Transition to College
Another major life change for young people is the prospect of attending college after high school graduation. If your child's diagnosis has been identified and supported in your school district, a transition plan to support your child from graduation to higher education, technical or training school, or employment of some sort should have been implemented by age fourteen with specific resources and contacts identified; a specific vocational plan should be in place by age sixteen. Your child may be eligible to continue attending school until age twenty-one, and it is not usual for students with Asperger's to remain behind their graduating class.
Some high schools may offer a school-to-work transition program or may partner with local colleges to offer higher-education opportunities while your child is still attending high school. Inquire about such opportunities well in advance of your child's senior year of school; there may be a waiting list, limited availability, or sign-up procedures.
The Decision to Attend College
Even if your child's school experience hasn't always been a glowing one, it has offered some measure of life stability. With the advent of graduation, another transition is impending that can, again, create emotional upheaval. Hopefully, at some point in your child's school career, a psychologist or guidance counselor has completed an inventory of your child's aptitudes — strengths, gifts, and talents. While there likely won't be anything there that comes as a surprise to you, the results of such an assessment can provide a valuable starting point in weighing future vocational or educational paths for your child to pursue. Your child's school should also be able to assist you and your child in matching your child's strengths and skills with schools known for their expertise in those select areas, like the college with a strong science program or the university known for its music department. Literature and other resources can be obtained with the support of your child's guidance counselor or other staff. Encourage your child to make appointments to meet with this individual to gather information and tips on filling out applications. (If your child procrastinates for whatever reason, set deadlines by which you expect him to meet your expectations. His internal sense of apprehension may be mis-interpreted as laziness or lack of motivation.) Your child's school staff should be willing to support this endeavor through to completion. Again, the attitude of everyone around your child will be of immeasurable benefit in framing this time as a maturing “rite of passage” and not something to be filled with dread.
What's Involved?
The word “college” has taken on numerous and varied connotations in recent times. This new flexibility is heartening to those children who have one perception of college as an “all or nothing” scenario; that is, some upset or resistance to college may come from the belief that college means packing up and leaving home, returning only at holidays and semester breaks. In partnership with your child, explore all that “going off to college” can mean, including:
Attending college in another state (living on campus)
Attending college in another part of your current state (living on campus)
Working part-time and attending night classes (on campus or living at home)
Starting out slowly by taking fewer classes (on campus or living at home)
Starting out slowly by living at home but commuting to a local college
Taking classes online over the Internet
Taking correspondence courses
Attending a branch campus before relocating to the main campus
Considering how to transfer schools (and credits) if things aren't working out, or as part of a plan
As with transitioning to a new school building, you and your child will want to feel as fully prepared as possible well in advance of beginning school. This time, there will be far more details to keep track of. Ensure that you are maintaining the literature, directions, contacts and references, and campus maps as organized as possible, and keep notes cataloged well and in writing. As before, carefully photograph or videotape everything, marked clearly, to review as often as need be in order to make a final decision or just familiarize your child with the surroundings.
Alert
Your child's seeming lack of motivation to learn more about or attend college may be due to a combination of several factors. Be cautious of judging him as lazy, and consider that he may be fearful of all the “unknowns,” depressed at the prospect, or anxious about on-campus social expectations.
The traditional unknowns include selection of roommates and scheduling classes. Take into account the location of classes and the time allotted between classes, in addition to the distance from your child's residence (or the parking lot, if commuting) to classes. Some kids, not as graceful or agile as they wish to be, may find it physically depleting to spend a lot of time walking long distances, especially in inclement weather. Conversely, if your child has too much time between classes, it can be socially awkward to find ways to fill such downtime, especially if he is a commuter. Liane Holliday Willey's book Pretending to be Normal offers myriad suggestions for new college students for how best to assimilate on campus.
One Program That Works
The Center for Student Progress at Youngstown (Ohio) State University offers a model program of support to students with Asperger's Syndrome. On-site coordinators, who work from the center's office, meet weekly with identified students. Upon admission, any such student meets with a coordinator to whom she is assigned and completes a Participant Agreement that defines the obligation of the center as well as expectations of the student's participation in the program. By signing the Participant Agreement, the student also gives permission for a release of information so that test scores, grades, and other assessments are shared with her coordinator. It is an important function of the contract and allows the coordinator to access student grades and provide feedback early on in each semester so that any action needed to improve grades can be planned well in advance of failing a course.
Other aids provided to students with Asperger's by Youngstown State's Center for Student Progress include a Study Schedule that is filled out by each student and visually maps how to get organized, use time wisely, and plan when and where to devote time to studying. A calendar, again maintained by both parties, records test dates and assignment and project due dates. When a student comes in to meet with her coordinator, the coordinator can, at a glance, get a sense of where the student should be in her class management and can ask how she is progressing. Finally, a learning style inventory is a simple, easy-to-read questionnaire that helps the center's coordinators to determine the type of learning style unique to each student (visual learner, auditory learner, or kinesthetic learner — someone who learns best through moving and doing). Supporting the student to identify her learning style and adapt study habits to some helpful techniques is another of the coordinator's responsibilities. This may, in turn, lead to accommodations necessary to achieve success in certain classes, such as a professor's flexibility in how graded notebooks are submitted if your child reinforces certain concepts with illustrations.
There is also a checklist called Strategies for Reaching Goals that includes not only academic milestones desired but social objectives as well, such as joining a student organization, attending an athletic event, and participating in other on-campus social events. Many other activities may be involved, depending upon the individual needs of each student.
Fact
Your child's selection of higher-education institution may be influenced by the kinds of on-campus supports available to her. Check with each school under consideration to determine the scope and extent of support for students with Asperger's Syndrome. This may look very different from services available to students with disabilities, which include physical adaptations and accommodations.
Determining the type and degree of available support similar to the Youngstown State University program may be a decision-making factor in your child's college selection. At the very least, making that single connection with someone who will function as an ally is crucial to your child's ability to assimilate successfully. But college is also about broadening one's social contacts as well. An ally may be gained informally, or the relationship may be prearranged through a student mentorship program on campus. Most forward-thinking, progressive universities have programs established to aid students with disabilities, but finding those that have expertise in the subtleties of Asperger's Syndrome may prove challenging.
