Toni Van Laarhoven’s foremost “why” is named Steffanie.
Van Laarhoven’s older sister, who is non-speaking and has severe intellectual disabilities, inspired more than the career of the Distinguished Teaching Professor in the NIU Department of Special and Early Education (SEED).
Steffanie also motivated her mother, Elaine Leslie Baker, who teamed with other parents to campaign for educational opportunities for individuals with disabilities. In 1975, their lobbying efforts became the Education for All Handicapped Act.
Fast-forward a decade or so.
After spending their childhood and adolescence interacting with and even teaching Steffanie’s friends and classmates while also watching their mother model advocacy, Van Laarhoven and her twin sister, Traci Van Laarhoven-Myers, professionally joined the field of K-21 special education as special educators.
Early roles for Van Laarhoven included preparing high school and transition-aged students for life after graduation and teaching middle school students with significant support needs in both public school systems and special education cooperatives.
Her mission to serve students with special needs expanded in 1992.
During her years in K-21 public schools, she discovered a love of teaching adults. She was given opportunities to provide professional development workshops and staff training for her colleagues and peers on topics such as behavior management and inclusive practices for students with disabilities.
“I got a taste of teaching adults – and teaching the stuff I loved – and I thought, ‘I like this, too. I like this a lot,’ ” Van Laarhoven says. “Then I was asked to be a guest lecturer in various college classes, and I thought, ‘I could see myself doing this.’ Then I got a call one day from my faculty advisor from my graduate program: ‘Hey, we just received a special education leadership grant, and we’d really like you to apply for one of the fellowships.’ So, I applied and began my doctoral training and official journey into higher education.”
Officially joining the SEED faculty in 2001, the young assistant professor enjoyed the best of all worlds: teaching, research and the ability to interact with individuals with disabilities in schools and local agencies.
But Van Laarhoven’s “why” for retirement – Feb. 28 was her last day after nearly 30 years involved with the department – isn’t as singularly focused.
“You know, I’m still trying to figure out what I’d like to do in retirement,” she says. “I’ve felt drawn to working with adults with disabilities because it doesn’t seem like there are many options for them once they graduate school. I’d like to work with that population to see how we can improve services.”
And she also hopes to build tiny homes. Yes, tiny homes.
“I want to learn a lot of the trades. I want to learn how to do construction. I want to learn how to do electrical, plumbing, flooring and drywalling, and I may look into volunteering with Habitat for Humanity,” Van Laarhoven says.
“My all-time dream – and I’ve had this for a long time – is to have some land and build a bunch of tiny homes that people can rent out for family reunions or retreats,” she says, “and I would like to hire adults with disabilities so that they could work and possibly live there.”
While it remains just an idea, the concept thrills Van Laarhoven.
“Can you imagine having a place where people could live and work and be independent while also providing a place for people to just enjoy themselves?” she asks.
“This idea started gnawing at me a few years ago, and then I was like, ‘Oh, this would be so cool and exciting,’ and next thing you know, I was looking at parcels of land,” she adds. “I don’t know if I’m going to be able to do this, but I’m thinking I can at least start trying to learn the trades and start small.”
She’s also not alone.
“I was at a conference and started talking with colleagues from different universities, and I said, ‘You know, this might sound dumb, but I have had a dream to build tiny homes where adults with disabilities could live and work,’ and two of these guys looked at each other and said, ‘Oh my gosh, we had the same idea,’ ” she says. “So, if other people are thinking that way too, it must not be a bad idea.”
GOOD IDEAS CHARACTERIZE Van Laarhoven’s time at NIU.
Project ACCEPT (Achieving Creative and Collaborative Educational Preservice Teams), funded by the Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities in conjunction with former colleague, Dennis Munk, and RAMP, for example, launched in 2001.
Developed in response to new standards-based certification requirements for special and general education teachers in Illinois, as well as recognition within the college and department that new teachers would benefit from program enhancements focusing on education of all learners, it promoted inclusion.
Pre-service teachers at NIU from early childhood, elementary, secondary and special education programs took a class together and learned to co-teach, co-plan and collaborate with each other out in the field to support learners with disabilities in classroom settings. Faculty from all teacher preparation programs were also invited to participate and infuse content from Project ACCEPT into their coursework.
One large component of the project was to familiarize future teachers with assistive technology (AT) so they could learn about and have hands-on experiences using assistive devices/software to make differentiation easier and make curricular content accessible for all learners.
Thus, the idea of an assistive technology lab to support general and special preservice educators was born.
In 2004, with support from former COE Dean Christine Sorensen, Van Laarhoven developed the Learning Behavior Specialist AT lab located in Graham Hall.
Hundreds of pre-service teachers from all program areas have accessed the lab through the years to learn about AT and to have hands-on practice with tools they might use with their future students. Van Laarhoven directed and coordinated the lab for most of her tenure at NIU.
Much of Van Laarhoven’s teaching and research has involved some form of technology/assistive technology to support individuals with disabilities in classroom, community and employment settings.
From 2007 to 2011, Van Laarhoven and sister Traci created and successfully directed Project MY VOICE (Multimedia for Youth to Voice Outcomes Individually Created for Empowerment) that allowed high school students with intellectual disabilities to participate in their own Individualized Education Programs via technology. This program is still being used in classrooms around the country and provides an opportunity for young adults with disabilities to self-advocate and have a say in their future plans.
In 2015, Van Laarhoven and colleague Jesse (Woody) Johnson harnessed the potential of Google Glass to teach vocational skills to teens with special needs.
Two years later, in the summer of 2017, she continued exploring the possibilities of wearable technology.
Van Laarhoven and Johnson began conducting studies with a team of NIU Board Certified Behavior Analyst candidates to provide students with technology-based coping strategies aimed at reducing their anxiety.
At that same time, she and other faculty in the SEED department decided to develop and launch a one-credit course called “Exploring the Special Ed Major” that now is required for all students who declare the major. The over-reaching purpose of the course was to make connections with special education teacher-candidates early in their program to assist them with getting involved and making NIU and the SEED department feel like home.
Among the coursework:
- making and keeping of one-on-one appointments with faculty and academic advisors;
- an outline of the Special Education degree program, including the professional blocks, as well as the requirements of getting in and staying in the major;
- seeking more information on valuable resources on campus such as tutoring, counseling and other resources; and
- “passport” activities such as locating faculty and departmental offices, meeting the department chair and interviewing professors to learn about their academic backgrounds, their daily work and their research interests
She developed and piloted the class in the fall of 2017 as its first teacher.
“We also do silly things,” Van Laarhoven says. “They have to go down to the Learning Center and take a selfie of themselves getting coffee. It’s like our best-kept secret: You have a great place to get work done and don’t have to walk across campus to go to the library! I also show them shortcuts for getting around campus and to the restaurants on Annie Glidden. I also provide them with lists of resources and tips to make their lives easier. There are a lot of fabulous resources for students at NIU.”
VAN LAARHOVEN KNOWS WHAT she expects from her future educators.
“It’s very important for them to put their future students first: Always put students first. Get to know your students, look at what their preferences are and what they want out of life. Know their strengths and how to build supports around them to help the succeed, especially out in adulthood. To me, that is the crux of special education,” she says.
“And I want them to be strong advocates. I want them to teach their students to self-advocate. I want them to advocate for families,” she adds. “I want them to have a lot of empathy and to have an understanding of what the families are going through and to provide supports not only for their students, but also their families.”
But “I also want them to have fun and find immense joy when working with their students and to be passionate about what they do. They need to have a good sense of humor and make the learning experience fun and enjoyable. Even if it’s a rough day, try to find the humor in most situations, because that’s how you’ll get by.”
Her graduates also leave NIU steeped in the importance of teamwork.
“Special educators are supposed to be collaborative,” Van Laarhoven says. “We work with a whole range of people in different fields, and we tap into their expertise so that we can surround our students with all kinds of supports that are going to help them improve and be more independent.”
Receiving the Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award in 2014 and named an NIU Presidential Teaching Professor in 2016, Van Laarhoven believes students recognize her passion for teaching and loving what she does.
“I think students recognize my passion for the field, for individuals with disabilities, and for them as future colleagues,” she says.
“And by giving them examples of how you can use powerful instructional techniques and evidence-based practices that end up being life-changing for students and their families – those examples of how they can really make a difference – I think they recognize that I want nothing more than for them to be successful and make a difference in the lives of all the students they encounter in the future and to enjoy the ride.”
