Getting Together in College.

STUDENTS with disabilities; CURRICULUM; PUBLIC schools; COLLEGE students; AUTISM; CEREBRAL palsy; HEARING disorders; COMMUNICATIVE disorders

This article describes an inclusion program, conducted for young students with disabilities. This academic program included college-age students with developmental disabilities who had previously been kept in the various segregated placements in a public school. The program directors paired these students with graduate and undergraduate university students studying occupational therapy. They explored ways to increase occupational therapy services for students at the transitional phase of their education. The disabled students participating in this program had moderate to severe and profound disabilities. They were diagnosed with a variety of conditions that included seizure disorder, cerebral palsy, hearing impairments, communication disorders, fragile X syndrome and autism. The university students, who were slightly older in age than the disabled students in their respective groups, were enrolled in a small-group-dynamics class that was a requirement for their occupational therapy program. INSET: What Does the Literature Say About Education and Inclusion . . ..