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Egyptian University Officials Leave Montana with a Plan to Provide Services to Students with Disabilities

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Woman presenting with Power Point slideThis September, the Rural Institute for Inclusive Communities and University of Montana Disability Services for Students (DSS) hosted a study tour for 17 representatives from five Egyptian universities and the Ministry of Education. The purpose of the study tour was to strengthen the capacity of Egyptian university staff to administer newly established Disability Support Centers and ensure equal access to higher education for university students with disabilities.

The tour was funded by AMIDEAST, an American non-profit organization focused on international education and development activities in the Middle East, and USAID who aims to improve equality for people with disabilities in Egypt. Helm, a social enterprise in Cairo, Egypt which promotes inclusion of people with disabilities, was also an organizing partner.

Read more about Egyptian visit

Webinar: Translating the Information Learned in Discovery into Characteristics of a Well-matched Work Experience

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On Tuesday, November 12, Ellen Condon and Theresa Baltry will host the final webinar in a 3 webinar series to talk about how to translate what you have observed and learned during the work experience (or other Discovery activities) into a plan for additional work experiences and/or a blueprint for the student's well-matched job.

More about the November 12th webinar

New Fact Sheet: Least Restrictive Approaches to Supporting Individuals as Decision Makers

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by Theresa Baldry, Kim Brown and Lauren Smith

Fact Sheet thumbnailThe Rural Institute is pleased to share a fact sheet on alternative approaches to guardianship.

Least Restrictive Approaches to Supporting Individuals as Decision Makers

Too often full guardianship is the default option for individuals who need assistance with decision-making, which is very restrictive. There are alternative approaches to guardianship that are flexible and can adapt to an individual’s changing needs. This fact sheet defines guardianship, shares some alternative approaches to guardianship, addresses myths about decision-making supports, and provides links to guardianship and decision-making resources for further information.

Another Movin’ On Camp in the Books!

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group of Movin On participants in front of UM signThe fourth Movin’ On in Montana Summer Camp brought together eleven Montana high school students and recent graduates with disabilities to experience college life at the University of Montana. This July, students from Great Falls, Helena, Butte, Frenchtown, Cascade and Missoula slept in dorms, ate on campus, attended college lectures, learned about University resources, took the city bus to an Osprey baseball game and ended the week rafting down the Bitterroot river.  

Read more about Movin' On

Local Partnership Leads to International Connections

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Vietnam partnership group

In the fall of 2018, the Rural Institute and Summit Independent Living hosted Nguyen Thi Van, a Mansfield Center Fellow from Vietnam, who was visiting Missoula as part of the Professional Fellows Program.

This spring, Bronwyn Troutman, Community Living Specialist at Summit Independent Living in Missoula, was selected as an outbound YSEALI (Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative) Fellow through the Mansfield Center at the University of Montana. Bronwyn and Anna-Margaret Goldman, director of MonTECH, traveled to Vietnam to further the collaboration and partnership between the Rural Institute, Summit Independent Living Center, and the organizations associated with Ms. Nguyen.

We are excited to share the following post by Bronwyn Troutman about her trip to Vietnam.

Continue reading about Vietnam

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