The College-bound ASD student (2)
Classes at the college where I teach begin next Wednesday. I’ve been teaching for some sixteen years and, over the years, have more and more received forms from the Office for Students with isabilities requesting accommodations. Many students have also told me themselves that “I was in a self-contained classroom”; “I’d like to record your class”; “I didn’t read till I was seven.” Charlie inevitably comes into the conversation and from then on, I keep an extra eye on the student, just as I would wish that a teacher might do for Charlie.
Some of these “formerly IEP students” (their diagnoses vary—-ADHD, Asperger’s, LD, are some) have learned very well to advocate for themselves, to organize their time, to keep track of deadlines, to ask for help (email is particularly helpful here). Some students are able to adjust to college life and to the demands of independence; others need more assistance somewhat equivalent to the supports they have received in elementary and secondary school. Back in December 2006, I wrote about College Living Experience, which is a privately operated and for-profit program that helps college students with disabilities learn how to navigate college life, from taking care of personal care and an apartment or dorm room, to learning social skills. (Go here for my post.) The August 23rd Chicago Tribune profiles students using College Living Experience in Illinois.
Nationally, only about 13 percent of young people with these “invisible” disabilities attend college, according to the U.S. Department of Education. (In another era, they dropped out of high school and headed to factories, steel mills and other well-paying blue-collar jobs that have all but vanished from America’s landscape). The fact that these young people are mentally and physically able but still have profound deficits means they don’t fit easily into existing categories. [my emphasis]One other school in Illinois, Brehm Preparatory School in Carbondale, serves this population.
In a way, they are pioneers because there is little data on outcomes. But as more researchers zero in on diagnosis and treatment of these impairments, there is growing awareness these young people desperately need post-secondary options that will lead to jobs and independence.
“Typically, they develop psychiatric and other behaviors — such as depression and addictions — that are even more troubling. Or they end up back on Mom and Dad’s doorstep,” said Matt Cohen, a Chicago attorney who specializes in special-education issues. “You’re better off [in terms of programs] with a kid who has severe mental illness or Down syndrome than a kid in between.”
Before high school graduation, the students are eligible for services under federal law. Once they get their diplomas, the programs usually come to an abrupt halt, leaving them without assistance at the most dangerous time — a situation that should concern all citizens, not just their parents, Cohen said. From a public policy standpoint, schools have invested tens of thousands of dollars in these students, but without adequate support, that investment can be squandered, he said.
“These kids don’t have the skills to take it to the next step. So, you’ve gone from someone who might be a productive member of society to one who might need lifelong services [my emphasis. It’s a tragic waste,” he said.
In view of his current academic situation, it is more than unlikely that my own 10-year-old son will attend college—he is not a “kid in between.” I do not feel any disappointment about this, as I have seen many students struggle in college and drop out, or graduate and end up in jobs that do not make use of what they have learned: College is not for everyone. As a college professor and (as of this summer) something of an administrator (I am now the Co-Director for my college’s Honors Program), I would like to help think of ways to help college students who need and want such assistance. College and universities do have disability support services offices that provide some of the services provided by College Living Experience (which costs parents $33,000 per year), but I think we could do a much better job at making college the best it can be for all students.
And I have to say, being Charlie’s mother has taught me a thing or two in this area.
10 opinions for The College-bound ASD student (2)
VAB
Aug 24, 2007 at 4:52 pm
My guess is that universities already successfully play host to plenty of people on the spectrum, especially at the post-graduate level, whether they know it or not. I think that the needs of everyone, including the neurodeviant, can best be served by promoting the traditional university values of tolerance and respect for diversity (which is not always apparent at the undergraduate level).
abfh
Aug 24, 2007 at 5:39 pm
Many of us went to college without a formal diagnosis or any accommodations. The Asperger’s category didn’t exist until 1994, after all, and parents often refused the autism label for fear of stigma and discrimination; in those days, there wasn’t much available in the way of services, so what was the use of a diagnosis?
I suspect that many of these pricey programs for college students with disabilities are just taking advantage of worried parents, without providing much useful help to the students.
As for what would be helpful, mentoring by older autistic students comes to mind…
Kristina Chew, PhD
Aug 24, 2007 at 6:22 pm
That’s a great suggestion……. I’ve wondered the same about such “pricey,” for-profit programs. Colleges are certainly accustomed to accommodating the needs of a broad spectrum of students. And maybe mentoring, too, by autistic faculty or staff members?
AnneC
Aug 24, 2007 at 6:50 pm
I received some accommodations in college, though the quality of them was fairly poor — e.g., some teachers would not sign the form allowing me to have extra time on tests and take tests in a different (quieter) room and I did not have the negotiating/verbal skills to convince them otherwise. Some would say things like, “I don’t want my tests falling into the wrong hands” (as if somehow, the disability student services would photocopy them and put them online for would-be cheaters), or “If you can’t take the tests the normal way, maybe you shouldn’t be in this class”.
What would have helped me a lot would have been the ability to self-advocate, but at that time I had no idea what self-advocacy was, let alone that accommodations were supposed to be a “right”. The whole thing seemed to be very poorly managed.
Anne
Aug 24, 2007 at 7:03 pm
I think one of the toughest things my for kid has been navigating the bureaucracy, especially if he had to go somewhere and talk to someone about a problem of some kind. An experienced mentor would have been a big help.
christschool
Aug 24, 2007 at 7:12 pm
Kristina, I would suggest that their academic counselors stay actively involved with them and to insist that they take the required courses at the required times (fresh, soph etc.) I got into trouble because I found the electives more fun than the required courses. I often did very well in advanced level courses but poorly in pre-req. courses. This was entirely due to lack of interest in subjects I felt were “beneath me” academically. However, with hindsight, I realize that those courses weren’t beneath me, it was my frustration with going over material I already knew.
Also, I can’t emphasize enough about the importance of understanding what notes to take and what not to take. I wrote novels and then tried to “copy” from memory all my notes during final exams. I would completely miss the essense of the question.
Someone also needs to make sure they get to class everyday because I would suffer from inertia so much that I would skip a course for the entire semester. Not even show up and would fail the course because of it.
Also, I wish I hadn’t constantly argued theory with my professors during my entire undergraduate career. Luckily, I had some very self secured profs.
Daisy
Aug 24, 2007 at 10:25 pm
The idea of sending mine off to college is both exciting and terrifying. He is intelligent enough, but his grades are poor and he has not yet learned how to be a successful self-advocate. He’s 15 now; maybe there’s time.
Kristina Chew, PhD
Aug 25, 2007 at 2:04 am
In time, as always with our kids, don’t you think? One reason for my being certain that college is not for Charlie is that I have a good idea of what kinds of courses and skills and savvy he would need—writing papers for freshman composition would not be something for Charlie.
joycemocha
Aug 25, 2007 at 12:03 pm
Kristina, things do change.
In sixth grade, my son would melt down at the thought of having to write a paper. He now majors in journalism in college (and writes a respectable article, although I think he’s shooting now for being more computer-oriented and a web editor rather than a print journalist). You don’t know yet whether Charlie might encounter the teacher who makes writing work for him–we did, and it flew in the face of what everyone before had said he was capable of doing.
Autism is not a pattern of typical development. You can have amazing progression and regression spells. Our current big battle is the inertia that christschool talks about–but it’s something I encountered as well when I was in college.
Things happen in their own time and place (although I wonder if my son’s going to end up taking four years to get through community college!).
Liz D.
Aug 25, 2007 at 5:48 pm
As you know, Kristina, my daughter isn’t on the spectrum but does have a learning disability in reading (and I’m realizing, in spelling).
She matriculated at Clark University on August 22. I was very impressed at Clark’s efforts to support students with LDs — and other disabilities.
I believe a big part of the picture for “kids with issues” transitioning to college is finding a good match. For example, a student with Asperger’s might flail and flounder at a large institution, but thrive at a smaller, more undergraduate-oriented college.
It might be productive for you to begin a conversation with Jane Daigneault (Coordinator of Disability Services)
http://www.clarku.edu/offices/aac/ada/
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