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Supporting Families to Prepare Students to Be Participating Members of Their Community
For over five decades, I’ve had the privilege of serving students with autism and developmental disabilities and their families. I’ve been employed as a teacher, administrator, professor, consultant, and advocate in public, private, nonprofit, and for-profit settings, working in preschools,...
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Supporting Young Adults: Transitioning to Post-Secondary Educational Opportunities
This fall, I dropped my oldest child off for his junior year of college. For our family, this is always a time of excitement, but also one of trepidation. The transition from high school to higher education, from childhood to adulthood, is full of new and evolving challenges. Those challenges are...
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Rethinking Guardianship: Empowering Autistic Individuals and Preserving Rights
Often when I encounter families with young autistic kids, they are admittedly very anxious about their child’s future. Who will take care of my child when I die? How can I make sure I am an active decision-maker in their lives when they reach adulthood, especially if they are non-speaking or have...
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Research-Based Recommendations for Building Self-Advocacy Competence
Self-advocacy, an essential ingredient in our quest for satisfaction and fulfillment in life, is a learned skill that involves self-awareness, social and communication strategies, and behavioral competencies. Self-advocating involves communicating a person’s needs so that another person is able...
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“Putting Me in My IEP”: Encouraging Self-Advocacy in Younger Students
Parents and guardians may not know that students can participate in their Individualized Education Program (IEP) team meetings at any age and not just during post-secondary transition planning in high school. In describing the IEP team, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act states “the...
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Assessing Readiness for Transition to College and College Support Services
High school students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), without intellectual or language impairment (ASD-WoILI), are attending college at rates higher than previously reported, but research indicates they may not be receiving the services they need (Kuder & Accardo, 2017). While federal and...
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A Bridge to Employment
As a student’s remaining time in high school dwindles down to a year or two, school district personnel are challenged to meet the expectations of both students and parents regarding life after high school. Post-secondary education transition brings its own set of challenges while employment...
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Community Living and Inclusion for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
It was not long ago that individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities were cared for in settings quite separate and isolated and were deprived of full integration into their communities. Thankfully, in recent decades, the entitlement to community living and learning opportunities...
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Uniquely Human Podcast #9 – Honoring the Culture of Autism with Michael John Carley
Episode 9 - Honoring the Culture of Autism with Michael John Carley Overview Michael John Carley joins us to discuss the importance of respecting autism culture in school and at work. Continue the Discussion Do you have a book or podcast club? If so, you may use this discussion guide...
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Authentic Strength-Based Practice: Can Neurotypical Professionals Make a Paradigm Shift?
When I talk about my work, it is not about understanding autism from a neurodiverse perspective. That is not for me to do. I am not autistic. I have learned immensely from my partnerships and interactions with autistic individuals. Autistic self-advocates should be leading the way, compensated as...
