When you ask Avni Adams (MSW from Laurier) about the best part of her job, she answers without hesitation: “The students. They inspire me every day.”
Avni is a learning strategist at the Community Integration Through Co-op Education (CICE) program at Conestoga College in Waterloo Region. CICE programs in Ontario’s colleges support individuals with intellectual disabilities or significant learning challenges. The program delivers modified educational programming in a range of college programs.
Avni works with students through a core program of life skills and communications techniques. She also works with college instructors to develop course modifications that help students meet required academic standards. For example, she supports instructors to deliver course material in formats that accommodate the needs of students with learning disabilities.
“It is easy to be intimidated by the requirement to accommodate students with disabilities,” says Adams. “But after I spend some time with instructors, they make minor adjustments that can make a huge difference.”
Students in the program live with autism spectrum disorder, Down syndrome, ADHD, and a wide variety of learning difficulties. Adams is part of a team of learning strategists with diverse educational and professional backgrounds. As a social worker, Adams finds she brings a particular awareness of the mental health needs of program participants.
“As a social worker, it’s incredibly easy to be overwhelmed by the full range of illness, poverty, and injustice. But every day I spend time with a group of educators who want to make a difference in people’s lives,” she says. Adams has noticed a growing willingness among instructors and employers to make small changes to accommodate people with disabilities.
“My students are incredible,” says Adams. “They are so motivated to learn and find employment. We get a tremendous response from the co-op placement supervisors. And I get to see how simple and fulfilling it can be to support the inclusion of these young people.”