OMAHA, Neb. — Being a high school student with a disability means having an education plan designed for you, family members who can advocate for you and transition programs that stretch to age 21 if you need the extra time.
In college, those comforts and distinctions slip away. Students can no longer count on support systems to help lead them to success. Instead, they must rely on their ability to advocate for themselves.
Each year a program called Skills to Pay the Bills hosts a series of workshops for students with intellectual or physical disabilities and their families, whether students are considering college or the workforce, to help define their next steps.
It’s a partnership funded by the Nebraska Department of Education and designed to answer basic questions about financial aid and enrollment as well as to empower students and families. Goodwill Industries, Metropolitan Community College, the Omaha Public Schools and PTI Nebraska, a resource for parents and families of children with disabilities, co-host the free workshops, which are focused on job skills, parents’ needs and transitioning to college.
“College is an adjustment for any student,” Ryan Stamm, disability services counselor at Metro, told the students and parents in attendance at a college-focused workshop last month. “You are not alone.”
Metro enrolled more than 1,700 students last year who reported a disability. Though professors won’t be following an individualized education program (IEP), some accommodations are still available.
But unlike high school, the students have to ask for help themselves, and privacy laws prevent parents from interacting directly with professors or registrars. Though a student can file a waiver to share some information with parents, the parents were told, they should expect to share concerns with a disability office instead of calling a professor directly.
