Rolanda
Rolanda is an eighteen-year-old student with multiple disabilities. She is a non-ambulatory
teenager with a profound cognitive disability. She has athetoid cerebral palsy that
impacts all motoric functioning. Until the age of 12, Rolanda ate soft and pureed
foods in small amounts several times a day. Choking became a concern after several
problems that scared her parents and teachers. Doctors decided that it was necessary
at that point for Rolanda to gain nutrition through a g-tube that another person
connects to source of nutritional liquid, such as Ensure. She has branchial cysts
that required a tracheotomy procedure when Rolanda was in nine. Currently, Rolanda
breathes with the assistance of a ventilator through her tracheostomy. She is an
only child, and both of her parents and a part-time in home nurse have a structured
schedule for her care on a daily basis.
Rolanda is a friendly, alert student who is responsive to music. She communicates
desires and needs inconsistently through assistive technology devices such as switches
and picture symbols. She can make choices from three options to select music to
listen to, movies to watch, and places to go. Her family will take her to almost
any place as long as no food is served there, because Rolanda gets upset when others
eat around her. Her mother thinks that she feels jealous that she can no longer
eat the foods she loved as a child. Rolanda loves to watch American Idol on television.
Each summer her family travels to see the contestants on tour in a new city. This
summer they are traveling to Nashville Tennessee.
Rolanda’s parents are relatively young. They had her just after they married when
they were in their early twenties. Therefore, they plan that Rolanda will live with
them for approximately twenty years. At that point they will seek supported housing
in a group home, or Rolanda will move in with a relative who is willing to care
for her. They are willing to implement a program that will benefit Rolanda at home,
yet they are concerned that she could benefit from technology that they do not have
the skills to utilize effectively. They also feel that it is important that Rolanda
spend her days working to the best of her ability so that she gains skills and feel
a sense of accomplishment in her life. Her parents are young and strong right now,
but it is still important to them that Rolanda provides as much assistance as possible
in self-care tasks such as transferring from her wheelchair to the floor, the bed,
and to other adaptive furniture throughout the house as well as hygiene tasks. Rolanda’s
parents would also like additional information about financial planning and social
security income to help them make informed decisions about Rolanda’s security in
the future.
This document was produced under U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special
Education Programs Grant No. H326J050004. Marlene Simon-Burroughs served as the
project officer. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the positions
or polices of the Department of Education. No official endorsement by the U.S. Department
of Education of any product, commodity, service or enterprise mentioned in this
publication is intended or should be inferred. This product is public domain. Authorization
to reproduce it in whole or in part is granted. While permission to reprint this
publication is not necessary, the citation should be: National Secondary Transition
Technical Assistance Center (2007) Indicator 13 Training Materials, Charlotte, NC,
NSTTAC.
