Project helps people with disabilities pursue math, science fields

By Craig Chamberlain

Maybe he couldn't reach the lab table from his wheelchair. Or she couldn't
take a computer class because she couldn't see the screen. Or parents or a
teacher steered them away from technical subjects, thinking they were
saving them from hardship or failure.

Whatever the reasons, too few people with disabilities are pursuing degrees
or careers in science, engineering and math. To find out why and what can
be done, the UI - where efforts to address the needs of students with
disabilities began more than 45 years ago - is starting Project Pursuit. A
three-year, $1.6 million grant from the National Science Foundation is
funding the project.

The technical fields are difficult, says Mark Strauss - a professor of
rehabilitation education and of general engineering, and the project's
principal investigator - but that's no reason to dissuade students with
disabilities from pursuing them. "The door shouldn't be closed because
someone else perceives that it's not right for the individual. They have to
have the same chance to excel or fail like anybody else."

Strauss believes that much of the problem is lack of knowledge - about the
resources available, the career opportunities opening up, and even what is
required in specific fields. "I think the typical high school student
doesn't even know what science, engineering and math careers have to
offer," he said. "But for the student with a disability, whatever little
they do know about a given field, they're thinking that they can't do it.
They're seeing the barriers."

Part of the project will be workshops for Illinois high school teachers and
guidance counselors, parents and students about the educational resources
and career opportunities available to the disabled. Teachers in high
schools, and also at the UI, will be offered advice on how to structure the
learning environment to increase participation and make students aware of
career opportunities. Those with ideas of their own about how to do that -
with new equipment, curricula, software, etc. - will be able to apply for
small grants.

Strauss also plans to use the Internet electronic network to link students
with disabilities to disabled scientists, engineers and mathematicians, who
can share their experiences and act as role models. Assuming every high
school has at least one computer, the project will offer schools the
necessary equipment. High school students also can connect electronically
with peers at other schools, and with college students who can act as role
models; and college underclassmen can get peer support from upperclassmen.

A free electronic database, accessible through the Internet, will be
established to offer information about technical careers, Strauss said. The
database also will have information about various disabilities, for use by
teachers and professors. "Sometimes people may be embarrassed to ask," he
said. "They may be world-renowned in their research field of subatomic
physics, but have no idea what cerebral palsy is, or what a person with the
condition can or cannot do."