<p>I am wondering if anyone is or has a student with Aspergers going to college and what there experience has been?</p>
<p>In addition to Parents forum, you might find much to read at the CC section on "Learning Differences and Challenges."</p>
<p>To find it, go to top left menu on this page, click "discussion home" and scroll down until you see that section heading. Good luck, there and here. We have a bright 14-yr-old nephew with Aspergers, so our extended family anticipates a focussed search for him.</p>
<p>What's crossed my mind already is that his sensory issues are such that this nephew might look for schools where it's easier to get a single room, such as Hampshire College where 75% of housing is singles, with a lounge at end of hall, so he can retreat from social contact when needed.</p>
<p>Other issues that will concern us will be good psychological support systems so he doesn't flounder during the initial adjustment. Academically I am not worried for him, just socially/emotionally. I'd also love to hear any successful or somewhat successful stories from others.</p>
<p>My son has 2 friends with Aspergers in college this year. One stayed close to home because his parents were concerned he might need support (he was very aware of this too). The other is on the west coast and has had a few ups and downs but has straight A's and a major athletic EC. Both of these young men are brilliant. I have a nephew a little younger with Aspergers who is not academically brilliant, but has learned to memorize social cues very well and is warm and charming. His Dad and I think he might have a career in sales.</p>
<p>We're not quite there yet... D (AS, 18, hs junior) will hopefully attend CC in a couple years. I do know a number of families that have sent an AS student to college.</p>
<p>I would go to the Services for Students with Disabilities office (or whatever they call it) before applying, certainly before arriving on campus. Many of the accomodations that work for the student in high school can/should be continued in college (ex. extra time on exams, sets of notes, etc.). I know that nearby state U gives a lot of support to students with disabilities. I hear from VESID officer that nearby CC is wonderful with disabled students.</p>
<p>If you are looking for accommodations for your AS child, it is important that they have a medical diagnosis of Asperger's/Autism, not just an educational diagnosis (IEP) from high school.</p>
<p>My Aspie is a junior, so not quite yet.</p>
<p>My son with Asperger Syndrome will be graduating from college next month with a degree in Computer Science. </p>
<p>applicantsmom, please PM me with specific questions.</p>
<p>A young man from my church is just finishing up his freshman year at Albion College in MI. His mom told me that they had a special meeting just for the parents of LD kids at orientation. It sounds like they do a great job working with kids who have different needs at this school. I am sure there are more like Albion out there!</p>
<p>My friend with Asperger's related diagnosis has had his ups and downs. His main issue is that he doesn't always understand assignments or do them (for him this was always true in school), and he has been on probation at least once academically. He does like learning, enjoys the experience and although he has been lonely at times, he has acquired a girlfriend and he drives himself to his college and has grown from being there.</p>
<p>Hi..My son diagnosed with autism at age 6 at UCLA, is now 22 and has been accepted into UCSD (wow are we happy!). He did the CC to get acclimated, and was very successful there. That was a good road for us. The Dis Services is something to look into...talk to them at the different colleges. UCSC and Berkeley seemed like they had a lot of resources for Aspies...UCSD not quite as much. I know...the social is hard...we try to keep working on that, but capitalizing on my son's other strengths. Good luck!</p>
<p>We haven't seriously considered community college but maybe we should. I'm worried about our son getting to college, getting low grades and losing any merit aid he might have. But I can't figure how AP credits would figure into the mix. I wouldn't want him to take classes that the four year college into which he would transfer would give him credit for.</p>
<p>My Aspie son (not the goalie) will start community college in the summer. They have a great program for him in Network Security and Administration. It is just getting him to not focus exclusively on his technical classes that will be the big challenge. So the summer classes will be English and Arts requirements, so in the fall he takes primarily classes that are in his interest.</p>
<p>We've met with the disabilities coordinator at the campus who has given my son and us the "How to get help" type tour.</p>
<p>Nice small campus. Not over-stimulating.</p>
<p>The biggest adjustment for him actually will be the fact that he has to drive on the interstate to get there or take a very twisty, narrow road with lots of trees on the edge, both of which scare him.</p>
<p>My son has high functioning autism (I used to say he is Asperger because the term is shorter, but recently I found out that there is a difference between the two.) He has to decide in about a week whether to go to a university or to a CC. Based on discussion with various people and what I read here, it does look like go to CC first is the way to go.</p>
<p>A friend of mine who (I believe) has Asperger's is currently a freshman at Penn State, and was accepted onto a team of graduate students who build cars or something and compete to see who can make the most aerodynamic car. I'm told that they love him, and from reports from his mom, he loves it there.</p>
<p>My S with AS just started college this fall. We found that choosing a college for him was not that different than choosing for our other S. We did a lot of research up front, mostly to find colleges that would meet his academic INTEREST best. We looked to be certain that they had depth in course offerings in his area. We limited to small LAC because we felt they would be less overwhelming and more supportive. We visited several schools before applying and limited the list to 10. He was accepted at all ten, and we ended up visiting 7 of those. Having a program specifically for AS (Mercyhurst) didn’t end up being a good fit - the population they served seemed lower functioning than my son, and the college was not academic enough. We met with Disability Services folks at almost all the colleges until my son tired of having to do that and refused. Interestingly, the college he chose was one that we did not meet with Disability Services. He chose it because it felt right. He felt like he fit in, in fact he felt , in his words, he was “one of the more normal ones.” His college is small, a magnet for quirky bright kids from all over the world, has a first-name basis reputation between students and profs, and turns out a staggering number of future PhDs.<br>
He did submit the required documentation (AS, ADD-inattentive, cognitive processing delays) and made an appointment with the Director of DS. He met with her and she provided him with letters to give to his professors IF he wanted to request accommodations. He did meet with each professor the first semester and received permission to use his smart pen and time accommodations. He made the Dean’s List. He is in his second semester and has chosen not to disclose his disability to his professors, but does continue to use the smart pen. This college has 50% single rooms, and he was placed in one. I would say having a single room is probably the single most important factor in his success. Though he tends to be a hermit, he at least has a reliable place to de-stress. This semester he is getting out a little more and even asked another student to study hieroglyphs with him.<br>
I would never have guessed this would go so smoothly. Like most colleges, students need to ASK for help. Self-advocacy is the most important part of college preparation for kids with AS. My S was home schooled, so his preparation may have been better tailored to college success than a kid might get in a school with IDEA accommodations. We had him learn to drive, get a job (courtesy clerk), and volunteer at the science museum (gallery interpreter) to work on his communication and social goals. Every kid with AS is different, but if you are feeling that your kid will need LOTS of support, he or she may not be ready yet. Do know that colleges and universities are full of profs with AS (known to them or not), and finding a place where your kid with AS will be able to find an academic mentor in their field might be way more important than a place with a gazillion “support services.”
My S’s areas of interest are Biological Anthropology/Osteology/Zoology/Egyptology. He attends Beloit College 300 miles from home. Beloit allows students to jump right in to study what they are passionate about - no messing around with “gen eds.” SO, think outside the box. Think right match.</p>