Ingersoll - College Success for Students with Disabilities a Guide to Finding and Using Resources, with Real-World Stories

Irene Ingersoll

Foreword by Nido R. Qubein

McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Jefferson, North Carolina

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGUING DATA ARE AVAILABLE

BRITISH LIBRARY CATALOGUING DATA ARE AVAILABLE

e-ISBN: 978-1-4766-2405-1

2016 Irene Ingersoll. All rights reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Front cover image 2016 iStock/Steve Cole Images

McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Box 611, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640
www.mcfarlandpub.com

To the brave students who so willingly shared their personal adversities and triumphs in order to guide future college students with disabilities towards college success, and to the professionals and parents who shared their knowledge and experiences in order to communicate valuable information throughout this text

I would like to thank my husband, three sons and extended family for their patience, love and support during the writing of this book.

A special thank you to all the students I worked with over the years at High Point University as the coordinator of disability services. These amazing students inspired me to write this informative book to help all students with disabilities attain their college goals. The exceptional young men and women who stepped up to share their personal struggles and triumphs wanted to help me create a path to success for other students who are experiencing similar situations. Each interview gives the reader insight into their life circumstances, learning challenges, personal choices and inner strength as they overcame obstacles to finally become the successful young adults they are today.

I would like to thank the following professionals who contributed their valuable experiences and information in order to provide guidance for upcoming students: Bruce Pomeroy, Director of Accessibility Services at UNCGreensboro; Beth Barton, Ph.D., Deputy Director for the Marines Family Program DivisionEducational Transitions Program; Bob Dannehold, owner of Collegeology and a private college counselor in Seattle who volunteers his time to assist veterans returning to college; a college advisor who offered to share valuable information and advice for both students and parents; and Molly Casebere, a counselor who shared valuable information, resources and guidelines for accessing counseling help. Your time and input has been greatly appreciated. Your passion for helping students shines through your work!

I would also like to thank the parents who shared their valuable experiences and insight in helping their children traverse college with academic, physical, or medical adversities. Together we learned what works best and which resources were necessary for a successful outcome.

I would like to thank Carin and Leanne, who believed in my vision for this book and gave me valuable guidance throughout the writing process.

Irene Ingersoll is a faithful believer in the potential of students. She focuses on the positive potential of every person and defiantly moves onward with conviction that, given a proper learning process and enough commitment, every student can achieve success. I know, I watched her, with admiration guide one student after another from a position of doubt to a place of achievement. She is a champion for students with disabilities. She deserves our gratitude and admiration.

She knows about how students learn. How they excel. How they can have plenty of success and a feeling of significance, and now she has written a book that will assist many students to discover which resources need to be in place to accept their disability as part of who they are, to discard old labels , and to march forward. Academic demands on a college campus can be frightening and overwhelming to students with special needs. This book tells them they can succeed. It explains to parents the resources needed and gives them hope for a better future. Irene Ingersoll has been in the field, in the trenches. Day after day she personally guided students to successful academic progress, and saw to it that they graduated from college. She has dedicated her life to finding out what works, and what doesnt and why. You will sense that in this work and you will be grateful for her tenacious effort to serve students and their families in such a dedicated manner.

At High Point University I watched with amazement as Mrs. Ingersoll inspired, encouraged and mentored students with learning needs to believe in themselves, to be resilient, to focus on purposeful outcomes and to reach their goals. She is a coach, a model and a teacher. We are grateful for her leadership.

Nido R. Qubein has been since 2005 the president of High Point University, where he orchestrated an internal and external transformation. He is also a motivational speaker and the author of a dozen books on topics ranging from effective communications skills, leadership and sales to personal motivation.

As an educator working for the past 35 years with students who have disabilities, I have witnessed a constant determination in these students to achieve their academic goals despite the many challenges they encounter along the way. I have had the exceptional opportunity to work closely with college students who are bright, talented young adults, yet have had to overcome either personal or academic difficulties in their journey to find academic success at the college level. The dream of a college education was always their goal, but in order for this to happen they had to learn which resources and study strategies to put in place. College success is not a given, as all students need to become motivated and independent learners. The three million college students with disabilities face more challenges than the average student, and consequently their graduation rate is much lower than their peers. My background as a college disability coordinator and an academic coach opened my eyes to the amazing strength of character these students build as they overcome academic struggles. Without the right support systems in place, however, students with disabilities may fail out of college or just give up. In order to help close the gap to their graduation success, I have gathered important resources, along with students personal testimonies of the obstacles they faced in college and which resources they put in place in order to achieve academic success.

My purpose is to let students who struggle with any type of disability know that they can be successful on their college journey. Many colleges across the country have created excellent support programs to meet the academic needs of these students as they work to achieve their career goals. Success comes with hard work, motivation, and knowledge of ones specific disability, along with understanding the college resources that are available and how to utilize them. I have always been passionate about helping students achieve their academic goals; this book is a conglomerate of strategies that work to empower students with challenges and will guide them towards college success.