It’s well known that there are a plethora of “Special Schools” for children with disabilities. In many cases, these schools specialize in a specific kind of disability or condition, such as autism, dyslexia, blindness, behavioral problems, pregnancy, ADD, or movement disorders. In many cases, these schools follow an adapted curriculum or schedule and/or provide extra services, and also are sufficiently accredited to grant a “real” high school diploma.
To what extent do these “special” schools exist at the post-secondary level? I know that Gallaudet University in DC exists and is tailored toward deaf students, but are there other accredited universities that specialize in teaching disabled students and have inherent or pervasive adaptations or allowances for them?
I’m not talking about general alternative schools that use a non-“typical” curriculum (and that might arguably appeal to students with certain disabilities), but schools that are specially designed or adapted to provide an education to people who do not learn or function the “normal” way. For example, are there any universities for autistic people where the professors are specially trained in how to impart the subject matter of their lectures to people who think “differently” and might be very good at memorization but poor at analysis, and clinical psychologists monitor student progress at all levels to correlate treatment needs and academic progress? Is there an ADD Grad School where you can take as long as you need to finish your thesis and your advisor will gently guide you back on topic if you get distracted by those butterflies again? Is there a program somewhere where you can get an integrated experience that is a combined residential treatment center for cerebral palsy that integrates a university-level humanities curriculum and you are awarded a BA in English when you complete Step 6 of the treatment program?
My guess is that there isn’t nearly as many, and that part of the function of “special” schools at the high school level is to prepare disabled students to function in a non-special world.
Taft College in Taft, California is a community college has a program complete with dorms for students who have severe intellectual disabilities. I don’t know if it technically meets your criteria but it does function somewhat independently of Taft College in day to day operations but also has the full resources of the College as need be. I visited it while working on my master’s and it is an awesome opportunity.
ETA: Rereading the OP I realized he was excluding schools/programs like this.
Honestly, this pretty much sounds like what I was looking for. It specifically states that it is “The Transition to Independent Living Program (TIL) is a post-secondary educational experience for adults having developmental/intellectual disabilities…Instructional hours may vary – a student’s TC/TIL classes may begin at 8 – 11 a.m. TC/TIL classes may end at 5 – 8 p.m. Monday through Friday. Weekend Support Staff are present from 7:30 a.m. – 6 p.m. The program is staffed seven days a week…•Students are eligible for graduation when they complete the required course work and independently demonstrate the learned skills. At that time, the transition team staff assists graduates in transitioning into an independent living situation in their home community. The TIL program tracks graduates for a 10 year period to assess student outcomes.”
It looks like an integrated environment. It doesn’t really matter whether or not the degree that is awarded comes directly from the program itself or is awarded by an affiliated, broader university as long as the degree “comes with the program” so to speak. What I’m not looking for are “add on” programs that exist parallel to a university program and that don’t integrate with it. For example, one may be able to combine attending a “regular” program at State U with offsite visits to a therapist, or maybe even an on-site therapist. The difference is that the therapist can only treat and advise the student - they can’t adapt the curriculum, change assignment deadlines, or require that instructors teach in a certain way. In the situation I’m talking about in the OP, either the curriculum is designed from the ground up for people with disabilities, or therapists and instructors work together intimately at the educational level.
The University of Cincinnati has a program for students with intellectual disabilities. It’s a four-year program, but it doesn’t award a degree. It does allow students to have a college experience and prepares them for living as adults and holding jobs.
Rochester Institute of Technology is the other big deaf education school, although only 10% of the student body is deaf. Or to put it another way, it’s not a school for the deaf, but lots of deaf people go there and they have special programs and expertise in teaching deaf kids. After Gallaudet it has more deaf students than any other college.
There is the The Minnesota State Academy for the Blind and The Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf. But both take students only up to age 21, so not really much post-secondary curriculum.
As an undergrad in Texas, I had a part-time job in the campus office of the State Commission for the Blind. There were quite a few blind students there, and the office had a lot of resources for them. Some of the dormitories even offered them apartment-style accommodation on the ground floor, but that was pretty limited. For someone always moaning about Texas, I have to say they did a good job in this regard.