“Nothing Separate”: Understanding Why Students With Intellectual Disabilities Choose Inclusive Post Secondary Education

Summary More students with intellectual disabilities are going to college in the United States. We wanted to learn what students with intellectual disabilities say about their college plans. We read student applications for one college programme. Students with intellectual disabilities said they wanted four main things: To join all college activities and not be separated. To keep learning new things. To follow the path of their family and friends who went to college. To be as independent as they can. The students also talked about needing support to be successful in college. This study shows what students with intellectual disabilities might want in a college programme. Colleges need to take this into account so that they can support students with intellectual disabilities and make sure they are really included.