Resources for autistic students / students on the autism spectrum transitioning from high school to college, particularly in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields
Be aware of unconscious bias in interviews, plan for it, and be prepared to disarm it if necessary. For example: if you find eye contact challenging, acknowledge it and then communicate that you are glad to be there and are engaged in the discussion.
it’s important to have some emergency numbers available at all times. Preferably, these numbers should be programmed on the phone and also available on a wallet-sized card in case the phone is dead and the student needs to borrow someone else’s. Parents, therapists, and a friend or roommate in the college town are all important numbers to have available.
Video Interview. Attending dual enrollment classes allows students to get used to college work and what the demands are going to be. Plus, they accrue college credit in HS.
Interview. Availability for college students is important as well. Do therapists have office hours that coincide with their class schedule? What is their availability in between appointments if a need arises?
Video Interview. Students can find the community-based ethos of a community college conducive to taking smaller steps and breaking processes into manageable parts.
You know how Dumbledore in Harry Potter says, “Help is given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it?” I think that should be my new motto when writing about college, because help is given at college to those who ask for it.
When we talk about folding autistic and differently-abled students into community colleges and STEM careers, what we’re really talking about is best practices for everyone. It follows that when our most disadvantaged students’ needs are met, we are leveling the playing field for all, with or without a “documented need.” Thank you for believing in students like me.
She loves science. Now she loves autism, too. She decides she wants to research autism, but there’s one problem: in the autism community, “research” can be synonymous with “the cure,” and that’s a major problem indeed. Many autistic people don’t want to be cured. How will she proceed?
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