It is also a chance to network with employers who are or will be looking for workers. Sadly, college students with disabilities seldom take part in summer internship programs. Lack of work experience can make it harder for them to get work after college.

 

The Workforce Recruitment Program (WRP) promotes summer internship and future work opportunities for college students with disabilities. The WRP links students to job recruiters from federal agencies. It also provides the assistive technology to help with the intern’s job duties. Last year there were 352 student interns in this program. If you wish to learn more about this program go to www.dol.gov/odep/programs/workforc.htm. Ask your college to have WRP come to your campus!

 

 

If you are a parent of a college-bound senior, you will be interested in these two resources:

 

·        Iowa College Student Aid Commission has a Guide to Financial Aid, which includes information on scholarships and loans specific to Iowa. You can order it from their website www.iowacollegeaid.org/ or via toll-free phone 1-800-383-4222.

 

 

·        HEATH produces a wealth of information on higher education for persons with disabilities. Financial Aid for Students with Disabilities includes information specifically for students with disabilities to help locate and acquire financial aid for college. This can be viewed and printed from their website (PDF format)www.heath.gwu.edu/, or requested by calling toll-free 1-800-544-3284.

 

Some (but not all) financial aid sources have deadlines as early as February 1, so you will want to start your planning now. Iowa COMPASS does not research scholarship opportunities, so you will want to hang on to the information you get from the programs above.

 

How to pay for college is only one issue. You can call Iowa COMPASS and speak to Shelley, the programs and services coordinator, about any other questions you have. Good luck!

 

 

 

Funding Assistive Technology (AT)

after High School

 

Are you a high school student preparing for college? Are you interested in working right away? In either case, if you use assistive technology, it will need to be part of your post-graduation plans. Iowa COMPASS has fact sheets that could help in your planning.

 

Every student with an IEP (Individualized Education Plan) should have a transition plan in their IEP by the time they are sixteen years old. This plan should outline the path the student wants to follow after high school. This plan should include what assistive technology each student needs to achieve his or her goals.  Our fact sheet on Transition can help.

 

The Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services (DVRS) can be an important partner for students with disabilities after high school. Learn more about their services at: www.dvrs.state.ia.us/. Iowa COMPASS also has a fact sheet about funding assistive technology through DVRS.

 

To receive copies of either of these fact sheets or if you have any other AT funding questions, you can talk with Sue Deets, Funding Information Specialist at 800-779-2001 or by e-mail at compassfunding@uiowa.edu.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

According to The University of Iowa’s Student Disability Services the top five student requests are as follows:

1.      Text to Audio conversion (reformatting textbooks, screen reading software).

2.      Speech to Text conversion (Captioning, dragon software for persons with mobility impairments)

3.      Word Processor

4.      Enlarged Print/Braille

5.      Accessible workstations (adjustable table/desk, monitor, keyboard mouse)

 

Examples of some of these products:

ZoomText 8.0 from AI Squared
Magnifier/ScreenReader. From 2x to 16x, ZoomText Magnifier enlarges and enhances everything on the screen, making all your applications easy to see and use. ZoomText 8.1 Magnifier/ScreenReader gives you all the features of ZoomText 8.1 Magnifier, plus screen reading that is easy to use. ZoomText 8.1 Magnifier/ScreenReader echoes typing, reads information pointed to by the mouse, and speaks program events as they occur.

 

Dragon NaturallySpeaking  from ScanSoft

With Dragon NaturallySpeaking® Standard you can talk to your computer and watch your words instantly appear in letters, e-mail, instant messages and chat rooms. You can even surf the Web by speaking! Dragon NaturallySpeaking® Preferred enables small business and

 

advanced PC users to create and edit documents, spreadsheets, and e-mail—all by speaking!

 

Neo by AlphaSmart

Neo is easy to use, lightweight, and affordable — designed to provide a wide range of computing capability on its own, and to integrate effortlessly with desktop and laptop computers. Neo features AlphaWord Plus, a full-featured word processor that provides:

·         Eight active file spaces for one-key file access

·         Named files for convenient file management

·         Spell-Checking and Thesaurus

·         User dictionary for adding additional words and terms

·         Linked files for rubrics, homework instructions, or reference materials

·         Find/replace and word count

·         Spanish-English word lookup

·         Built-in help system for quick access to command reference

 

ErgoQuest Model 500

ErgoQuest designs and manufactures adaptive, accessible computer workstations for the home, school, library, hospital, and office. Great if you or your client needs to work at a computer from a recliner, bed, or wheelchair, or needs to switch frequently from a reclining to sitting to standing position.

 

For information on these and other assistive technology, please contact Iowa COMPASS at compassproducts@uiowa.edu or toll-free at 800-779-2001.

Respite Funding for Children with SED

 

Please help spread the word; there is available funding for respite services for children with a Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED).

 

This Direct Family Access Respite program is for families that do not qualify for other sources of respite funding. In it, the family makes application, the award is to the family, the family decides whom they will use for respite provider, and the check is sent to the family to reimburse the expense. To use this service, the family will need medical documentation of a diagnosis under DSM IV.

 

Iowa Respite and Crisis Care Coalition has entered into a contract with the Department of Human Services to provide respite funding for children and adolescents with SED. The limit is $1,000 per family with one qualifying child and $2,000 per family with two or more qualifying children.

 

 

For more information, or to get copies of the application, please contact IRCCC at 515-309-0858 or 877-255-3140 or go to their website at www.irccc.com.