Junior Emily Singer, right, a communication major, stands with her twin brother Lucas who has Down Syndrome. Lucas is a freshman at The College of New Jersey in its postsecondary program for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Eli Lewis, a 23-year-old with Down syndrome from North Chevy Chase, likes to go to the movies, go bowling, play basketball and just hang out with friends.
But he also likes to learn.
For Lewis, it was a challenge to continue his education beyond Walter Johnson High School, where he earned a high school certificate in 2009.
There are more than 7,000 colleges and universities in the United States, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, but about 230 of these offer classes, programs or options for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities, according to Think College’s database. This university is not one of them.
Lewis’ mother, Mary Ann Dawedeit, said Lewis, who attends Montgomery College, missed out on a lot of the social aspects of college that her other two children had.
“After high school, he’s become more isolated,” she said. “But if he was in college, he’d be integrated, he’d be eating pizza with friends, he’d be studying. Definitely, if [programs for students with intellectual disabilities had] been more available to us and we could have applied, say, to the University of Maryland, College Park, we would have loved to have done that.”
At George Mason University, a program called Mason Learning Into Future Environments Program offers a four-year college experience for students with intellectual disabilities, providing options for on-campus housing in a supportive academic environment, said Molly Gorden, Mason LIFE Program academic liaison and instructor.
Though Mason LIFE is a non-degree-seeking program, Gorden said students focus on fostering independent living skills, meaningful employment and community integration. Right now, about 75 percent of students who have completed the program are employed.
“Inclusion is the name of the game in special education right now, and it’s going to be for our future,” Gorden said. “They should be able to have a four-year college experience if that’s the path they want, regardless of having a disability or not.”
And programs like Mason LIFE could be implemented in this state.
Three years ago, a pilot program launched at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, called Students United for Campus-Community Engagement for Post-Secondary Success that featured expanded coursework, internship and housing options for students with intellectual disabilities, said Amy Lacosse, the program’s coordinator.
“Every university should have a program like this,” Lacosse said. “I don’t know the culture of other universities, but I have a hard time imagining that it wouldn’t [benefit].”
This state also formed a task force in 2013 to study the impact of expanding options for credit and noncredit courses in higher education for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. A report is due to the governor and General Assembly by Jan. 1, 2016.
But space could be an issue for these types of programs. In its third year, SUCCESS had 25 applications and could only accept eight because of the scope of the program, Lacosse said.
Additionally, it wasn’t until 2008 when the Higher Education Opportunity Act passed that students with intellectual disabilities could apply and receive financial aid for approved programs. Programs have to first be deemed a Comprehensive Transition Program by the Education Department, a process UMBC’s SUCCESS program is currently working on, Lacosse said. There have been 34 schools approved thus far.
The idea of bringing such a program to this university is something that university senior Hannah Shapiro supports.
“Maryland, relatively speaking, has an incredible special education program for high school,” the government and politics major said. “It’s really interesting why there’s not a program like this at the University of Maryland.”
Shapiro’s younger brother has autism, and her family has started exploring postsecondary education options for him but is facing issues with limited spaces and costly tuition.
“He goes to school like everyone else; he wants to go to college like everyone else,” Shapiro said. “He wants to have those life skills, build experiences like everyone else.”
Junior Emily Singer said her twin brother, who has Down syndrome, just began his college career at a program at The College of New Jersey.
“Basically he’s living the college dream, testing out his boundaries and exploring his independence and getting to do the things he’s seen me do in the past two and a half years,” said Singer, a communication major.
Having interned at the National Down Syndrome Society and advocated for people with disabilities, including education options, Singer said the benefits of such programs are two-way, but starting a program takes a lot of work and funding.
“Having the different presence on a university campus can only benefit students,” Singer said. “I’ve become a much more open and accepting person, having him in my life.”
The option to attend college is not only important for personal and social development, but also for improved job and career opportunities, said Meg Grigal, co-director of Think College, a national organization dedicated to improving inclusive higher education options for people with intellectual disabilities.
The unemployment rate for people with intellectual disabilities is twice as high as people without such disabilities, according to a survey conducted by Special Olympics last February.
“College isn’t for everybody … but the fact that it’s not on the table for students with intellectual disabilities just because of their disability label is a pretty blatant form of discrimination,” Grigal said. “It’s as much about quality of life as it is about civil rights.”
