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INDIANA INSTITUTE IN THE NEWS

Indiana Institute Program Helps Students with Intellectual Disabilities Participate in College

Central Indiana’s Franklin College is welcoming five high school students with intellectual disabilities to its campus this semester, thanks in part to a grant from Indiana University’s Institute on Disability and Community and its Center on Community Living and Careers. 

The Institute, a partner in the Indiana Postsecondary Education Coalition, creates programs on Indiana campuses that give students with intellectual disabilities a chance to participate in college life and obtain hands-on work experience before they begin applying for jobs in their communities.

This month, students participating in Franklin’s new INSPIRE program took part in a meet-and-greet activity on campus that served to formally introduce INSPIRE -- which stands for Individual Needs in Special Places to Increase Relevant Work Experience -- to Franklin College faculty, staff and fellow students.

"INSPIRE will help us get experience to get a job and help us take care of ourselves for the rest of our lives," said Richie Olopade, a student from Center Grove High School.

"The students are excited to be here," said Megan Horsley, Transition Coordinator with Special Services of Johnson County, who began putting the pieces of the program together in October. "This whole project has just blown up in a good way. It’s going wonderfully."

Most of the INSPIRE students are in their final year at a Johnson County high school. The students are able to participate in some activities on campus thanks to a Franklin College partnership with Center Grove and Franklin Community high schools, the Special Services special education unit serving Johnson County schools, and the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community.

Initially, the students are gaining vocational experiences in the campus food service and custodial departments, Horsley said. Plans are to expand those opportunities to office and groundskeeping work as soon as they can put supports in place. In addition, the INSPIRE team is working through Indiana Vocational Rehabilitation Services to establish better outcomes for students. A couple of the students already have paid jobs, working off campus. Socially, Horsley added, "The INSPIRE students have lunch with their college peers every day."

"This semester the students will also be participating in various educational experiences," said Karen Burgard, chair of Franklin College’s Department of Education. "For example, one student will be paired with a senior art major and create art in our Franklin College art studio for the entire semester. Two others will participate in a wellness and health promotion class."

Essentially, Franklin athletic training students will provide health and wellness assessments to the INSPIRE students while also giving them guidance on physical fitness and activities.

The IU grant, Horsley said, will also allow the postsecondary partnership to develop a mentor program, matching INSPIRE students with those in Franklin College’s education department.

Horsley said organizers hope to increase the total number of INSPIRE students to 12 next year by opening up the opportunity to six other area school districts.

Franklin is the third Indiana college or university hoping to build a successful college/work experience program for students with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis works with students who are transitioning from Indianapolis Public Schools as well as those from other Indianapolis area school systems, and the Vincennes University Jasper Campus began a similar program in south central Indiana in 2012.

"Having that campus experience for eight months can really improve the outlook and possibilities for a student with disabilities," said Jean Updike, Project Coordinator at IU’s Center on Community Living and Careers. Updike has been encouraging other Indiana universities to establish postsecondary programs for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities on campuses around the state.

Pointing to the national program Think College, Updike said that other states around the nation have successful programs providing inclusion opportunities to students with disabilities and have found that the programs ultimately benefit not just the students themselves, but also faculty and other students on campus. Building upon that, the Indiana Postsecondary Education Coalition has its own Think College Indiana website to provide information and resources to students, families and professionals. 

Founded in 1834, Franklin College is a residential four-year undergraduate liberal arts institution with a scenic, wooded campus, located 20 minutes south of downtown Indianapolis. The college prepares men and women for challenging careers and fulfilling lives through the liberal arts, offering its approximately 1,000 students 36 majors, 39 minors and 11 pre-professional programs. In 1842 the college began admitting women, becoming the first co-educational institution in Indiana and the seventh in the nation. Franklin College maintains a voluntary association with the American Baptist Churches USA.

UPCOMING

Teaching Strategies Across Autism the Autism Spectrum Webinar

Cathy Pratt, Director of the Institute’s Indiana Resource Center for Autism, will present a webinar sponsored by Kappa Delta Pi focusing on issues facing educators in light of the increasing incidence rates of autism spectrum disorders. The webinar will address:

Common learning characteristics of students across the autism spectrum;

How these learning characteristics impact their participation in school;

Evidence-based practices that can be used by general and special educators to educate students across the autism

spectrum and across grade levels; and  

Visual Support that can benefit all learners.

The webinar will be held on Tuesday, April 8, 2014 starting at 8:00 p.m. EDT. Click to register.

ADA Audio Conference

In this audio conference hosted by the ADA National Network, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), will present on an increasingly common practice of employers – “googling” job applicants. The presenter will discuss the risks for employers and provide recommendations about “googling” potential employees.
   
“Googling Job Applicants (Caveats and Recommendations from the EEOC)”
Tuesday, April 15th  
2:00-3:30 pm EASTERN

9 Indiana Locations
Free and Open to the Public

Joe Bontke from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) will address issues of employers increasingly using the Internet to gather information about job applicants from social media sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn. Some of the topics he will cover include what is legally permissible in the search process and what are some of the benefits versus pitfalls by using this process.
Indiana locations include Bloomington, Gary, Indianapolis (two locations), Lafayette, Marion, Terre Haute, Versailles, and West Lafayette. Visit the ADA-Indiana website at www.adaindiana.org/audio for more specific information about these site locations (if you can’t make it to one of the hosted locations, visit our website to find out more about other options, some are available at no cost).
 
For more information about this session, please contact Matt Norris at (812) 855-6508 or e-mail adainfo@indiana.edu. The Indiana ADA Audio Conference program is sponsored by ADA-Indiana, Great Lakes ADA Center, and the Indiana Governor’s Council for People with Disabilities.

Registration Deadline April 7th for Advanced Benefits Training

Registration deadlines are fast approaching for Benefits Information Network (BIN) liaison training, provided by Indiana Institute's Center on Community Living and Careers. 

By creating a network of liaisons well versed in state and federal benefits programs and work incentives, BIN training ultimately improves the ability of people with disabilities to make decisions about employment and work with the health care, housing, on-the-job, and financial supports they may need.

BIN liaisons - employment specialists, consultants, social workers, and other disability service professionals - work with a comprehensive curriculum to ensure that they have a thorough understanding of both benefits and federal and state work incentive programs.  Basic and Advanced training components include training exercises, competency tests and field assignments. 

Upcoming trainings are:

Basic BIN (only those certified less than two years may attend) Note: Attendance at both rounds of training is required for certification.

In Bloomington
Round 1 – April 16-17
Round 2 – May 14-15
Registration Deadline: April 11

Advanced BIN (must take if certified two or more years)
Online Only: April 25-May 2
Registration Deadline: 7

Click to register for either the Basic or Advanced spring trainings (or to see other dates offered this year).

ACROSS THE COURTYARD

April is Autism Awareness Month

The Institute’s Indiana Resource Center for Autism had compiled a “Fact and Tip Sheet” in conjunction with Autism Awareness Month. Autism Awareness Month is an opportunity for the Autism community to educate the public about autism and related issues.

IN INDIANA

Viehweg Named 2014 Prestigious External Award Recognition (PEAR) Recipient

Stephan Viehweg has been named a 2014 Prestigious External Award Recognition (PEAR) recipient in honor of having been awarded a 2013 Executive Journey Fellowship from Lilly Endowment, Inc. Stephan Viehweg, ACSW, LCSW, IMH-E® (IV) is Associate Director of the Riley Child Development Center, a nationally recognized interdisciplinary leadership training program supported by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau and faculty member of the IU School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics and the IU School of Social Work. He also is Interim Director of the IUPUI Center for Translating Research Into Practice.

Recipients will be honored at the Chancellor’s Academic Honors Convocation on Friday, April 25, 2014.  The event will be held in the Hine Hall Auditorium on the IUPUI campus and will begin promptly at 3:00 p.m.

Prestigious External Awards Recognition (PEAR) recipients are faculty members who have been recognized by a national or international professional organization for their academic achievements. They signify not only the "best of the best" at IUPUI but the "best of the best" to a broader national audience as well.

One-Day Workshop on Personal Outcome Measures and Person-Centered Planning

The Council on Quality and Leadership (CQL) is hosting a one-day workshop titled “Personal Outcome Measures and Person-Centered Planning: Getting to What Really Matters,” to be held Wednesday, April 30, 2014 at the Valle Vista Conference Center, Greenwood, Indiana. 

Session topics include:

Building Social Capital into the Lives of the People We Support;

Using Personal Outcome Measures® to Inform the Person-centered Plan;

Basic Assurances ® Factor 10: Trend analysis for organizational change;

Deemed Status and CQL Person-centered Excellence Accreditation Updates; and

Twenty Years of Personal Outcome Measures® Data:  Using this Data in Trend Analysis for Systems Change.

Registration fee is $100.00 per person and includes lunch. For more information, contact Marie Hale, The Council on Quality Leadership, at (850) 712-2367 or e-mail communicatons@thecouncil.org.

For more than 40 years CQL has been a leader in working with human service organizations and systems to continuously define, measure and improve the quality of life of all people. Services that are person-centered ...  that support each person to live his or her own life - to plan, to contribute, to participate, to choose; and to be respected and valued is what really matters. CQL offers consultation, accreditation, training and certification services to organizations and systems that share our vision of dignity, opportunity and community for all people.

NEW LIBRARY COLLECTION ITEMS

Library Corner

SKerstein, L. H. (2014). A week of switching, shifting, and stretching: How to make my thinking more flexible. Shawnee Mission, KA: AAPC Publishing. 

Kluth, P., & Danaher, S. (2014). From text maps to memory caps: 100 more ways to differentiate instruction in K-12 inclusive classrooms. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Pub.

McNamara, B. E. (2013). Bullying and students with disabilities: Strategies and techniques to create a safe learning environment for all. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Rogers, L. (2013). Visual supports for visual thinkers: Practical ideas for students with autism spectrum disorders and other special educational needs. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

These new materials may be borrowed from the Center for Disability Information and Referral (CeDIR) at the Institute. To check out materials, please call the library at 800-437-7924, send us an e-mail at cedir@indiana.edu, or come by and visit us at 1905 North Range Road in Bloomington.