Seattle Sun Newspaper - Vol. 7, Issue 2, February 2003

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Special students at Ballard learn valuable life skills

By NIKKI SCHORMANN

Imagine a school week that involves internships, volunteer experiences, trips to a local university, visits to the public library and to restaurants, and bowling on Fridays.

These are just a few of the activities that students in Ballard High School's Special Education Program participate in throughout the school year.

Programs for students who are considered to have a "low-incidence" disability, meaning that they have a disability that occurs rarely in the general

population, are available at six Seattle high schools, including Ballard, Ingraham and Nathan Hale in North Seattle. Disabilities including Down syndrome, autism, aspergers syndrome, cerebral palsy, and developmental delays (mental retardation) are low-incidence, where disabilities like dyslexia are considered high incidence because they occur more frequently.

However, at Ballard, students don't let their disabilities hinder their education. These students learn and practice skills every day that will help them in their adult lives. Cecile Kerkof, Department Head, in addition to teachers Sheila Murphy, Dennis Nusbaum and Ed Herbert are instructors in the low-incidence program. They teach classes such as functional academics, as well as taking part of the committees for student's Individual Education Plans. These committees can include parents, administrators, student's physical and speech therapist, and even the students themselves, when planning the their goals and expectations for the year.

The students' involvement in both the school and the community helps them develop skills they will use once they leave the program, at age 21. The five autistic students organize the recycling for Ballard High, and the students also help in the cafeteria, both in the kitchen and cleaning up the tables after lunch.

This has received some criticism in the past from other Ballard High students, who may view such work as a menial task. However, Kerkof and Herbert explain that work like this aids these students in progressing their vocational skills. They learn to follow a sequence, and go from job to job, says Herbert, they learn how to finish what they're working on.

Students also work on these abilities through their participation in the community. Two students are involved in an Exploratory Internship at Nathan Hale's print shop, and two in an Exploratory Internship at North Seattle Community College in the culinary arts department. Four students travel to the Albertson's grocery store on NE 145th St. and 15th NE. There they bag groceries, stock items, sweep the floors. They also learn to buy groceries there.

Some students also offer their services at Swedish Medical Center in Ballard. Here they do recycling, work with all the cardboard crushing needs of the hospital, deliver linens, do office work, wash dishes, and work cleaning the lunchroom. Four students participate in a work study program at Seattle Pacific University, where they also help with the recycling as well as work in the library.

For the low-incidence program, there are six high school curricula competencies, domestic, community, recreation, functional academics, work experience, and community and social skills. Throughout the day students cover every one of these in some way.

Once a month, students go to a restaurant to learn to order for themselves; once a week they visit Ballard Library to work on the computers, and find books they're interested in; on Fridays, they go to Leilani Lanes to bowl and work on their recreation. Most students also take a special physical education class first thing in the morning, to help them stay healthy and fit.

Although most of the students in this program are not in classes with the general student population, they still interact with them. There are four or five "regular" students who work as tutors for these young adults. Herbert and Kerkof see the tutors as good role models for the students, and say that they rarely see teasing of the special education students by anyone. Both stressed the importance of disabled students being integrated into our communities, "they're part of our society" says Kerkof, "[today's regular students] will be the employers of tomorrow" so it is important to accept these students now.

These students do participate in regular high school activities, too; many students attended Winter Ball on Jan. 18, and senior students join the regular senior activities like prom and commencement.

Though students work with their high school until age 21, they begin making the transition to adulthood early.

First through their community work in addition to schoolwork, then, after they participate in commencement, they go on to full time work outside of school. After this, many will link up with community agencies such as the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation, which will help them find work.

Others will attend an adult education program at a community college. Herbert reminisces of past students who have found work with Microsoft with their print shop and food services, and with King County delivering documents to courtrooms.

Some students will be able to live in an apartment with roommates, and simply have someone check in on them at times, or an adult group home may also be an option. Kerkof explains that some parents of children with disabilities get together and buy a home for their children to share.

The abilities the students in Ballard's special education program develop over the years will easily transfer into their adult lives. "It's really rewarding to see and be a part of," says Kerkof.