The College-bound ASD Student: Some special programs
College Living Experience is a privately operated and for-profit company that operates residential programs to assist students with special needs in attending college. Students with Asperger’s Syndrome, learning disablities, and emotional and/or behavioral disorders have used College Living Experience, which focuses on academics, independent-living skills, and social skills. Students can enroll in one of three facilities (in Austin, Ft. Lauderale, and Denver); they attend daily sessions at a learning center while taking college classes and living in private, off-campus apartments. A full-time staff meets with students in the program to help them with independent-living skills (from tooth-brushing to housekeeping) and social skills, as well as homework.
An article in this week’s Chronicle of Higher Education (only available by subscription) profiles College Living Experience.
The program is designed to hold students’ hands as they navigate college. Its staff members become their advocates, schedulers, therapists. All of that individualized attention is expensive, however — and it does not always help students succeed. Some experts worry that such programs attract students who should not be in college in the first place.
Yet proponents say College Living Experience and similar programs can stoke the ambitions of students who are not self-sufficient enough to pursue higher education on their own. And the support that such companies provide surpasses what most colleges can offer.
The families of students with special needs are often desperate for their children to have a shot at college, says John M. McLaughlin, executive vice president and chief development officer of Educational Services of America, the Nashville-based company that owns College Living Experience. His program, he says, allows parents to offer their children a choice: “Either you’re going to be living with us and sitting on the sofa for the rest of your life, or we’re going to give it a go.”
College Living Experience costs $27,500 per year, on top of college tuition, rent, and funds for social outings. So far, most of the students in the program have been from well-off families; since this past October, the program has been approved by Sallie Mae, which is the US’s largest provider of student federal loans.
Other programs that assist autistic students in college are:
- The College Internship Program, with facilities in Massachusetts, Florida, and Indiana
- Achieving in Higher Education With Autism and Developmental Disabilities, which is based in Pittsburgh and currently assists eight students at Carnegie Mellon University and at the University of Pittsburgh
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And here are both a caveat and support regarding these programs as noted in the Chronicle of Higher Education:
- “You will see some kids who aren’t ready for college, no matter what, and the parents are pushing it,” says Fred R. Volkmar, a child psychiatrist who is director of the Yale Child Study Center, at the Yale University School of Medicine. In these programs, he says, “you can find students where it’s a waste of everybody’s time and money.”
- “For the appropriate population, I think it can be very effective,” says Jane Thierfeld Brown, director of disabilities and student services at the University of Connecticut School of Law, who is a well-known consultant on autism-spectrum disorders. “You can think of it almost as the super R.A. That’s what a lot of those students need that can’t be provided by higher education.”
More and more colleges and universities are aware of the growing number of students with autism applying to and attending college, and are seeking to develop their own support services.
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POSTED IN: Asperger's Syndrome, College, Education, Living Arrangements, Parenting, Psychiatry, Psychology
8 opinions for The College-bound ASD Student: Some special programs
AI
Dec 17, 2006 at 11:27 pm
hey Dr Chew
I am in the college living experience program, and I have heard of the other two you mentioned. the college living experience has helped me tremendously. I just finished my second semester there…..
But I don’t quite agree with others’ thoughts that a lot of these students “don’t really belong in college in the first place. That sounds too negative and pessimistic on their part to say that about some of the students. Granted, several of the students in the college living experience have difficulties with academic work and living skills, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t belong in college……that is why the college living experience is there….to help students deal with going to school, social issues, personal upkeep, and so on………
the biggest hurdle to jump, that I can see, with these programs is the expense.
and actually, the total cost of the college living experience is about 50K per year.
ai
Kristina Chew, PhD
Dec 17, 2006 at 11:59 pm
AI, thank you so much for commenting about this—I am very curious about these programs. I’m tremendously interested in learning how to best help ASD students succeed in college and it is more than helpful to me (personally and professionally) to know what works, what helps. Thanks again!
Skip Waugh
Dec 21, 2006 at 6:54 pm
Hello Dr. Chew,
I wanted to thank A.I. and you for those previous comments and interest. We were thrilled that CLE was a part of the Chronicle of Higher Education article. More importantly though, College Living Experience (CLE) is excited about giving students like A.I. the opportunity to pursue a post-secondary education at the same time developing their independent living and social skills. The decision to come to a program like CLE is very much a team effort. It involves the student, the family, as well as the staff. Since the CLE program is tailored to the individual student, it is important to make sure everyone is involved in the process from the start. Since all programs are not alike and approach students in different ways, I encourage anyone interested in exploring these types of options to call with questions, talk to the staff, and if possible visit the program. This is one way to find out what works, what helps, and what feels comfortable to the student and the family.
Sincerely,
Skip Waugh
Director of Marketing
Educational Services of America
Kate
Feb 6, 2007 at 12:11 pm
I am currently a student at the College Internship Program in Lee, MA. I have Aspergers and went to Clark University last year. I needed help with my organizing. this program has been great. They have helped me to understand my Aspergers and how it makes me the person I am today. I think a program like this is a great way for students with Aspergers to work through college.
Dan Kimple
Apr 18, 2007 at 1:26 pm
Hi, In response to your article, I have talked with many friends who themselves have looked into college programs for their sons or daughters. From what I have heard, The College Internship Program seems to have the most to offer. The College Internship Program not only provides support for students in college, but will work with them to obtain certifications and internships. Although it is about twice as much as College Living Experience, you get what you pay for and more.
-Dan Kimple
Kristina Chew, PhD
Apr 18, 2007 at 10:43 pm
Thanks very much, Mr. Kimple.
The College-bound ASD student (2)
Aug 24, 2007 at 2:03 pm
[…] 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 […]
Thinking Differently: Autistic Life in College
Oct 29, 2007 at 6:30 pm
[…] previously posted on CLE here and here. An article in today’s Lowell Sun entitled Asperger’s is not autism-lite […]
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