LOGAN – Utah State University’s Institute for Disability, Research, Policy and Practice (IDRPP) is celebrating 50 years of growth and service in the disability field.
The Institute’s current Executive Director Matthew Wappett said in its early years it was a school, as parents of children with disabilities didn’t want them institutionalized, and public schools were not equipped to take in students with disabilities.
“The institute started as a school,” Wappett said. “But as we built capacity in the community and as laws changed, special education came into being. We had to shift our focus from less actual training, to working with kids with disabilities and to helping support families and professionals and others who serve them.”
He said it was an important step when school districts began to integrate students with disabilities into classrooms.
“It was a huge deal; that started back in the 80s. The funny thing is we’re still working on it,” he added. “There are still some pretty significant barriers to students with disabilities, specifically intellectual and developmental disabilities, getting full access to the regular classroom. But we’re certainly well beyond where we were back in the 1970s and early 80s.”
The Institute’s work began with helping school-aged children but now provides services for people with disabilities across the lifespan.
“But now the work that we do goes everywhere from early intervention, which is kids zero to three, all the way up through aging and veterans,” explained Wappett. “We’re even having conversations about end-of-life planning for adults with disabilities and things like that, which are relatively new, but are still areas of high need.”
Dr. Wappett said thousands of students and professionals have participated in IDRPP training and are out in the field making a difference every day.
That is me. Connie Morgan. What a marvelous adventure to be there as clinical demonstration teacher! I’m 77 now – must have been 37/38 then. Thanks
Made some lifetime friendships .