Disability Studies partners with Nisonger Center for TOPS program

Disability Studies faculty work with the Office for Disability Services (ODS) and other partners in the Nisonger Center’s Transition Options in Postsecondary Settings for Students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (TOPS) program.

OSU received a 5-year grant from the Office of Postsecondary Education to develop strategies for providing experiences with higher education to youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), as means to improving access to employment, social integration and independent living.

TOPS identifies and promotes options for empowering youth with disabilities and helping them transition into self-determined adults by having them participate in OSU coursework, campus life, and internships.  The faculty, staff, and students involved with TOPS open their classrooms and provide the individualized mentoring, technological support and training, and job development to create these opportunities for the program’s participants.