Parents’ organization finds jobs for disabled
Group helps handicapped adjust to adult life
As o high school graduate
with a severe handicap, John is
lucky Through on innovative
employment program he has
found a job that builds on the
skills he learned in high school.
He earns money on his own. has
a savings account, makes new
friends and is becoming more
independent.
But John's situation is the ex
ception rather than the rule.
Oregon schools are
The alliance was formed a
year ago by the University's
College of Education Specializ
ed Training Program, which
had received a three-year grant
from the U.S. Department of
Education. To enable alliance
pregrams to continue after the
grant expires, it has joined
forces with the Association for
Retarded Citizens of Oregon.
The parents are orgainzed in
to nine regional teams
‘Their high school training has prepared
them for work in the community by giving
them real life experiences, but the current
system does not give them many options. *
— Roz Slovic
graduating 100 young adults
with mental and physical han
dicaps each year. Instead of the
self-esteem and independence
that go with appropriate jobs
and housing, most will be plac
ed on waiting lists for voca
tional and residential
opportunities.
• Their high school training
has prepared them for work in
the community by giving them
real life .experiences, but the
current. system does not give
them many options,’’ says.Roz
Slavic, coordinator of the
Parents' Graduation Alliance.
.Earlier this month in Boston,
Slovic; appeared on a panel of
.parent group coordinators at the
. annual-meeting.of this Associa
• tlon for Persons with Severe
, ’ Handicaps.. She went there to
tell the story of the PGA that is
considered a model for .other
o parts of the cou ntry. • •
A.ir innovative advocacy
group for." parents- of severely
handicapped young adults-,, the
PGA iso a statewide orgainiza
tion- that has -brought together
• more than 400 parents in
• . tftrested in. increasing the op
portunities for their children
Many of these young adults are0
the product of the mainstream
ing programs that placed han
dicapped students in regular
classrooms in, the nation's
public schools a.decade ago.
".We focus only on people
with severe handicaps and on
the transition from high school
to adulthood," Slovic says. "No
other program does this kind of
work statewide nor has the
strong professional support we
enjoy."
throughout the state. Slovic and
consultants from the Specializ
ed Training Program provide
technical assistance and
organizational training to the
coordinators who head each
team.
The regional teams identify
and try to find solutions to tran
sition issues of local concern.
Often, this means parents serve
on advisory boards, contact ser
vice providers and work with
legislators.
"The parents are working to
create more and better oppor
tunities." Slovic says. To do
this, they are’ promoting in
tegrated employment programs
and innovative community
residential • programs that go
beyond the traditional work
centers and institutions..
Slovic says integrated
employment programs can pay
as-much as $300 a month whfle
work centers pay an average of
$37 a month.' • •
But with.more than/200 peo
. pie alreadyonwaiting lists, the
employment opportunities, for
th is. year's graduate's are
limited. This creates an addi
tional . problem, Slovic . says,
because these young adults
quickly lose the skills they
worked so hard to develop dur
ing their School years through
disuse.
"These people were involved
in a program in high school
where they were working in the
community, but now there’s
nothing for them to do,” Slovic
says.
Many of these adults will end
up at home, dependent upon
their parents or other relatives,
Slovic says, adding that
WILLAMETTE PASS EXPRESS
sign up now «»t Berq •> tor
_i • the Willamette stu bus_... - - •
Kith & l,ty»rt:nct: 683-1300 • Mon Ihurs 10 6 fri & Sal 10 9
i nw)i u i»hii; r.iiwimu uui uiwum imny I'.inwimu upt > 'iwjuii iwny f.iiwaitmut
Oregon Daily Emerald ODE Oregon Daily Emerald ODE Oregon Dally Emerald ODE
Oregon Dally Emerald ODE Oregon Dally Emerald ODE Oregon Daily Emerald ODE
Oregon Dally Emerald ODE Oregon Daily Emerald ODE Oregon Daily Emerald ODE
Brecon Da.lv Emerald <">nE Ore.ttm I lailii Emerald ODE Hi anon Idailn Kmarahl ODE
boredom can become a major
problem.
'‘Residential programs give
handicapped adults the option
of leaving home and living on
their own,” she says. "In such
circumstances, ihey can par
ticipate ir community life and
learn to interact with non
handicapped people as well.”
Slovic emphasized that sup
ported employment and ap
propriate residential options
both can help save money as
handicapped people work
toward independence and need
less financial support and
utilize fewer institutional
resources.
So far. the PGA’s success has
been in educating parents about
working with the mental health
system and in raising their ex
pectations about the types of
services that can be available,
Slovic says.
One result of efforts by in
dividual PGA members was the
1985 Oregon Legislature’s $1.8
million allocation for vocational
opportunities for those
graduating or on waiting lists.
An additonal $1.1 million has
been budgeted for providing
more residential opportunites.
“Parents have learned that
the system can fit their needs,”
Slovic says. “They have learned
they can have an impact.”
RECREATION &.
INTRAMURALS
RIM
The
American
Way
103 Cerlinger Hall
*4113 or *4121
- ’ • ' hasketball lor every kind ol player
wtoW term. Take
coed, men a andd qive RIM officiate some game fkP^ -jfbasketbali and are wilt
chance to play a JT.. lLwgu, - For those who can t ge ^sSisecutive shots? Test your
you heat the record oi 25 consecu .
,k‘- u . wlU run on Wednesday nights wt^J Yau wl!^2d 4 pep
pie to constitute a team. S*« y ; '
Bowling Doublet L#o
InSramurai •Racqu*tbaii tl >
n ■ y-JanU«ryJ7 <»t 3:00pm * ,hree^e togetHer;
Intramural Wr^Uina M r . » ' ‘‘v!
i
WINTER SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES
r*._ * Min. r • " E»*nr J
Activity
Bowling ★
Basketball Tune up
Sunday Basketball League
Bowlinq Doubles League
Basketball ★
Racquetball ★
Wrestling Meet'fc
Billiards-8 ball
Volleyball Mini League
Dlv.
M W-C
M-W
MW
M-W-C
M-W-C
M-W-C
M
M-W-C
C
Entry 4
Deadline
1/13
1/14.
‘1/16
•
1/14,
1/17
1/20
1/20
1/20
Miller presents this page as a service to students interested in recrea
tion and intramurals Publication of RIM news should not be interpreted
in any way as an endorsement of the sponsor's product by the University
of Oregon_