At one time, many people who knew Larry Scadden thought he was losing his marbles. A graduate student in his 20s with a solid job teaching at a community college, Scadden decided to junk it all and pursue his real passion: science.

But, said his family and friends, didn't he know how risky it was to start a new career? And above all, didn't he know that a blind person couldn't possibly become a scientist? So much for that theory.

Scadden, who became blind at age 5 in a household accident, is now an internationally renowned scientist who has specialized in the design of technology applications for people with disabilities. Today, as a senior program director with the National Science Foundation, he makes sure that other young people with disabilities don't get discouraged about science.

Scadden's Program for Persons with Disabilities funds about 35 projects across the country that all have a common theme of increasing the recruitment of students with disabilities in all types of sciences, math, engineering and technology (often referred to as SMET), and getting them to pursue careers in those disciplines.

His efforts join a handful of other science and disability programs across the country that share a goal of getting students with disabilities interested in science, and channeling them toward the many industries that are eager to hire them. Mentoring, internships and hands-on activities are elements of these national and local programs that aim to expose kids to SMET schooling and careers.

THE RIGHT ABILITIES FOR GREAT SCIENTISTS

Science and people with disabilities make an ideal match, say those involved with these programs. Why? A person who has a disability faces everyday lifestyle challenges, and that fosters a way of thinking and problem solving that generally can't be learned from a textbook.

"Disabled people are always figuring out how to make their own lives easier, and experimenting with new technology and different ways of getting around and working," said Laureen Summers, manager of Entry Point!, an internship program for college students with disabilities by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

"This is what scientists do: They explore, they experiment, they try out new things. So we think science and disability is a perfect match for many reasons," she said. People with disabilities have long been underrepresented in SMET fields, something advocates like Summers and Scadden are working to change.

Numbers from a congressionally mandated report help illustrate the concern. According to the biennial federal report, "Women, Minorities and Persons With Disabilities in Science and Engineering 1998," 4.9 percent of employed scientists and engineers in 1995 were people with disabilities, with women with disabilities being less likely to be employed in science and engineering.

The idea of the disabled population as a valuable, untapped source of workers began to emerge in the mid-1980s. Then, high-tech company executives in California predicted a future, urgent need for skilled workers and brainstormed where to find them, said Nellie Wild, program manager of High School/High Tech, a science and disability initiative of the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities. That thinking eventually led to innovative programs like Entry Point! and High School/High Tech and other federally funded projects, corporate partnerships and even community and university-based efforts.

"They developed the strategy of going back in to the high schools and working with students with disabilities to raise awareness and encourage students, get them hooked on technology and excited about high-tech careers, and ensure they took the steps necessary to be competitive in them," Wild said.

TEACHING TEACHERS COMPLETE INCLUSION

Scadden said a crucial first step is getting students with disabilities - and educators - to consider science and technology as legitimate career options.

"We have to change the attitude of teachers, counselors and parents, who often feel that this isn't something for a person with a disability, so they steer them into something else," Scadden said, adding that he personally experienced this discrimination.

Scadden said he was initially diverted from science as a high school student, despite a strong interest he expressed. "I was told by everyone, 'No, a blind person can't do science. You don't even have to take your science course if you don't want to.'"

That's why some science and disability programs include a teacher component as well. The goal is to give teachers ideas and tools - including grant money - to allow them to more completely include students with disabilities in science and math education.

Some examples: Project DO-IT (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internet-working and Technology) out of the University of Washington in Seattle includes programs to help post-secondary faculty and administrators to work successfully with students with disabilities. The nationally recognized program promotes the use of technology to maximize the independence, productivity and participation of people with disabilities.

RASEM (the Regional Alliance for Science, Engineering and Mathematics for Students with Disabilities) at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces offers grants of $2,200 to teachers regionwide. Grants have been awarded to many innovative projects created in New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas schools that enhance the representation of students with disabilities in the math and science curriculum.

Similarly, Program ACCESS at the University of Arizona offers encouragement grants to Tucson-area teachers "to get some sort of accessibility options to include students with disabilities in science activities," John Olson said. Olson, who has his doctorate in electrical and computer engineering, now works for IBM. He has spinal muscular atrophy. He co-founded Program ACCESS with Ali Mehrabian, a doctoral candidate in civil engineering who has Becker muscular dystrophy.

MENTORS: A FRIEND WHO'S BEEN THERE

Mentoring is a common and especially effective component of many disability/science programs. In Program ACCESS, college undergraduates mentor high school students, graduate students mentor undergraduates, and industry professionals mentor graduate students.

Olson and Mehrabian serve as mentors to local students, to whom they impart advice, insight and an up-close look at their schooling and work. They also make outreach trips to local schools to talk to kids who usually have plenty of questions for them.

Mehrabian said a mentor can teach skills like time management, which can be especially challenging to a college student who might be slowed by a disability.

"A mentor is like a friend with a disability who's been there, done that," Mehrabian said. "Mentoring is very important because many of us, we've never had a mentor with a disability. It's somebody who has already been through college and has exposure to science and knows the details."

LETTING YOUR DREAMS DICTATE YOUR FUTURE

Scadden said he often tells prospective scientists with disabilities that they'll not be alone if they pursue a SMET career: There are 100,000 scientists and engineers with disabilities already working.

And, perhaps thanks to disability and science programs across the country, there are more people with disabilities on their way to SMET careers. The number of people with disabilities with science and engineering doctorates increased 78 percent from 1989 to 1995 (from 200 to 355), according to the "Women, Minorities and Persons With Disabilities in Science and Engineering 1998" study.

Underlying these innovative programs is the promise of high demand in the job market: There are jobs - oodles of them - waiting to be filled in the technology and scientific fields.

"When you look at where the jobs are, the United States has to import thousands of foreigners to work in our high-tech industry, whether it be in computer science, chemistry or the biotechnology fields," Scadden said. "It's because we're not turning out enough of our own, and here's a whole pool of potential candidates that we are steering away."

Opportunities abound for anyone interested in SMET disciplines, and inspiration and role models are rapidly becoming just as accessible.

"We feel many disabled students have incredible potential if they can find the right role models and right support," Summers said. "Just go after their dreams, and nothing's impossible, no matter what the disability is. With encouragement and motivation, people can do anything."

Mehrabian agrees, saying the message a potential science student should get is that anything is possible, as long as you try and experiment.

"You can be whatever you want to be. Although we may think that 'oh, God, I have a disability.' But that's not really the end of the world," he said. "Having a career in science engineering is possible. It is doable, and people with disabilities need to know that. They can do it."

PROGRAMS THAT LAUNCH CAREERS

Here are some programs designed to inspire and launch people with disabilities into careers in science, math, engineering and technology.

HIGH SCHOOL/HIGH TECH

Exposure is the main theme in this program, which is an initiative of the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities.

The program combines activities such as site visits to museums and workplace environments, mentoring activities, speakers and college awareness, said Nellie Wild, the program's director.

The key element is the paid summer internship, in which a quality experience is the goal. An example: Students work 25 to 40 hours per week for NASA for two to three months.

The main goals of High School/High Tech are career awareness, self-esteem, skill building with an emphasis on post-secondary education, "all the things employers are looking for in future employees," Wild said.

"It's an exploration, and it's a good opportunity to learn more about yourself and your strengths and your interests," she said.

Curriculum varies at each location and is community-based, as some sites take advantage of companies or universities nearby. But the common thread is that "students working with professionals seems to hook them," Wild said.

A recent High School/High Tech success story happened when students in Albany, Ga., studying tissue development in butterfly larvae got their project aboard a space shuttle mission. Now the project is a permanent exhibit in the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum in Washington.

"I used to say the sky's the limit, but that's not even the case with this program," Wild said.

Programs are currently in place at about 60 sites in more than a dozen states. The goal is to go nationwide.

PROGRAM ACCESS

One life-altering day a few years ago, John Olson and Ali Mehrabian realized they were the only two students at the University of Arizona's engineering program who used wheelchairs.

"We decided that was way too low of a number," Olson said, especially for a university with about 35,000 students.

So the duo invented a program that would eliminate barriers that seemed to prevent students with disabilities from entering the sciences: lack of role models, stifling attitudes from educators and the intimidating reputations of the disciplines.

The two enlisted the help of Georgia Ehlers, a university grant writer, and David Lovelock, a math professor. Together they secured a National Science Foundation grant of $450,000 for three years. Program ACCESS, or Accessing Career Choices in Engineering and the Science, was born.

The program includes mentoring, outreach to local schools, seminars for teachers who may have never taught students with disabilities, and grants for accessibility improvements to better include such students in math and science education. It's aimed at middle, high school and university students with physical disabilities in Arizona.

Another highlight: Camp ACCESS. Campers get a firsthand look at computer programming, circuitry, space missions, artificial organs, tree ring dating, robots, designing structures, botany and more. The most recent summer camp session toured a clean room, visited IBM and saw a demonstration of an electron microscope.

For Olson and Mehrabian, who both use power wheelchairs, the program is giving them a chance to be the career role models they didn't have.

"Every time I saw these kids that have been impacted by this program, I get satisfaction that I cannot even describe," Mehrabian said. "It is just so rewarding."

Olson agrees. "It's a wonderful feeling to know that you made a difference in these kids' lives."

ENTRY POINT!

College students who get an internship through Entry Point! shouldn't expect to be filing or sitting around observing. They should expect to be challenged.

"These are really not entry-level positions, they're more research type things," said Laureen Summers, a program associate for the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences. "We have students solving problems that no one else has been able to solve. It's quite incredible."

Entry Point! connects students with internships all around the country that last about 10 weeks. The program partners primarily with NASA and IBM, but can also pair students with companies like Procter & Gamble that rely on AAAS to recruit and place qualified interns.

Internships are based on a student's grade point average, background and academic experience, Summers said, and AAAS organizers stay involved with participants.

"We spend a lot of time getting to know the students. When issues come up, we're brought in to the table, too. We also make sure students get the accommodations they need," she said. "So it goes way beyond just sending out a resume or a portfolio. It goes to complete involvement throughout the internship period, and then tracking. Because once you find good people, you do not want to lose them." "