Though the population of people with Down syndrome is decreasing by 30% because of prenatal screening, there are still many people living with Down syndrome who desire mainstream integration with their peers without disabilities.
Raising a child with a disability like Down syndrome can be challenging in terms of integration. This becomes especially true once a child with Down syndrome finishes their primary education and wishes to go to college.
College programs designed to fully accommodate students with disabilities remain few across the nation. In Texas, Miguel Gonzalez is a 21-year-old kid with Down syndrome who is about to enter the ACHIEVE program at Texas A&M, College Station.
Gonzalez’s mother, Luna, collaborated with A&M special education professor Carly Gilson to get the program off the ground. The idea came from realizing that Texas didn’t have similar programs targeted toward people with disabilities. Springing off an aforementioned point, there are millions of school-aged kids covered in primary education through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Universities, on the other hand, have a severe shortage of such programming.
The ACHIEVE program will be a full four-year program that will work to fully integrate the students with the campus, academically, socially, and professionally.
“We want our students to have a certificate plan that is catered to their individualized interest,” Gilson said. “The overall goal for this program is to have integrated employment in the job of their choice at the end of four years. We work backward from that point to decide what kind of classes they will be taking. Then we approach faculty members to see if they are willing to have those kids in their class.”
In the months leading up to the start of the program, Luna and Gilson reported receiving hundreds of emails from parents curious about the program. It’s encouraging to them because a short time ago, such programs plainly didn’t exist. Gilson reports another important point beyond young people with disabilities having an opportunity for supportive collegiate education.
“It’s also an opportunity for their peers at A&M to learn alongside this important segment of our population that have historically been on the margins of our society,” Gilson said.
Still in its infancy, the program will grow with well-monitored implementation, but steps like this are exactly what is needed to foster a more inclusive environment across the board.