Developmentally Disabled, and Going to College
Ms. Weir of Think College says such thinking too narrowly defines how a college education benefits students, ignoring much of the socio-emotional learning
that happens for those in their late teens and 20s — with disabilities and without — while clocking time on a campus.
“If we are going to really help people with significant disabilities, it’s not by pretending they can go to college
and do college work,” said James M. Kauffman, a professor emeritus of education at the University of Virginia who has written extensively on special education.
A 2015 survey by Think College of some 900 intellectually disabled students found
that those who spent most of their time in traditional classes, soaking up campus culture and fine-tuning their social skills, had better job rates than those who spent most of their time in specialized classes.
