Research
ACSESS: Adapted Collaborative Strategies for Evaluating Students' Strengths
Creating Career Connections: A Longitudinal Study of Student Enrollment and Outcomes of Career and Technical Education
Creating Pathways to IT Careers through High School Career and Technical Education Programs
National Secondary Transition Technical Assistance Center (NSTTAC)
National Transition Alliance (NTA)
School-to-Work Connections: Nontraditional Career Opportunities for Females With and Without Disabilities
Taxonomy for Transition Programming
Transition-Related Competencies
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The ACSESS Project:
Adapted Collaborative Strategies for Evaluating Students' Strengths
Project
Summary
Information provided through traditional standardized psychometric testing
often is inadequate for planning and assessing inclusive education for
children with severe physical, communicative, and/or sensory disabilities.
To address these inadequacies, the University of Michigan, Washtenaw
Intermediate School District, Western Michigan University, and the United
Cerebral Palsy Association of Michigan will collaboratively develop,
implement, evaluate, and disseminate adapted cognitive assessment protocols
and procedures.
Focused on facilitating full participation in the general education curriculum
and transition planning activities, the ACSESS project will use optimal sensory
and response modalities and state-of-the-art assessment techniques to provide
more accurate and comprehensive information regarding these students’ capabilities
and educational needs. This model will combine best practices in promoting
self-determination of students with disabilities by including the student and
parent(s) in collaborative assessment procedures and decision making with rehabilitation
engineers, psychologists, educators, and physicians.
A Research-to-Practice Committee, comprised of students and families, educators,
relevant agency representatives, and project personnel is overseeing all activities
and guiding the collaborative process.
Each phase of the project also involves essential collaboration between special
educators and other project staff. During project year 1, project personnel
will conduct a comprehensive evaluation of current practices in, and desired
information from, school-based psychometric evaluations of children who need
adapted assignments. During project years 1 and 2, ACSESS procedures and techniques,
including decision tree models, are being developed, implemented, and evaluated.
In project years 3 and 4, implementation and evaluation activities will be
expanded to include additional instructional and training components that translate
ACSESS findings into school, community, and relevant agency-based modifications,
accommodations, and assistance that facilitate maximum student participation
and achievement in school and community settings. As phases of model development
and implementation are refined, project materials will be evaluated by key
consumer groups and disseminated nationality.
Project Personnel
Director
Seth Warschausky, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
University of Michigan
Department of PM&R
D1400 MPB Box 0718
1500 East Medical Center Drive
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-0718
Work: (734) 936-7052
Fax: (734) 936-7048
Email: sethaw@umich.edu
Co-Investigators
Paula D. Kohler, Ph.D
Western Michigan University
Department of Educational Studies
3506 Sangren Hall
Kalamazoo, MI 49008
Work: (269) 387-5955 Direct Line
Work: (269) 387-5935 Department
Fax: (269) 387-5703
Email: paula.kohler@wmich.edu
Co-Investigators
Simon P. Levine, Ph.D.
University of Michigan
Rehab Engineering Program
UH 1C335
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-0032
Work: (734) 936-7170
Fax: (734) 936-7515
Email: silevine@umich.edu
Staff
Rita Ayyangar, M.D.
University of Michigan
F-7822 Mott Hospital
1500 East Medical Center Drive
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-0230
Work: (734) 936-7190
Fax: (734) 936-6121
Email: ayyangar@umich.edu
Staff
Sunny Roller, M.A.
Program Manager
University of Michigan
Department of PM&R
D1400 MPB Box 0718
1500 East Medical Center Drive
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-0718
Work: (734) 936-9474
Fax: (734) 763-0574
Home: (734) 971-1335
Email: elsol@umich.edu
Project Website