Abstract

*Bronze Medal Winner in the Education / Academic / Teaching Category of the 2011 IPPY Awards*

* Bronze Medal Winner in the 2010 BOTYA Awards Education Category *

Graduating high school and moving on to further education or the workplace brings with it a whole new set of challenges, and this is especially true for students with disabilities. This useful book provides a complete overview of the issues such students and their families will need to consider, and outlines the key skills they will need in order to succeed once they get there.

The authors describe the legal landscape as it applies to students with disabilities in the USA, and how to obtain the proper disability documentation to ensure that the student receives the right support and accommodations in college. Focussing specifically on the issues that affect students with disabilities, they offer advice on everything from dealing with college entrance exams and the college application process, to selecting the right college, visiting the campus, and achieving medical and financial independence away from home. A list of further resources guides students and their families towards additional sources of information and support, and stories of students with disabilities who have made the transition from high school to further education or the workplace are included throughout.

This accessible and thoroughly readable book offers help and support to students with disabilities of all kinds, and their families, both before and during the transition to life after high school.

Here, Yellin, attorney and fouder of the nonprofit Center for Learning Differences, and Bertsch (former director, disability svcs., Fordham Univ.) provide students with disabilities and their parents an outstanding and highly readable guide to preparing for and transitioning to life after high school...An excellent resource for students with disabilities and their families; at this price, within reach for most people and libraries. Highly recommended.
Library Journal
Both authors are well placed to to write this book. Yellin is an attorney and the mother of a child of difference and was inspired by her own experiences to create a centre for learning differences. Bertsch has worked as Director od Disabilities at a university and as a counsellor. She also set up and runs a centre to help find supportive colleges for students with different needs...The book is business like and serious in it's approach with no patronising banter; the reader is treated at all times with intelligence and respect. It is apparent from the introduction that the authors understand that disabilities are varied and complex and that each person has their own assets and needs... To start a book with the law is a brave move because most parents find the laws on disability confusing, frustrating and hard to grasp but the chapter is accessible and easy to read. It was also comforting to see an attorney recognise that such laws sound incredibly positive, inclusive and progressive but that the reality behind them, is, for many, not matched by the thetoric... At the end of each sub-section the authors have summarised the text with a few bullet points which I found very useful as it helped me to check that I had understood the text and could easily recall and later find areas of particular relevance to me...The authors help the student to break what can be an over whelming task into a process that narrows the multitude of options down to a functional level so that the student can choose from a small, select list...I would highly recommend this book for the US audience as it appears to cover all aspects of attaining an appropriate education for one's child There are many bits of advice that apply equally to those in Europe but because the laws and services differ across countries some of the information does not translate well. It si clearly written and ordered and for a book focusing, of necessity, so much on the law, it was surprisingly readable. We now need an equivalent book for the UK.
AS Teens and BFK Books
Susan Yellin is an attorney and founder of The Center for Learning Differences, a New York-based nonprofit organization that runs an annual Life After High School program for students with disabilities. She is also head of the Advocacy and Transition team at the Yellin Center for Student Success, which provides educational evaluations and support for students of all ages. She and her husband, Dr. Paul Yellin, have three sons, one of whom has complex learning and medical issues, and all of whom have made the transition from high school. Christina Cacioppo Bertsch is the former Director of Disability Services for Fordham University in New York and the founder of CCB Educational Consulting Corp. Christina and her husband, a high school administrator and supervisor of guidance, have two daughters.
"Life After High School" provides guidance to assist disabled young people in their efforts to pursue education, independence, and competency in life skills...This book is a useful resource for helping disabled students and their families plan for continuing education after high school. It addresses the specific needs of physical, mental, and learning disabilities, covering how to work with guidance counselors, how and when to take standarized tests, and the specific attributes that a college or university needs to have to help the disabled learner succeed...Perhaps most valuable is the book's overall approach: it addresses the whole person, and not just the disability.
ForeWord Reviews