Transitions for Autistic Teens
Teenagers with Autism Can Extend School, Start College or Begin Work
As teenagers with autism transition into young adults, they have several options. Navigating the maze of transition services can be confusing.
Much of the media attention to autism spectrum disorders is tailored towards parents and caregivers of young children. However, children with autism grow up to be teenagers and young adults with autism. For parents of these autistic teenagers, the question is no longer a matter of which autism intervention to try, but helping their child make the transition to young adulthood.
Extending High School
Many children on the autism spectrum, even those with Asperger’s Syndrome or those that are high-functioning, do not graduate from high school at 17 or 18 as their typically developing peers do. In the United States, these young adults can remain in the high school system until they are 21 years of age and still receive services set forth in an Individualized Education Plan (IEP).
This process may be confusing, even more so than navigating the special education system thus far has been, and it is important for parents to get started early in their planning. It is usually recommended that once a child starts high school as a freshman, the parents work with the school’s special education team to lay out his high school career.
Starting College
More and more teenagers with an autism spectrum disorder are going off to college alongside their typically-developing peers. As a result, more college resources are available to families today. Many colleges across the United States, understanding the success that early intervention has had in these children’s lives, have created special mentoring programs for individuals on the autism spectrum that attend their school.
Many college disability offices are seeing a surge in requests for information about autism spectrum disorders. These requests come both from individuals with autism and peers on campus. As autism has garnered more media attention in the past few years, it has become more understood. This increased knowledge by the general public also helps the young adult with autism transition into college.
Getting a Job
Just because a person is on the autism spectrum, it does not mean that he cannot be gainfully employed. Even a nonverbal person with autism can obtain employment. The fact that autism is more prevalent these days, with the CDC currently reporting 1 in 150 children carrying an autism diagnosis in the United States, has proven beneficial for young adults with autism seeking employment. Employees are also reaching out to those in the autism community because of their unique strengths.
Parents of teenagers all experience a pang of sadness and bits of stress as their children transition into adulthood. Parents of teenagers on the autism spectrum experience these same feelings but at a heightened level. Finding support from other parents of young adults with autism is a great way to guide a nervous parent through this exciting time in her child’s life.
