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Knowing the best time to prepare your child or young adult for the world beyond high school is tough. However, it is my hope that by implementing the three strategies outlined below, you and your child will gain the confidence you need to navigate the transition process.
Knowing your legal rights is the first strategy. At Disability Rights Ohio, our motto is “we have the legal right of way,” meaning individuals with disabilities have the legal right to be active in society and enjoy every opportunity that all Americans do. While your child is in secondary school, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which requires students with a disability receive Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) tailored to their individual needs, i.e. special education, protects them. When students leave special education, they step out of the legal protections of the IDEA and into the protections of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
There are several key differences between the IDEA and ADA you need to know. The first is how one’s disability is identified. Under IDEA, the school district is responsible to identify the needs of students who may require special education. Under the ADA, responsibility lies with the person with a disability to “self-disclose” their disability to receive “reasonable accommodations” from employers and college/training programs. To help you learn more about self-disclosing, the National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability/Youth (NCWD/Y) has valuable resources on Disability Disclosure.
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College can be a major part of adult life for some people on the autism spectrum, I know it was for me. At college, you have a lot more freedom to make choices that can directly impact your future. One of the things I enjoyed the most during my college years is that my special interests weren’t something that I had to keep to myself. I was able to explore my interests, write academic papers about them, and engage with others around our shared interest in the topic. It was a place where I felt free to be myself. However, that’s not to say that it wasn’t without its challenges. Here are some important things I learned during my time at college that I hope help other individuals who have either just started their journey or intend to begin school soon.
Join groups – Social relationships can be tricky for people with autism. However, college provides a great opportunity to make friends. In college, you can join special interest groups or even create your own. I have a special interest in Japanese history, holidays, and art forms. As a teenager, it was difficult to find people who wanted to talk about obscure topics like Takarazuka (a type of stage performance where women play all roles) and Tanabata (a star festival). However, in college I was able to connect with like-minded people. Through the relationships I forged, I was even able to travel internationally and participate in some of these activities.
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Making the move from high school to adulthood is a complicated and emotional experience for anyone, but it can be even more so for people with autism and other developmental disabilities. The focus, though, should always be on what each transitioning student’s talents are, what motivates him/her to want to wake up in the morning, and what skills he/she brings to the table. If we’re able to foreground the person and his/her interests and skills throughout the whole process of transitioning into adulthood, teachers, interventions specialists, families, case managers, counselors, and especially the graduate, will all be in a good place when it’s time to make that final move to a job.
The process of career discovery should start at as early an age as possible, since the decisions and choices the student and his/her support team make every year echo throughout the person’s in-school and out-of-school career. Starting with a document to authentically communicate the student’s talents and interests is a great beginning to every conversation and every meeting. Leading with that person-centered information, and then moving into what the person needs to get there, including interventions or supports, is a much more productive use of time.
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It is not uncommon that a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is accompanied by the presence of another mental health disorder. Most often, a comorbid diagnosis of an anxiety disorder or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is present. Signs/symptoms of anxiety that may be displayed include: worried thoughts about performance, social interactions, and/or situation-specific concerns or fears. Hallmark features of ADHD include: difficulty sustaining attention, staying on-task and seated, and waiting one’s turn.
Research-supported interventions for the treatment of anxiety disorders include behavioral therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). Behavioral therapy may be chosen over CBT when the child is young, autism severity is greater, or the nature of the anxiety is fear-based or situationally-based in which exposure to the feared situation (for example: weather, toilets, or public speaking) is the most effective intervention. Behavioral intervention also may be favored over CBT due to challenges with perspective-taking that may interfere with being able to identify errors in thinking and challenging distorted thoughts.
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Anxiety, Autism, and Interventions: Playing to One’s Strengths and Supports
Anxiety can be a part of daily life for many individuals with autism. Rates of clinically significant comorbid anxiety in autism have varied widely, with some estimates as high as 40%. Regardless of verbal abilities, cognitive abilities, or developmental level, signs of anxiety present similarly. Stress reactions termed “Fight, Flight, or Freeze” are common. “Fight” can look like irritability, meltdowns, explosions, aggression, or yelling. “Flight” can look like leaving a situation, eloping, or refusing to go to a stressful environment. “Freeze” can look like non-responding, putting one’s head down, or ignoring others. All of these are signs of high anxiety. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is one of the most effective therapeutic techniques to reduce anxiety. However, CBT can be a verbal-heavy, somewhat abstract intervention. It is important to identify your child’s learning strengths and weaknesses, then adapt the CBT techniques to fit your child.
Know triggers (and make sure your child and those involved with your child know them too!) – For a week, document when your child demonstrates anxiety symptoms, what happened before and during, what you and your child each did. Look for patterns and minimize anxiety triggers. Ideally, work with your child and their therapist to make a plan to overcome the anxiety associated with that trigger. For example, if your child is anxious in social situations and large groups are a trigger, work with a therapist to build a plan to engage in increasingly social situations while practicing coping skills. Diffusing a trigger is empowering and helps build confidence to take on other anxiety triggers.
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