1986_11 The Daily Collegian November 1986

              ■Thursday. Nov. 13.1M6 j
m
Independence achieved through exchange
By Goorge Kostyrko
Staff Writer
Their CSUF classroom is reminiscent
of a living room in someone's home.
Two couches face each other on opposite
sides of the room, and an older piano sits
in the left hand corner next to the dining
room table with seating for eight. A
couple of lamps, several loose chairs and
wall hangings lend an early 1960s air to
the room.
It remains a very comfortable home
base for 22 students, who until recently
were strangers to both this campus and
the' general student populace.
They are a select group of develop-
mentally, and physically handicapped
students aged 18 to 22 from Cook-Hamil¬
ton School which is participating in a
unique cooperative exchange program
with the CSUF Teacher Education De¬
partment.
The department is utilizing two rooms
on the Cook-Hamilton School campus
for ^overflowing classes, while a former
lounge and accompanying kitchen in the
Art/Home Economics Building is being
used by the Cook students.
The exchange program has ushered in
the thjrd year of a $300,000 federal block
grant that CSUF special education in¬
structor Steve llmer received after writing
and submitting «a proposal for Project
Independence — an innovative program
that fosters independent living skills in
severely handicapped students.
Although the grant will expire this year,
the program is designed to continue
growing, according to llmer.
"The program is not in any way
dependent on'or with the grant," he said.
"All students at Cook-Hamilton arc
directly benefiting from the grant. It allows
for the development of teaching strategies.
"Teachers get release time to go out into
the community to promote independent
Disabled pick up living skills
living skills through meetings with people
from the business community and retarded
citizens groups," IImer said- "The develop¬
ment of these independent living skills is
to promote transition from the school into
the community."
According to Karen Von Felten. one of
two Cook-Hamilton instructors who di¬
rects the students' activities at CSUF, the
use of the university's rooms has been a
dream come true.
"What we've got now is an appropriate
environment for the students to learn
about how other normal students act,"she
said. "Traditionally, handicapped students
have been segregated away from other
students in schools. They've been coddled
at home and kept away from the real
When handicapped students were kept
in atfenvironment with like students, little
growth or social skills were developed, she
said.
At Cook-Hamilton, the students were
exposed only to students from a contii
ation school located on the campus.
The continuation students served as
role models for her students to emulate,
said Van Felten.
"Some of my students started comin;
class wearing chains and colored hair/
some of the punks who were going to the
continuation school," she said. "This was
not appropriate dress, but who else did
these kids have to model.?"
According to the other Cook-Hamilton
instructor, Mike Orlando, who primarily
directs off-campus activities, the change
in environment had an immediate affect.
- "When they got here, the students had a
chance to see how university students
dressed and acted." he said. "They started
coming 10 school better dressed. They^are
seeing real age-appropriate behavior."
He said handicapped students tradi¬
tionally have "reflected the low-lifes in
society." •      \*
"They don't see themselves.as upper-
middle class citizens," he said. "They
know they have disabilities. They feel low
• self-esteem^However, it's, giving them a
different feeling to come, to the campus
and see students their same age."
"Some of the discussions the students
have had with us have been about how to
socialize with other students now that
they are on campus," Van Velten said.
One recent afternoon. Van Felten, three
of her students and this reporter trooped
over to the Frank Thomas Administration
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where they work.
As the five of us walked amid the
scurrying students on that humid, overcast
day, they bombarded this reporter with
questions about what it was like to go to
school at CSUF. •
"How do you meet other students?"
asked James Pasquale, a stout, dark haired
sports enthusiast. "When you're walking,
and they look at you, what do you do?"
This reporter answered that when
another person looks at you while you are
walking, you usually smile and say hello.
"And what then? What do you do if
thev stop and start talkins to vou?" Mark
Weins said, abruptly breaking in Weins is
a lanky 19-year-old who poses each
question with grave seriousness.
See DISABLED, page 5
Kurt Hegrei The Daily Collegian
As part of an exchange program between development ally disabled students and
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