Policy and Practice Brief: The Transition from School to Work; The Special Education and State Vocational Rehabilitation Systems’ Obligations to Prepare Students with Disabilities for the World of Work

This brief provides an overview of the transition requirements outlined in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Reviewed are concepts of free appropriate public education, least restrictive environment; individual education programs; and, due process. The brief provides an illustrated case study along with a discussion of how special education and vocational rehabilitation intersect

Policy and Practice Brief: Funding of Assistive Technology to Make Work a Reality, Part II; Using the Americans with Disabilities Act to Fund AT

This article is a continuation of “Funding Assistive Technology to Make Work a Reality” (Policy and Practice Brief #3). This brief reviews the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with a particular emphasis on how the ADA can be used to ensure that a person with a disability has access to needed assistive technology to do their job, or to ensure the individual has access to the job site

Policy and Practice Brief: Effect of Defaulted Student Loans on Return to Work Efforts

This brief describes types of student loans that exist and effects or defaulted student loans on individuals benefits. Reviewed are increased efforts to collect on defaulted student loans as well as remedies to take a loan out of default

Policy and Practice Brief: State and Federal Vocational Rehabilitation Programs

This brief provides an introduction to the state and federal vocational rehabilitation system outlined in the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. It provides a review of how the vocational rehabilitation system is integrated within the broader Workforce Investment Act along with a break down for eligibility and available services. Discussed is financial need criteria, statutory requirements for maximization of employment, comparable services requirements and individual rights and appeals

The Influence of Neural Reward Processing on Memory in Depression

Theories and research suggest that depression involves impaired reward sensitivity and a deficit in memory for rewarding stimuli. Some researchers propose that this memory deficit may result from reduced neural reward sensitivity, which impairs the encoding of reward-related memories, but few studies have directly probed this connection. Such research may benefit from examining the reward positivity (RewP), an event-related potential (ERP) previously linked to reduced reward sensitivity in depression. Undergraduates with high or low self-reported depression completed a task in which they chose one of three doors, revealing a neutral word written in a color which indicated an outcome of winning money, losing money, or neither (i.e., draw). A surprise source memory task presented the words again and asked participants to indicate the outcome previously paired with each word. Results showed that ERP response to reward was greater than loss, which was greater than draw, but no differences between depressed and non-depressed participants were observed. Reward source memory was more accurate than loss and draw source memory for non-depressed participants, but this advantage was not seen in depressed participants. The RewP did not correlate with source memory in either group. Overall, the results suggest that depressed individuals may lack a normative memory prioritization of reward-related information. The findings did not support an association between depression and the RewP or between the RewP and reward source memory. Results suggest that future research should include neutral trials along with reward and loss trials to better characterize the RewP