Instructions

From the Course Syllabus, here is the overview of your Final Paper Assignment.

Your first task will be to prepare a short (one-to-three paragraphs) Proposal of your idea for your Final Paper, including your intended sources from our course materials, readings, and any supplemental resources you choose.

Then, due on the last day of the course, you will submit a 4-8 page Final Paper based on your approved Proposal. Final Papers are to be submitted via your individual Portfolio link.

Two examples of each option for this Project are attached, below. Each came from students who received 100% of the available points.

Note that you have a choice in this Final Paper to either:

Compare/contrast at least 2 (two) current events in disability, selected by you, from either our Current Events discussion conference or a reliable news source, applying what you have learned about disability history and rights in this course.

The goal of this assignment is to show me what you have learned in this course, and how your new knowledge of disability rights and history in American has changed your perception. You will demonstrate this through your analysis of either your interview of a PWD or your analysis of the two current events.

I will be looking for specific lessons from our class such as the history behind the ADA and ADAA, the concepts of Universal Design and Inclusive Education, or multicultural analysis of disability rights as a civil rights movement, for example.

A note on the Current Event option: Please be certain that your two current events are from within the last year. You may choose current events from our Current Events Conference if you wish, but you do not have to. All other reputable news sources are valid options, and please include links in your Proposal for my review.

Also, in order to compare/contrast two current events, you will need to identify both their similarities AND differences, in light of our course lessons, which can include the perspective of the author, the outcome of the event, or the perspective of the PWDs involved or the broader disability community, as represented by our course texts, for example.

Applied Final Project :

For this assignment, each student will write a paper that involves an application of the principles of this course to at least two current events involving disability and/or people with disabilities.

In this paper, students will integrate information from class readings and discussions with what they learn from the interviews or additional readings. The paper will synthesize academic material with the experiences of a person(s) with a disability.

A brief proposal that provides the subject to be discussed, the person to be interviewed or the current events to be contrasted, and the resources to be used will be due in advance. If you would like to get started on your paper before then, your proposal may be submitted at any time. However, please do not begin work on your paper until your proposal has been approved.

Course Outcomes Met:

Interact appropriately and communicate effectively using appropriate and respectful language based on knowledge of the disability community.

Form a basic working knowledge and understanding of America's disability rights movement and modern disability culture.

Make connections and analyze problems related to current events using knowledge of historical context of disability issues.

Format Requirements for Applied Final Project:

Font = 12 point; Arial or Times New Roman. Line spacing 2.0. If you do not adhere to this format, points will be deducted.

The paper will be 4-8 pages in length not including the Bibliography/references section.

Please use in-text citations in American Psychological Association (APA) style, as shown in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.

To review APA style, the UMUC APA Style Guide, or a manual on APA style. List all documents used in a bibliography at the end of your paper, and follow bibliographic formatting as shown in UMUC's Guide to Writing and Research, or in the APA style guide mentioned above.

Be sure to use appropriate language; do NOT use colloquial language; this is an official written assignment.

Grammar and spelling are important to this assignment.

Students are encouraged make use of the UMUC Effective Writing Center when preparing their papers; a link appears to the EWC under Course Content.

Required References:

Astolfi, C. (2017, December 2). Autism and the Law: North Ridgeville Boy's Incarceration Reveals Failures of the System.

Bullying and Students on the Autism Spectrum. (n.d.).

Diament, M. (2011, July 29). Study: Bullying More Common Among Students With Disabilities.