OPPORTUNITIES FOR
EMPOWERING STUDENTS WITH
DISABILITY PRIDE &
21ST CENTURY SKILLS
Based on the book
“Empowering Students with Hidden Disabilities:
A Path to Pride and Success”
Margo Vreeburg Izzo, Ph.D, and LeDerick Horne
Brookes Publishing Co.
WHY WRITE A BOOK ON
HIDDEN DISABILITIES?
Both realize that expectations
for students with hidden
disabilities are too low
“Nothing about us without us.”
WHO ARE STUDENTS WITH HIDDEN DISABILITIES?
Students with hidden disabilities lack those visual
signs that shout “DISABILITY”
Students have the option to either hide or disclose
Far too many students exit school never really
understanding:
Why they had an IEP
What their disability means regarding skills and deficits
ADHD
Neurological condition marked by persistent
inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity
Trouble paying attention, easily distracted
Disorganized
Restless hyperactivity
Impulsive behaviors – talking before
thinking
Over 11% of children ages 4-17 receive
ADHD diagnosis (CDC, 2013)
40% of students with ADHD also have LD
GROWING UP WITH ADHD
Margo’s daughter identified as ADHD
Margo Joins ADHD Club
When learning environment is organized,
structured and relevant, students with
ADHD can bring
Positive energy
Willingness to work hard
SPECIFIC LEARNING DISABILITIES
Neurological condition that alters students’
ability to
Listen, speak, read, write, or spell
Calculate mathematical problems
Includes dyslexia and aphasia
Largest category of disability
Over 40% of students on IEPS have SLD
Over 2.3 million students across the U.S.
Pete Denman, UX Designer, Intel
“There is no wheelchair for dyslexia” Road Trip Nation Documentary: Being You
LEDERICK SHARES ABOUT GROWING
UP WITH LD
LeDerick - poet with LD
Co-author of book
Shares experiences as
Elementary student
High school student
College student
Professional speaker
OTHER HIDDEN DISABILITIES:
THE HIDDEN MAJORITY
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Emotional disturbance/Behavior
Disordered
Mild Hearing and Vision Disabilities
Intellectual Disabilities
Speech-Language Disabilities
OTHER HIDDEN DISABILITIES:
THE HIDDEN MAJORITY
Co-morbidity occurs among
hidden disabilities
Often students act out to-
Avoid work that they find difficult
Gain attention from peers
Avoid failing in front of others –
it’s easier and safer not to try
We need to teach all students to
“Make your brain work”
OTHER HIDDEN DISABILITIES:
THE HIDDEN MAJORITY
Helping students and educators to
understand disability can be seen as a form of
diversity training
Helping to build this kind of cultural
competency for students and educators in
your school benefits everyone
HOW MANY STUDENTS HAVE HIDDEN
DISABILITIES?
The true number of people with hidden
disabilities will never be known.
Approximately 85% of the 5.8 million
students… have hidden disabilities –
Over 4.9 million students!!
(U.S. Department of Education, 2014)
WHAT ARE TRANSITION OUTCOMES FOR
STUDENTS WITH HIDDEN DISABILITIES?
40% of students with disabilities drop out of high school
30% of students with ED reported using drugs within the past 30
days
A third of young adults with hidden disabilities were arrested after
high school
Young adults with hidden disabilities engage in maladaptive
behavior at higher rates than peers with visible disabilities
(U.S. Department of Education, 2014; Newman et al., 2011; Yu, Huang, & Newman, 2008)
WHY DO STUDENTS WITH HIDDEN
DISABILITIES STRUGGLE?
Lack disability awareness – what does it mean to have LD, ADHD,
etc.
Lack information on how they learn – do not use the
accommodations to level the playing field
Low expectations – teachers and parents have low expectations
Stigma - Not accepted by “successful peers” so they lean toward
those engaging in maladaptive behaviors
The stigma of having a disability is so
strong that approximately 60% of
students who had IEPs during high
school indicated that they did not
have a disability the year after they
exited high school.
(Newman, Wagner, Cameto, & Knokey, 2009).
Andy Imparato, Executive Director of the Association of University Centers on Disability (AUCD)
“I think it is helpful for kids and young adults
to have disability pride. So, I do not have
any problem with people getting a label, if
along with that label they get pride, and a
cultural identity, and a connection to a
community, and a connection to a history
of this community of accomplishing
amazing things...”
Defining Disability in Positive Terms
WHAT CAN WE DO?
Educators need to learn more about disability
Many general educators have not had the professional
development needed to understand how to support
students with disabilities within inclusive classrooms
Students need to understand their assets and strengths,
as well as
Functional limitations of their disability
How accommodations balance their limitations
Students need DISABILITY PRIDE!!
FAMOUS PEOPLE WITH LEARNING DIFFERENCES
AND BIG IDEAS
Tom Cruise
Thomas Edison
Albert Einstein
Temple Grandin
Andy Imparato
Steve Jobs
Daymond John
Whoopi Goldberg
Tim Tebow
… And YOU!!!
Empowering Students with Hidden Disabilities
Strategies to
Empower students with hidden disabilities
Reduce the stigma associated with disabilities
Support students as they connect “Disability” to their
Identify
Help students claim disability as a “Positive Identifier
THE PATH TO DISABILITY PRIDE
Is a framework to help students with hidden
disabilities develop and maintain disability
pride.
Disability pride helps support a student’s
transition to education, career and meaningful
relationships
PATH TO DISABILITY PRIDE
Disability Pride
Acceptance
Self-disclosure
Using supports
Self-advocate
Connect to disability community
Disability Pride
Disability Shame Non-acceptance
Disability shame
Rejecting supports
Maladaptive behavior
Risk of underachievement
People bounce across the stages. Even people with disability pride reject
supports or engage in maladaptive behaviors (drinking, striking-out, etc.).
LEDERICK’S PATH:
First grade – challenges with reading
Third grade- evaluated for a learning disability
Feels shame about being placed in special ed class
Middle school – refusal to do work, thoughts of suicide
High school IEP team – discussion of college programs
Learned about has assets and accommodations
Learned to self-disclose and began self-advocating
Formed friendships with other students with disabilities
Began speaking and writing about his experiences
THE PATH TO DISABILITY PRIDE
Acceptance
Self-disclosure
Using Supports
Self-Advocacy
Connect to Disability Community
Disability Pride
ACCEPTANCE: UNDERSTANDING ASSETS,
STRENGTHS AND LEARNING STYLES
Knowledge of Self
Reviewing the file with student
Give students a meaningful understanding of their
disabilities
Asset based approach to disability vs deficit based
SELF-DISCLOSURE
A process of communication by which one person reveals
information about himself or herself to another
One of the most valuable set of skills
Role playing to practice
The 411 on Disability Disclosure
www.ncwd-youth.info/411-on-disability-disclosure
USING SUPPORTS –
College students who used supports were significantly more likely to
graduate, as opposed to students who did not use supports.
Accommodations
Technology/Assistive Technology
Medication
Teachers, Friends, Study Buddies, Mentors
Tutoring Services
Families Newman, L.A., & Madaus, J.W. (2015).
USING SUPPORTS Supportive teachers with high expectations
Knowledge of all available supports
Teacher prompts to assist students take
responsibility for learning by using supports
Teacher to student:
“You need to tell your brain to…..”
SELF ADVOCACY
“Self-advocacy is a skill that people who are self-determined use
to request the supports they need”
Four components
1. Knowledge of self
2. Knowledge of rights
3. Communication of one’s knowledge of self and rights
4. Leadership
Shogren, 2013; Test, Fowler, Wood, Brewer, and Eddy, 2005
CONNECT TO DISABILITY COMMUNITY
Share positive role models of other adults with hidden
disabilities to promote disability pride
Share how disability has touched your life
Be a mentor
MARGO’S PATH TO DISABILITY PRIDE
Margo is unaware that she has ADHD
Margo is challenged by many procedures.-
reprimanded
Anna is diagnosed and is challenged with stigma
Margo is identified – accepts ADHD
Uses medication
Joins an Executive function support group
Both Margo and her daughter are on Path to Disability
Pride
DIGITAL AND BLENDED LEARNING
Every Student Success Act requires schools to integrate
technology to strengthen a students’ learning experience
Save money on textbooks by teaching teachers to use digital
content that is often free on the Internet and on Learning
Management Systems’ repositories
Invest in professional development to assist teachers integrate
technology in blended learning classrooms that make learning
more personalized
More info about EnvisionIT: go.osu.edu/eit
ACCEPTANCE: UNDERSTANDING ASSETS,
STRENGTHS, AND LEARNING STYLES
VARK: 4 Learning Styles
Visual
Aural
Reading/Writing
Kinesthetic
www.vark-learn.com
THE POWER OF MENTORING
Youth Leadership Forums
Eye to Eye
Thinking Differently
by David Flink
www.eyetoeyenational.com
THE POWER OF MENTORING
Margo’s programs:
Student learning communities – STEM or other focus
The E-Mentoring Program
An online curriculum in which students learn about
information technology and transition skills with the
support of mentors who are either college students or
professionals.
HOW DO WE DEVELOP MENTORING
PROGRAMS?
Reach out to the community
Entrepreneurs: 35% of entrepreneurs report having LD*
Local college students
Build a mentoring program within your district
Have high school students with disabilities mentor
students in lower grades
* Logan (2009)
HOW DO WE SUPPORT PRIDE? Assist students avoid the stage of disability shame
Nonacceptance
Disability shame from failure, poor performance
Rejecting supports
Maladaptive behavior
Risk of underachievement
Connect students to a community of others with
disabilities
Pride will not happen on its own - Community is the
prerequisite for Pride
Part 3: Evidence-based practices
3. We will share evidence-based practices to improve
learning and transition outcomes
EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES
Key skills and experiences that assist students prepare
for positive transitions to college and careers
Transition Assessments
Self-Determination
Executive Function Skills
Leadership Development and Mentoring Programs
High Expectations from Parents, Teachers and
Ourselves
TRANSITION ASSESSMENTS
Designed to assist students and their IEP teams develop realistic
postsecondary goals so transition services are designed to help
students graduate to a future that they help plan and is based on
their interests, strengths, and needs.
“Age Appropriate Transition Assessment Toolkit” (Walker,
Kortering, Fowler, Rowe & Bethune, 2013), posted at the National
Technical Assistance Center on Transition (NTACT)
http://transitionta.org/
ASSESS AND TEACH SELF-DETERMINATION
Components Of Self-determination
Self-understanding & Awareness
Self-efficacy
Choice Making
Problem Solving
Decision Making
Self-advocacy (Knowledge, Individual Or System)
Goal Setting & Attainment
Self-regulation
ACCEPTANCE: UNDERSTANDING ASSETS,
STRENGTHS AND LEARNING STYLES
EnVisionIT is an online curriculum for students with and without disabilities
Teaches key literacy and career skills needed for the 21st century workplace
Increased students’ technology literacy skills, transition skills, and reading skills
students prepare a presentation to use at their IEP meeting
their college and career goals
annual goals
http://nisonger.osu.edu/specialed-transition/envisionit
17.7 18.5
26.0 25.8
36.6
30.4
15.0
20.0
25.0
30.0
35.0
40.0
Pre Post
Sc
ore
AIMS web 8th grade MAZE
10th grade Intervention (n = 35)
9th grade Intervention (n = 17)
9th grade Comparison (n = 22)
CT sample from Fall
2015 represented
in this graph
EIT features embedded literacy strategies, which might make a difference in maintaining
reading levels into the high school grades
PRE-POST MEAN INCREASE OF INFORMATION LITERACY BY GROUP,
READING LEVEL, AND SETTING
-2
0
2
4
6
8
10
Total Sample
SwD
SwoD
10th-12th Graders
AIMS Intensive
AIMS Strategic
AIMS Benchm
ark
Suburban
Rural
Experimental
Control
Results for 2007-08 (N=287)
Experimental: n=153
Control: n=134
-Statistical significance (p < .05) for all
categories except
SwD and AIMS Intensive
Raw data gains suggests that
EnvisionIT increased IT literacy
23 This presentation and related EIT products were produced under the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE), Office of Special Education
Programs Grant H327S120022.
Three phases and each phase is directed by a separate question for students to answer:
Phase 1. What is my goal?
Phase 2. What is my plan?
Phase 3. What have I learned?
THE SELF-DETERMINED TRANSITION MODEL
EXECUTIVE FUNCTION SKILLS
Assess, Teach and Practice Executive Function Skills
Many people with hidden disabilities, especially those with ADHD, have
trouble with executive function skills such as time management,
planning, and organization (Solanto, 2011).
Using supports to help with planning and organization
LEADERSHIP: THE IEP OPPORTUNITY
Self Directed IEP
James Martin, Ph.D, Director, Zarrow Center for
Learning Enrichment at The University of Oklahoma
http://www.ou.edu/education/centers-and-
partnerships/zarrow.html
“…Disabilities occur when human
beings interact with society and
when the society hasn’t thought
about it and planned for it and
embraced all forms of human
diversity. I find it very
empowering” (p. 26)
Andy Imparato, Executive Director of the Association of University Centers on Disability (AUCD)
FAMOUS PEOPLE WITH LEARNING DIFFERENCES
AND BIG IDEAS
Thomas Edison
Albert Einstein
Temple Grandin
Andy Imparato
Steve Jobs
Daymond John
Whoopi Goldberg
… And YOUR STUDENTS!!!
AND YOUR
STUDENTS!!!
DARE TO DREAM BY LEDERICK
HORNE We are gathered here today
to bear witness,
to bear witness to the union
of two beautiful people
Yes, today is the day that we merge
who you are
with who you want to be,
making the vision
and the reality – one
An integration
born of communication
and made tangible
by your commitment to yourself
YOUR ROLE:
DARE STUDENTS TO DREAM
Now, I know some of you might be afraid
but don’t let cold feet
stop you from jumping the broom,
from taking the first step,
from beginning a journey
that will transform your life
Yes, I know some of you might be afraid,
But see, it’s my job
- to show you that better days are coming
EMPOWERING STUDENTS
WITH HIDDEN DISABILITIES:
A PATH TO PRIDE AND
SUCCESS Margo Vreeburg Izzo, Ph.D
www.margoizzophd.com
LeDerick Horne
www.lederick.com