ABOUT COLLEGE-BOUND SERVICES
About Allen Tinkler, MS Ed.
Since the early 1990s, when I realized the need for increased information about colleges for students with special needs, I established College-Bound Services. I was well aware of the frustration experienced by parents, school counselors and independent educational consultants when so little information was available. At that time, I was one of only six specialists in the entire country assisting these students to select and be admitted to college. Academic and social support plus the choice of colleges were limited. I have led the way in arming school counselors, educational consultants, parents and students with information and data to make wise decisions about colleges, documentation, testing, disclosure and the application process.
My post graduate work in special education, counseling, and school administration and over 30 years of experience with secondary school students with learning challenges, have provided me with the insight to counsel, guide and assist students in the college selection and admission process. Having worked in a public high school as a special education teacher, transition specialist for 11th and 12th grade students, and adjunct to the counseling department, I am well aware of how high schools work and their challenges. I respect the school guidance counselor and convey that respect to students, parents and colleagues.
I have visited over 400 colleges throughout the US meeting with admissions counselors and staff from disability support offices. I have been an active member of numerous professional organizations including the National Association for College Admission Counseling and the Association on Higher Education and Disability and their state affiliates.
I have presented at national, state and regional conferences before parents and professionals on topics pertaining to students with special needs transitioning to college and have provided professional development workshops to high school counselors. I have become a school counselor’s counselor.
For over three decades I have seen many improvements at the high school and college levels. Colleges are providing services, technology and accommodations that weren’t even imagined 30-plus years ago. High schools and their counselors are far more accepting that students with special needs can succeed at college equal to their non special-need peers. The most recent major change is the exploding number of programs on college campuses that serve the needs of students with intellectual/developmental disabilities, very significant traumatic/acquired brain injury, congenital conditions or autism spectrum disorder levels two and possibly three.
Not only have I seen many improvements, I have tracked them and recorded them to make them known to YOU. There are over 600 colleges that have gone above and beyond what is expected under Section 504 and the ADA. To discover which colleges these are, you can access my database of colleges identified by disability and location.
