#1 Meet Mickie

Meet your host!! Are you planning a college, technical, or trade school education? Do you have a disability?  Get an insider’s look from a Learning Disability Specialist at the supports and changes you can expect.  Find tips and resources to overcome any barriers to reach your dreams.  

Transcript

Hi, welcome to College Disability Outreach. I’m Mickie Hayes, your host.

This is a new podcast all about transitioning to college when you have a disability and it's written specifically to help parents who are supporting teenagers and helping them to transition to college, and for those who are already in college and might have a disability and are not quite sure how to get support for that disability.

I’m taking a few minutes today in this first episode just to share a little bit of insight into who I am and why I decided to produce this podcast. I worked in my early career as an elementary education teacher and I first became aware of how significant disabilities were when a third grader came up to me and asked me how I make an e. I spent the next several months doing everything in my power to get that young men some extra support and help because clearly he had struggles that we were not capable of taking care of at the grade I was in, but after that I spent nearly 12 years as a high school learning disability specialist. I went to college- back to college- and I continued on with my education. I have a Master's degree in Education in Curriculum and Instruction. I became certified in learning disabilities and a Learning Disability Specialist, and I spent (10) 12 years mostly teaching high schoolers who had learning disabilities and I taught all subjects in high school. part of my group was self-contained and part of my group was inclusive. after that I spent another almost 15 years working at a college in disability services where I worked as both a disability services coordinator and a learning disability specialist, and then finally the last four years  I’ve  been working at a university where I helped to develop college programs - inclusive college programs- for students with intellectual disabilities, so my entire career after that young man came up to me and said,” how do you make an e” was dedicated to figuring out the best way that I could help and support individuals with disabilities. In my role as a college disability specialist and learning disability specialist, I read and evaluated documentation. I determined accommodations based on documentation. I prepared the accommodation memos for the students and I arranged note takers assistive technology and any other information and services that a student with a disability might need as they attend their classes. I supported students and helped them to overcome all sorts of barriers. I helped them when they ran into problems in their class, when they ran into problems with their accommodations, when they ran into problems where they weren't passing, where they struggled with taking tests. I supported students in any way they needed it at the college level. I also gave trainings regarding disability services and disabilities in general to faculty, staff, students, and parents while I worked in disability services at the college. I also spent- probably 11 years I believe- as an adjunct instructor where I taught developmental reading and writing and study skills and strategies. so I also gave a lot of trainings and conferences focusing on those skills as well. I helped faculty understand the differences in disabilities, a difference between a learning disability, ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder and a host of other disabilities as well, and I also help faculty understand how they could support students with disabilities. I did presentations to parents helping them get ready for the changes that they could expect as their kids were transitioning to college, and I decided after all that that I had just a wealth of information that I was keeping to myself at this point, and I thought this was the ideal time to share that with you as you are preparing your young adult to head on to college or as other young adults are already in college and trying to make sense of it all. so that is the purpose of the podcast.  I’ve  also been working on writing courses and preparing resources that'll help you in this whole process, so hopefully throughout the duration of this podcast you will be able to glean some information that you might find available when helping yourself or your child out as they transition into post-secondary education regardless of the disability that they have and the struggles they're facing, because my experiences, I think, are wide enough that if I don't know how to help you I have enough contacts that I can figure out an answer. I also plan throughout the course of this podcast to bring in guests who have conversations that may interest you and hopefully help in this whole process. If you want to send me an email please feel free. I am at Mickie  m-i-c-k-i-e teaches at gmail.com. thank you very much and I look forward to talking to you again on my next podcast.