Recognizing ways to create and implement changes in the classroom is important. Information regarding contemporary models and teaching techniques are included in this section. The following citations may be of assistance in understanding accommodation options in the classroom and give ideas to increase the universality of the learning environment. Please contact CAN for ideas, questions or additional information.

Serebreni, R., Rumrill, P., Mullins, J. & Gordon, S. (1993). Project Excel: A demonstration of the Higher Education Transition Model for high-achieving
students with disabilities. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability,
10,(3), 15-23.

Project Excel: University of Arkansas.  Project Excel (Serebreni, Rumrill, Mullins, & Gordon, 1993) was a six-week summer transition program for high-achieving students with disabilities at the University of Arkansas.  This concentrated summer program was designed to meet two objectives: assist students with disabilities in transitioning to college and promote academic excellence.  Project activities were grouped into three categories: (a) psychosocial adjustment and career development, (b) academic development, and (c) university and community orientation.

            Project Excel recruited students with records of high academic achievement, described as a high school grade-point average of 3.0 or higher and/or an American College Testing Program composite score of 22 or higher.  Local public school guidance counselors, state vocational rehabilitation counselors, and the university’s Admissions Office referred students to the project. 

            Twelve high-achieving students with disabilities from Texas, Arkansas, and Illinois participated in the program.  Disability types represented among the group were blindness, deafness, learning disability, spinal cord injury, and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. 

            Project Excel activities included career counseling, academic advising, assessment of academic histories, accommodation planning, study skills instruction, technology training, special events, recreational activities, new student orientation, and peer mentoring.  Students also enrolled in six degree-credits spanning two freshman-level classes, English Composition, and Techniques in Assistive Technology. 

            Most Project Excel students were clients of the state-federal Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) program, so project staff coordinated career counseling and academic advising services with students’ VR counselors.  This measure ensured that the academic training students sought from the university was compatible with the Individualized Written Rehabilitation Plans that students had formulated to guide their VR cases.  Project Excel students were also encouraged to establish relationships with their faculty advisors and to consider part-time employment (either on or off campus) as a means of building their resumes and developing important career preparatory skills.  Each Project Excel student was also assigned a peer mentor, an upper class student with a disability in each Project Excel student’s academic area who provided valuable insight into life on campus as well as into career prospects after graduation.

Rumrill, P., Roessler, R., Brown, P. & Boen, L. (1994). Project career program planning guide. Arkansas Research and Training Center in Vocational Rehabilitation, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.

            Project Career: University of Arkansas.  Project Career had two guiding philosophies in helping students with disabilities prepare for competitive careers.  The first was that anyone who wants to work can work and should be encouraged to do so, regardless of disability.  Second, students with disabilities should have access to any and all services and programs that are available to the general public (Rumrill, Roessler, Brown, & Boen, 1994).  The purpose of Project Career was to provide a continuum of career services throughout the college experience from undergraduate status to graduation for students with disabilities.  Services and activities included in this continuum were: career exploration and job-seeking skills classes, individual career counseling, self-advocacy training, a credit-bearing work experience program, a community-based mentor program, placement assistance, and the Accommodations Planning Team seminar.

            Students with disabilities participated in career exploration activities through either a credit-bearing class or a mini-course with the goal of narrowing career possibilities to specific career choices.  They also received instruction on skills for obtaining employment such as resume writing, networking, and interviewing.  Students also participated in a learning module that addressed accommodation issues and civil rights provisions in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). 

            Individual career counseling was a featured component of Project Career.  The issues addressed in counseling dealt with disability as well as non-disability related issues such as job-seeking and interviewing skills, selecting a specific direction in the career field of interest, resume writing, feelings of insufficient preparation, fear of failure, family expectations, the social aspects of working, and goal-setting.  Other issues included self-esteem, prejudice, discrimination, disclosure, self-advocacy, communication, safety, utilizing existing supports, and coping with changes in one’s health status.

            Self-advocacy training consisted of a behavioral skills program designed to aid students in requesting classroom accommodations from their instructors.  The program employed such social competence techniques as modeling, rehearsal, role plays, and feedback to guide the conversation between students and instructors in which students requested accommodations (Roessler, Rumrill, & Brown 1998).  Although the self-advocacy training was focused on the classroom environment, students were reminded throughout the training module that the same principals of effective self-advocacy that enhance the likelihood of receiving classroom accommodations apply directly to the  process of requesting on-the-job accommodations.

            Project Career’s Work Experience program afforded University of Arkansas students with disabilities the individualized career orientation opportunities they may not otherwise have experienced to that point in their lives (Burgstahler, 2001; Wehman, 2001).  This program offered a credit-bearing class in which students obtained “hands-on” contact with the world of work.  This program differed from typical internship experiences in that it gave students the option of either a complete-semester experience at one site of employment or a sequence of short-term placements at several sites over the course of one or more semesters.  This provided flexibility to meet each students’ individual needs.  Students who required reasonable accommodations to complete the Work Experience program were provided supports from the university’s Office for Campus Access.

            The Mentor program was a companion service to the Work Experience program.  This component provided an organized opportunity for students with disabilities to meet professionals in their chosen career fields.  The students gained invaluable information from the expertise and perspectives of their mentors.  The Mentor program allowed students to develop and practice important networking skills.  Activities and issues such as resume writing tips, simulated job interviews, joining professional organizations, disclosure of disability, requesting accommodations, and socialization in the “corporate culture” were addressed in several structured and informal meetings throughout the academic year.          

Project Career’s Accommodations Planning Team (APT) seminar (Rumrill, Roessler, Boen, & Brown, 1995) was a job placement program for students with disabilities who were preparing to graduate.  The goals of the program included teaching students to identify their accommodation needs when entering the world of work, helping them understand the legal rights of people with disabilities in employment, preparing students to discuss their accommodation needs with employers in their chosen career fields, and creating resource-directed plans for gaining entry-level positions after graduation.  The APT utilized a group approach to career planning, matching students with disabilities with rehabilitation professionals and employers from their chosen career fields.  Prior to the half-day program, the students received written orientation materials.  They also received information on interviewing skills, self-presentation, interview etiquette, and commonly asked interview questions.  The first step in the APT program was practicing interviewing skills.  This was achieved by having the students and their matched employers simulate an abbreviated job interview as a way of introduction to the program.  The next component of the program was the identification of prospective accommodation needs by the students.  The teams were also engaged in the collaborative process of identifying barriers to the students’ adequate performance in their chosen career fields and realistic accommodations that would remove those barriers.  The next step in the half-day APT program was informing students of the employment provisions in Title I of the ADA.  After this informational portion of the program, students participated in a role-play activity with the employers on their teams to practice discussing their experiences, credentials, and accommodation needs.  The final phase of the program entailed creation of specific goals and actions for the students’ job-seeking plans, integrating information from the needs assessment, ADA awareness, and role-play phases of the seminar.  The team helped students to identify potential employers and resources to facilitate their job search process.  As students exited the APT seminar and began their job searches, Project Career staff members provided supports including direct referrals to employers, job development to identify potential employers, and selective placement assistance (Hanley-Maxwell, Bordieri, & Merz, 1996) that directly matched students with available positions in their local labor markets. 

Burgstahler, S. (2001). A collaborative model to promote career success for students
with disabilities. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 16, 209-216.   

DO-IT CAREERS: University of Washington.  DO-IT CAREERS is a program designed to assist students with disabilities to become successful in finding and maintaining careers after graduation.  The program features holistic and collaborative approaches to enhancing opportunities for students with disabilities to expand their work experiences and related career skills (Burgstahler, 2001).  Community business leaders involve students with disabilities in various events, panels, and electronic mail communication to expose them to successful role models in their career fields.  The program also contains an educational component for employers, educators, and service providers regarding the legal rights, needs, and capabilities of students with disabilities.  Also included in the program are parents and mentors who encourage students to pursue postsecondary education and careers in their chosen fields. 

            One of the key components of the DO-IT CAREERS program is the encouragement of students to actively develop their own careers.  Key stakeholders in the career success of students with disabilities include counselors, career specialists, teachers, and other public school personnel; cooperative education and career services staff at postsecondary institutions; employers; government agencies; university faculty members; and parents and mentors. 

            Staff members of the DO-IT CAREERS program provide information to educators, employers, agencies, and parents via printed materials, videotapes, and Internet resources.  These materials cover such varied subject areas as accessibility solutions, medical information regarding specific disabling conditions, career issues, learning approaches, and assistive technology options.  The staff also provides disability awareness instruction for key stakeholders.

Getzel, E., Briel, L., & Kregel, J. (2000). Comprehensive career planning: the VCU Career Connections Program. Work, 14, 41-49.

            Career Connections: Virginia Commonwealth University.  The Career Connections Program’s aim is to provide career-oriented experiences and supports for students with disabilities at any point in their college curricula.  Getzel, Briel, and Kregel (2000) explained that the service delivery model includes the following emphases: the student’s academic program, the right to use university resources, employment opportunities while enrolled in classes, job placement assistance in coordination with university career services, and post-employment follow along services in combination with other state and local employment services. 

            Students may enter the program at any point in their academic careers.  Some enter after receiving services and information from the Disability Support Service office, whereas others enroll through advertisement of the program in campus and community newspapers, through referrals from faculty members, or through student advocacy organizations.  After a student requests the services of the Career Connections Program, an initial meeting is set to explain the program and create an Individualized Career Plan for each participant.  The focus of this plan is on the career preparation needs of the student and the supports and services essential to prepare him or her to meet the goals he or she has established.  The plan integrates academic and community supports needed by the student to make certain that he or she exits the academic institution with marketable skills and associations with community resources once he or she enters the workforce.  The plan is self-directed by the student with the assistance of the program’s staff.  The Individualized Career Plan is continually updated to ensure that appropriate measures are in place to help the student achieve his or her goals.

            Another key component of the Career Connections Program is the work done with students to assist them in identifying successful learner accommodations.  Because little is found in the literature regarding the transfer of accommodations to the work setting (Rumrill et al., 1999), the program focuses on the transfer of effective strategies from the classroom through a chronological sequence of the pre-graduation work experience, to job placement, and then through post-placement assistance.  At each stage, students are encouraged to explore how the accommodations they utilized in their academic programs could meet their on-the-job needs.

Thompson, A., Bethea, L., & Satcher, J. (1993). Employment guide for college students with disabilities: The Career Development Project. U.S. Department of Education: Office of Educational Research and Improvement.

            The Career Development Project: Mississippi State University.  The Career Development Project was created to assist college students with disabilities in the job search process in the context of their rights under Title I the ADA (Thompson, Bethea, & Satcher, 1993).  In the first step of this project the ADA was explained to participating students with disabilities and a clause by clause explanation was given regarding the ADA’s definitions of such key terms as disability, qualified, reasonable accommodation, and undue hardship.  The next component of the project outlined the ADA’s employment provisions regarding the job applications, job interviews, employment choice and acceptance of employment offers, and job accommodations.  The project also assisted students with adjustment to disability issues and determining the advantages and consequences of disclosing disability status to employers.  Specific job search skills such as appearance; assessment of work abilities, interests, and values; completing application forms; creating a resume; preparing a job search plan; and locating job leads were emphasized during individual and group counseling sessions with participating students.  Career adjustment issues were also addressed, including job retention strategies, ongoing assessment of job accommodation needs, monitoring changes in health or disability status, utilizing vocational rehabilitation services, benefits planning, and strategies to dispel myths and misconceptions about workers with disabilities were also emphasized.  As students prepared for graduation and initiated their job searches, they were provided comprehensive resource lists of agencies and organizations that could assist them in seeking and securing employment.

            The model career programs for students with disabilities described in the preceding paragraphs share recognition that students with disabilities require supports and services over and above what is available to non-disabled college students if they are to succeed in the world of work after graduation. Accordingly, these programs all included career counseling, job-seeking skills training, introductions to community mentors, and work experience or internship programs. Career counseling is important because students with disabilities rarely exit high school with well developed career identities, primarily because they have limited exposure to occupational information during the growth stage of career development and are often excused from pre-career tasks such as household chores and summer employment during high school (Wehman, 2001).  Job-seeking skills training is important because available evidence indicates that after graduation, students with disabilities can expect to encounter significant difficulties in finding and securing employment.  Mentoring by members of the community is important because it provides valuable insights to students with disabilities into the professional labor market, and it increases the professional networks that they can later draw upon in their post-graduation job searches.  Work experience through internships and practica experiences provides students with disabilities the practical experience of working in their chosen career fields and allows them to understand the work situations they will be encountering after graduation.