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.
Parent Perspective: Autism and Community College Dual Enrollment
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.
Students on the Spectrum and Choosing a College Therapist
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?
Parent Perspective: Autism and Community Colleges
Video Interview. Students can find the community-based ethos of a community college conducive to taking smaller steps and breaking processes into manageable parts.
Patrick Pontificates: An Autistic STEM Grad Student Says, “Go to Office Hours!”
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.
Parent Perspective: Autism and the College Transition
Video interview. If transitioning to college becomes part of your everyday conversation, it becomes much easier for students to adapt.
Autism & College: Autistic Culture, UDL, and Student Voices
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.
Three Assistive Technologies Autistic College Students Should Know
In high school, many 504 plans are written to include use of assistive technologies in the public school setting. However, once at a higher education level, these supports still can be extremely helpful for a variety of reasons.
Autism, STEM, and UDL: What is Universal Design for Learning?
UDL is a framework for designing based on three broad principles tied to how our brain functions in terms of networks.
Let’s Talk Autism, Special Interests & College Social Life
Not only were there more people who shared a special interest with me, but the ones who didn’t thought no less of me for having them. In fact, they thought it was interesting, because they had interests of their own, and we had a shared experience that way, autism or not.