UNT program focuses on students with disabilities

A program at the University of North Texas is addressing the barriers that people with intellectual disabilities face when looking for employment and higher education.

Launched last year, the program is a four-year, fully inclusive, postsecondary education program for students with intellectual disabilities.

It’s called ELEVAR, which stands for Empower, Learn, Excel, enVision, Advance, Rise.” ELEVAR also means “to rise” in Spanish, which acknowledges UNT’s status as a

Hispanic- and minority-serving institution and is a nod to its mascot, the eagle.

Students stay in campus dormitories, take traditional classes with modified coursework and earn an internship or paid job. They receive a certificate of completion at the end of their senior year and walk the stage at graduation.

In addition to traditional classes — which the students choose based on their interests — they enroll in ELEVAR-specific courses on sex education, financial literacy, life skills and more.

In 2021, only 19.1 percent of

“Our biggest mission is not only to support them (and) enhance their independent living skills, but really to enhance their employment skills as well.” Brenda Barrio, associate professor of special education at the University of North Texas

people with a disability were employed nationwide, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the majority of jobs still require some form of college degree.

“Unfortunately, individuals with intellectual disabilities don’t have a lot of opportunities — not only for post-secondary education, but also for employment in the state of Texas,” said Brenda Barrio, an associate professor of special education at UNT and the ELEVAR faculty lead.

“Our biggest mission,” she said, “is not only to support them (and) enhance their independent living skills, but really to enhance their employment skills as well.”

Lourdes Rahn’s 20year-old son, Noah, is a student in ELEVAR’s first cohort. Noah has apraxia of speech, a disorder that makes it difficult for him to speak.

In the past year, Rahn has seen a lot of growth from Noah, especially with his confidence and independence. “That sense of accountability for himself, you can’t teach them when they’re at home,” she said. Noah has to do his own laundry, get to class and resolve issues on his own.

Rahn said Noah has grown close to the other students in his cohort, and they are excited to welcome their new classmates this school year. “They’re intermingled. The professor’s teaching the lecture, and it’s to all students,” she said. “They’re not being singled out as less than or incapable.”

ELEVAR plans to enroll 10 to 12 students per cohort each year to make sure individualized support and accommodations are met, Barrio said. Other students can apply for the Peer Ally program to help students find their way to class, study, join on-campus organizations and meet people.

When the program began last year, five students enrolled, and this year’s cohort will have nine. Classes begin Aug. 29, and students will start navigating life on their own, with support from ELEVAR staff.

“We’re really targeting the students’ career of choice,” Barrio said, “but at the same time mirror everything else from living on campus, having that college experience, meeting new folks.”

Students must be 18 or older to apply to the program, have completed high school and have a diagnosed intellectual disability. The application requires documents, a video interview and letters of recommendation. Applications for the 2023-24 cohort open in December.

The ELEVAR team earned a $2.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education in 2020 to launch the program, which is designed to be self-sustaining. ELEVAR-specific fees will cover the cost of programming when the grant runs out in 2025. ELEVAR has an official giving page where supporters can donate to the program.

“Beyond just impacting the students, it really impacts the rest of the UNT community ” Barrio said. “Our story has really changed people’s perspectives about individuals with intellectual disabilities.”

The ELEVAR program is one of 15 inclusive secondary programs in Texas, according to the Think College directory of postsecondary programs for students with intellectual disabilities.

Texas A&M University has a comprehensive transition program for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities called Aggie ACHIEVE.

Heather Dulas, the program director, said it’s been valuable to have colleagues such as Barrio because there are barriers to providing access to inclusive education, such as making connections with the community, finding faculty who are willing to teach students with disabilities and establishing the framework of the program.

Dulas said she works with other inclusive educators in Texas to learn about their programs and ways to improve Aggie ACHIEVE.

“We are working together and talking about the hurdles that we’re going through,” Dulas said.