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Accommodations After High School: What Now?
Just getting into college, let alone succeeding there, is stressful for many students and their families. When a student is on the autism spectrum the whole process can seem unmanageable. What do you do when you have what it takes to succeed in higher education, but you struggle with things like...
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Gaining Momentum in a Post-Secondary Education Inclusion Program with Innovative Supports
College inclusion programs are continuing to develop for an increasing inflow of graduating high school students with developmental and intellectual disabilities (Paiewonsky, et. al., 2010). At AHRC New York City, higher functioning students on the spectrum are engaging in learning and sociality in...
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Tools for Transitions: Using Self-Management and Technology to Build Independence
Shifts from adolescence to adulthood, from high school to college or career, and from family home to independent living can be challenging for anyone. Many young adults struggle to manage their time appropriately and to make good choices that will help them to meet their long-term goals. Once past...
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Awake Challenged, Punctually Challenged, and Underground Thursday Challenged
One of the biggest hurdles that adolescents and young adults on the ASD or LD Spectrum face is having a reversed sleep schedule where they stay awake at night (often playing video games or surfing the internet) and sleeping during the day. This is especially so if students are living independently...
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The Changing World of OPWDD Services and Supports
For every parent who watches their child morph into a young adult right in front of their eyes, this transformation is filled with anticipation, uncertainty and limitless challenges. For the parent with a child on the autism spectrum these issues are magnified as they begin to explore the world of...
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Paving the Road to Success
There is increasing interest in helping talented individuals on the Autism Spectrum become more fully engaged in the typical world of work, and establish true independence and self-sufficiency. Autism Speaks has promoted a tool kit for employers, adults on the spectrum and their families, to think...
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My Journey to Independence
My name is Jay Mikush, and I am 23 years old. When I was first diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome (AS) at the age of six, I had many challenges interacting with other children. Over the years, I have learned how to be more social with all sorts of people. I am proud to have been born and...
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Walking a Tightrope of Conflicting Expectations
In my two professional roles—as an adjunct professor of English composition at a local community college and as a vocational trainer and curriculum developer for adults with autism—I encounter adults at all levels of job readiness. Many of the students in my English composition classes are...
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Five Steps to Help Young Adults Transition to Independence
There are many services for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders, but Jewish Child Care Association’s Compass Project is unique because we specifically target the period when an adolescent/young adult transitions from high school to the next step. While school districts support families and...
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Doctoral Study Shows Parents are Concerned for Their Adult Child’s Future
The process of transitioning to adulthood is always difficult for parents; more so when their children have special needs. For parents of young adults with ASD the challenges are manifold, including but not limited to financial problems, social difficulties and long term care and planning. Long...
