Campus Compact » Program Models Service By Population – Disabled

Learning Through Assisting

tdomf_26a6d — Mon, 13 Dec 2004 00:00:00 +0000

This is a Service Learning Model for high school students initiated by the Rhode Island Developmental Disabilities Council and currently a Project of National Significance from the Administration for Developmental Disabilities. The model matches high school students with youngsters with developmental disabilities for inclusion in community activities. The Service Learning Model starts with comprehensive preparation in the classroom. Academic modules addressing child development in the areas of gross and fine motor skills, play activities, receptive and expressive communication, and mental health issues are provided. Additionally, four sessions of adaptive aquatics training and Family and Friends CPR are offered. These instructional activities prepare the high school students to earn academic credit by volunteering for community agencies that provide therapeutic or recreational services to children with developmental disability. The model can be adapted to include other services (e.g. substituting pet therapy for pool assisting) and/or other service groups (e.g. pre-school therapeutic play, middle school tutoring or Special Olympics).

Website: www.learningthroughassisting.org

Contact:
Kathleen Fresher-Samways
RI Developmental Disabilities Council
401-741-5759
or Contact through the website above

Celebration and understanding: working with the developmentally disabled

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Part of developing a relationship in service is understanding where the people you are working with live. Every week, ten students at Santa Clara University in California work with residents of Agnus, a center for people who are developmentally disabled. Once a year, students bring the residents onto campus for a day of carnival games followed by a special Mass service. The exchange broadens the understanding of both the group of Santa Clara students and center residents about where the other comes from. At the same time, the event raises awareness and understanding on campus.

From Service Matters 1998: Engaging Higher Education In the Renewal of America s Communities and American Democracy

UCLA Developmental Disabilities Immersion Program

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

The Developmental Disabilities Immersion Program provides an intense learning environment for up to 30 undergrads who spend winter and spring quarters studying mental retardation and other developmental disabilities. Students enroll in specific program-related courses and conduct two-quarter research projects.

All students work 10.5 hours a week in local special education classrooms around the West LA area or at Lanterman Developmental Center, a residential facility for persons with severe developmental disabilities. They provide assistance to teachers and supervisors while assuming increasingly high levels of responsibility. Students have become involved in developing and implementing lesson plans, teaching independent living skills, and evaluating pupils or clients.

Website: www.mrrc.npi.ucla.edu/ddip

Engineering Service Learning

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Students design assistive technology based on requests submitted by people with needs from the Developmental Disabilities Center and the community at large. Mechanical engineering students created the Breathe Better Bus to teach children about smoking, allergies, asthma, air pollution, and lung diseases. CU students designed the interactive learning station on board a remodeled school bus that will now start its tour to 12 schools in the Denver metropolitan area.

Contact: Christina Monroe at the Service Learning Program at 303.492.7718 or servicel {at} colorado(.)edu

“”In Harmony”": developing a caring intergenerational link

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

IN HARMONY is a project that has established a service learning program within our inner city schools while establishing an intergenerational link between our 480 at risk students and 500 senior citizens at a nearby, non-profit, HUD subsidized retirement home. Our students are meeting actual community needs while extending student learning beyond the classroom. The students visit the retirement home each month to present interactive programs of newly acquired academic skills. IN HARMONY incorporates art, music, P.E., and drama to enhance what is taught in the academic curriculum. This program fosters the development of a sense of caring for others as the students share songs, games, stories, dances, art projects, and much more with the elderly and disabled residents from the senior citizen facility.

EPICS (Engineering Projects in Community Service) project

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Standards in various fields call for students to demonstrate social skills that are developed through interactive work with the community. At Purdue University in Lafayette, Indiana, engineering faculty in the EPICS (Engineering Projects in Community Service) project teach their students communication skills by having them discern the needs of community members and design producets to meet those needs. For instance, after meeting with physically disabled children and the adults who work with the children, one group of twelve students crafted a dollhouse that was made physically and mentally exciting for the children. In the process, the students developed their skills not only as engineers, but also as caring members of the Lafayette community.

From Service Matters 1998: Engaging Higher Education In the Renewal of America s Communities and American Democracy

More information on the project:
The Program is a service-learning program centered at Purdue University and supported by a Learn and Serve America Higher Education grant. Students from freshmen though seniors work in multi-disciplinary teams to solve engineering-based real world community problems in partnership with community service and education groups. Last year, the program involved 249 students from 20 different university departments, including liberal arts as well as engineering majors. Notre Dame and Iowa State universities also have EPICS service-learning efforts.

The Results:Last Spring, Purdue EPICS students developed a database for the Tippecanoe County probation court and county caseworkers. Other initiatives included a “”web information system”" for the local Habitat for Humanity – EPICS, and facilities designed for Purdue students with disabilities. Purdue and Notre Dame EPICS students set up database systems for community agencies serving the homeless in Lafayette and South Bend. A survey of service-learning participants resulted in 75% saying EPICS made them more resourceful, 70% reported a positive impact on organizational skills and 83% said their communication skills benefited.

Why It Works: Local industry joins faculty members advising the 20 EPICS student teams. Starting this fall, an advisor from Microsoft in Washington State will conduct a pilot experiment in distance advising through video teleconferences. The Local Corporate Partners Program and Corporate Team Sponsor Program seek to match an industry partner with each team. There is strong support from the universities. The Program Director, Professor William Oakes, was chosen as a Campus Compact Faculty Fellow.

Lessons: Building on the success at Purdue, Notre Dame, and Iowa State, EPICS is expanding to involve three additional schools, including Wisconsin-Madison, Georgia Tech, and Case Western Reserve. Microsoft Research endorsed EPICS as a model for service-learning and has pledged over $1 million in software, training materials and books. The expanded effort is supported by a Learn and Service America Higher Education grant.

Website: http://epics.ecn.purdue.edu/

Contact: Co-Directors – Leah H. Jamieson, lhj {at} ecn.purdue(.)edu or William C. Oakes, oakes {at} purdue(.)edu

Service-learning placements in a course on developmental disabilities

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

At Middlesex Community College, Dr. Donna Duffy teaches a class on developmental disabilities which places students in a host of service-learning placements. Students in the class take part in activities like shadowing a vision teacher at a nearby association for the blind, reading the daily news on a radio station for the blind, and assisting physically disabled children with therapeutic horseback riding.

From Service Matters 1998: Engaging Higher Education In the Renewal of America s Communities and American Democracy

Contact: Dr. Donna Duffy at duffyd {at} middlesex.cc.ma(.)us

Disabilities and abilities: a student-founded deaf education program

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Where some might see a reason to give up, others find a reason to lead. When Samantha Hall became deaf in 1992, she took the occasion as a cue to direct her energies towards consciousness-raising and community-building enterprises. Now a student at Hood College, Samantha has founded Singing Hands, a deaf education program that uses music to teach American Sign Language to children and teenagers. A new summer sign language day camp and a sign club are the most recent inventions in her comprehensive effort to raise awareness of deaf culture and increase communication between deaf and hearing individuals.

From Service Matters 1998: Engaging Higher Education In the Renewal of America s Communities and American Democracy

Physical therapy and social time

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Students at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, visit the local YMCA twice a week to work one-on-one with adults who have multiple sclerosis. Staff at the YMCA train college students in therapeutic treatments. Students provide treatments such as stretching and massage therapy in the swimming pool to keep the patients muscles limber. After an hour of water therapy, students and their adult partners spend a social hour together talking and eating. Students report that this time spent in conversation reminds them that the communicative capacity of people with multiple sclerosis is great; likewise, the adults appreciate the opportunity to interact in a social setting.

From Service Matters 1998: Engaging Higher Education In the Renewal of America s Communities and American Democracy

Service Learning Practicum for Special Education majors

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

This service-learning course has been developed as a first of many practicum experiences courses for Coppin State College Special Education majors. Its purpose being to enhance these students in the areas of civic literacy, cultural diversity and social conscious. To this end, this course has been designed to meet the transition needs of children with disabilities from elementary to middle school. This project will provide: transitioning elementary school children with special education needs with

The aforementioned components of this service learning course will be conducted by the Coppin State College students enrolled.

Teacher Education and Communication Sciences and Disorders: Serving Preschoolers Through Physical Activity

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Junior and senior students completed a 60 hour service learning experience working with preschool age children at a site of their choice each week throughout a whole semester. The goal was to engage very young children in a variety of developmentally appropriate creative movement activities. Students made contact, arranged site visits with the school personnel, designed and implemented their own lessons and service work. Preschool children from an urban Head Start program, a program serving the young children born to students in a high school, a special private school for young children with cerebral palsy, a university daycare and several county preschool programs were served as a result of this Learn and Serve America grant through the Shriver Center at UMBC.

Teaching Creative Movement to People with Disabilities

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Karen Kaufman, a UM visiting dance instructor, developed a program at UM s Department of Drama/Dance that introduces university students to teaching creative movement to diverse populations. The program focuses on having college students teach dance and creative movement to people with disabilities. The program also takes student instructors out to the public schools to provide dance instruction to children who may not otherwise have the opportunity to participate in dance classes. The program provides an opportunity for college student dance teachers to examine the ways in which creative movement can be utilized to enhance the lives of diverse populations of people.

Contact person: Karen Kaufman, Head, Dance Program, kak {at} selway.umt(.)edu

“”Very Special Arts”"

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

The Piedmont High School service learning project is called “”Very Special Arts.”" It utilizes the power of the arts to reach every child and adult with a disability through a cooperative effort involving high school art students and partners within the community. Students in the art curriculum receive disability training through guest speakers, videos, and class projects. Students in the National Art Honor Society work one on one with individuals with disabilities on field trips, and then report back to their classmates on their experiences. A countywide festival is planned round a children’s story book author and each art activity is related to one of the author’s books. On this day, participants have the opportunity to celebrate and share accomplishments in the arts. Many businesses and members of the community attend to make this day a true celebration.

Video production course: public awareness

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

As a service-learning project for a course in video production, Matthew McLaughlin, a student at Raritan Valley Community College, volunteered over 100 hours of video-taping and editing time to film a documentary about a 22-year-old woman who, despite multiple disabilities, has set up and runs her own vending machine business. National organizations have subsequently used the short documentary to demonstrate that people who are disabled can live independent and productive lives.

From Service Matters 1998: Engaging Higher Education In the Renewal of America s Communities and American Democracy

Course-based service in an engineering class

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

An increasingly common way for students to be exposed to community service is through a course that uses service in the community as its primary focus. Such courses often work best when they include a clearly defined problem to be solved, a high level of student involvement, clear connection to academic skills, and the ability to start and finish the project within the timeframe of the course. Students in an engineering course at Binghamton University benefited from just such a setup. Students were given a simple design problem: move a person from a wheelchair into a car. To address this problem, they worked one-on-one with physical therapists and clients designing machines which would closely match individual needs and parameters. After ten weeks of intensive work, the machines were built and the course was complete.

From Service Matters 1998: Engaging Higher Education In the Renewal of America s Communities and American Democracy

Contact: wwwtjw {at} binghamton(.)edu

Case Engineering Service Group (CESG): testing engineering skills hands-on

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

At Case Western Reserve, student members of the Case Engineering Service Group (CESG) build one-of-a-kind machines that meet individual needs of clients in physical therapy and assist them in day-to-day activities. Machines are built and given to individuals at no cost to them. Students who participate in the group get a chance to test their engineering skills hands-on and learn more about engineering from a distinctly interactive approach.

From Service Matters 1998: Engaging Higher Education In the Renewal of America s Communities and American Democracy

Website: http://www.cwru.edu/orgs/cesg/

Physical therapy and education for senior citizens

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Occupational therapy and nursing students at Lourdes College in Ohio pool their knowledge in an effort to keep the elderly out of nursing homes. Lourdes students teach elderly how to live independently in spite of physical disability. Students from the two schools build model apartments, in which they demonstrate less physically straining methods for cooking, dressing and bathing. They visit senior citizens in their homes, and work with them to become more comfortable in their own living spaces.

From Service Matters 1998: Engaging Higher Education In the Renewal of America s Communities and American Democracy

Contact: Department Chair Kathy Perszynski at Phone: (419) 824-3788 KPERZYNS {at} lourdes(.)edu

Computer training for the physically and developmentally challenged

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Students at Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pennsylvania, put their computer skills to work in Independence House, a home for the physically and developmentally challenged. Using computers donated by General Electric, twenty students train residents in the use of basic software. First, they upgrade the systems and tailor machines to make them easier for people with disabilities to manipulate. After a briefing with the director of the house about working with this population, students install the machines and begin to train residents in WordPerfect and Excel.

From Service Matters 1998: Engaging Higher Education In the Renewal of America s Communities and American Democracy

Providing companionship at a temporary housing and counseling facility

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Working with a temporary housing and counseling facility in Allentown, Pennsylvania, Crystal Shanaman, a student at Cedar Crest College, organized a project to provide companionship and support to impoverished residents of the facility, many of whom are overcoming substance abuse problems or struggling with mental illness. Student volunteers assisted in preparing meals for the residents, then spent time with them during and after dinner, playing games, talking, and simply providing a friendly and familiar face.

From Service Matters 1998: Engaging Higher Education In the Renewal of America s Communities and American Democracy

Website: http://www2.cedarcrest.edu/studentaffairs/volunteer.html#daybreak

Theology: Service and Christianity

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Community service is strongly rooted in virtually all religious traditions. At St. Francis College, students learn to see the connection between service and Christianity in a variety of ways. Service-learning courses and research are peppered throughout the religious studies department. In Religion as Community Activism, students study and research the connection between values and action as they serve disabled children and adults at a nearby center. In Human Sexuality and Christian Marriage, students study issues of culture, ethnicity, and gender while serving at the local women s shelter or Take Back the Night program. All of this begins with a required course on Faith and Franciscanism, in which every first-year student learns about the religious ideals of Franciscanism while engaging in ten hours of service in the community.

From Service Matters 1998: Engaging Higher Education In the Renewal of America s Communities and American Democracy

Website: Religious Studies Department http://www.francis.edu/academic/Undergraduate/Religious_Studies/ReligionHome.shtml