Please join us in welcoming Vinotheni as the new Program Assistant to the Transitions Department at The Ohio State University Nisonger Center.
Vino lives in Dublin, Ohio with her husband and two daughters. They lived in Japan for 10 years before moving to the United States in 2014. Vino started volunteering for an after-school learning program in Dublin and became their Center Administrator before joining us here at Nisonger. Her husband works as an Engineer at Honda. Their daughters will be entering 9th grade and 4th grade this fall and are fun, loving and caring. As a family, they enjoy spending time together playing sports (basketball, volleyball and badminton), watching movies, taking walks and watching the kids play.
Vinotheni and her family
We are so excited to have Vino join our team. She looks forward to meeting all of our students soon – please be sure to give her a warm welcome when you meet her!
If you have any questions please contact Carla Waring at cwaring@disabilityempowerment.net or by phone at (614) 575-8055 and be sure to leave a voicemail. A staff member will return your call within 24 hours.
Flyer for the 30th Anniversary Celebration of the Americans with Disabilities Act
In the early stages of our experience with COVID-19, the TOPS Staff received information from The Ohio State University ADA Office that they were looking to obtain face masks that could be available to staff/students that have a clear panel. The clear panel can assist communication for individuals that rely on lip reading and facial expressions as well as the opportunity for your communication partner to see your smile!
TOPS student Matt Connors stepped up to the plate and asked if he could make the masks as part of his community service! Matt researched how to make the masks, obtained all of the materials needed to create and donated 12 masks to the ADA Office last month!
You are invited to participate in a research study to understand your motivation and participation in physical activity. The study is being done by Dr. Deborah Shapiro and Mason Sur at Georgia State University. You do not have to be actively involved in sports or physical activity to complete this survey.
The survey will take 10 minutes or less of your time. By participating in the survey, you will have a chance to win a $20 Amazon e-gift card. A total of 10 winners will be selected after the completion of the study.
You must be 18 years or older to participate in the study and the raffle.
Please click the link below to access the survey and consent form.
Assistant Professor Ian Danielsen earned his Master of Social Work from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1992. He then worked for the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice for nearly ten years in an intensive treatment program for sexually reactive youths. He then worked for almost four years as a Clinician for a private agency providing residential treatment services for sexually reactive adolescent boys in foster care.
He began serving as the Director of the Greater Richmond SCAN Children’s Advocacy Center in June of 2006. Serving also as an adjunct faculty instructor for the VCU School of Social Work from 2009 to 2016, Ian has coordinated several important projects including earning Accreditation from the National Children’s Alliance, forming new multidisciplinary child abuse teams, and engaging in statewide legislative advocacy efforts.
Ian was honored to be a 2011 recipient of the FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award and a 2012 awardee of the Commonwealth of Virginia Governor’s Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect. He also serves on the Virginia Bar Association’s Commission on the Needs of Children. He was also named an honoree of the “Unsung Hero” award for victim advocacy in April 2020 by the Virginia Office of the Attorney General.
Ian accepted a faculty position in Longwood University’s Social Work Program in 2016. Shortly thereafter, he joined a steering committee to form “The Longwood LIFE” Program, a post-secondary education program at Longwood for young adults who have intellectual disabilities.
Discussing Programs for Students With Disabilities
Transcript of the Academic Minute Podcast with Ian Danielsen
Increasingly across the U.S., colleges and universities are establishing programs for young adult students with intellectual disabilities and students on the Autism spectrum. In Virginia alone, there are at least three such post-secondary programs active in state universities, with some collaboration among them.
While programs vary in style, structure, and cost, they are all rooted in a value system of inclusion and accessibility. The growth of programs nationally reflects a collective recognition that the vast and deep resources of universities can be of great benefit students with intellectual disabilities, both academically and vocationally.
Colleges and universities are often seen as microcosms of larger society; they represent a training ground for students to practice skills for future independent living. It therefore follows that if students with disabilities gain access to this setting of supported semi-independent living, then their competencies for greater independence will grow as well.
Some university programs include students with disabilities in pre-existing non-degree courses, on a sort of “audit” basis, tailoring the students’ course loads to their academic and career interests. Others provide more individualized instruction, offering courses in social skills, daily living skills, and skills for development of healthy relationships, as well as tailor-made coursework in economics, physical education, music, and theatre.
We have studied the ways in which our program has benefited students and found genuine growth in their life skills and vocational readiness. My research focus is in the benefits to other university students, faculty, staff, and parents, as we have seen time and time again that inclusion enhances and lifts the culture of the university as a whole, our mutually beneficial experiences supporting the personal and professional growth of us all.
