<p>Marshall looks good, but I sense there are few if any Jewish students and certainly limited, if any Jewish activities. Although Hillel is not my son’s focus, I don’t want him at a school where he is the only, or one of a few Jewish kids on campus.</p>
<p>scro14-I am not a licensed professional, but it sounds like the other needs you mentioned (LD, profound executive level need, therapy, etc.) sound more like a co-existing condition than Aspergers. Aspergers, at least with my son, are highly intelligent but have specific areas of keen interest, read and talk like encyclopedias of information, have some kind of sensory need-in my son’s case must have it quiet, and are more comfortable by themselves or with one other person–not the social party types.</p>
<p>mdcissp- I’m not a licensed professional either, but the licensed professional psychologist who diagnosed my son’s Aspergers and the licensed professional therapist who treats him both have said, repeatedly, that executive function deficits are typical of Aspergers. His therapist has a bag of tricks to deal with executive function problems precisely because her clients need those tricks. Moreover, I’ve had many conversations with Aspie parents, on this site and elsewhere, in which we discuss how to handle our Aspie children’s executive function problems.</p>
<p>I’m not saying that all Aspies have executive function deficits, but many do. You are indeed fortunate that your Aspie child does not have those problems.</p>
<p>Cardinal Fang: thanks for chiming in. </p>
<p>I think one of the challenges with discussing Asperger’s Syndrome is that it is indeed a spectrum disorder, with multiple facets. The range of symptoms and characteristics and the degree to which they impact functioning is huge, ranging from minimal impact (quirky or annoying behavior) to profound disability. There are also of course a lot of coexisting diagnoses – including anxiety, depression, ADD, Tourette’s, etc. My son is in a private high school which serves only kids with AS, NLD and similar social/cognitive disorders and even though there are only 60 kids in the school, you can see a huge range of ability. The joke is, if you’ve seen one Aspie, you’ve seen…one Aspie. </p>
<p>Right now for my son, it’s not clear what his secondary education will look like. He has pretty significant social deficits but probably something that could pass in most college environments as just an 'odd duck" but by far the biggest impact is his executive function issues. He is very intelligent but his ability to demonstrate what he has learned on a test, paper or project is unpredictable. In all likelihood, he will need additional supports, such as the program at Marshall (although it’s doubtful he could go to school across the country) or CIP. Of course, we’re still a couple years out with him (my NT daughter is starting college this fall), so anything could happen between then and now.</p>
<p>My son’s therapist mentioned today that she thinks highly of the SALT program at Arizona for Aspies. She also had an Aspie client who thrived at Whitman, where, she said, the disabilities office was great for Aspies.</p>
<p>My son goes to a special school where a lot of kids have Asperger’s, and Goucher comes up a lot. I’m saying this because you seem to live in Maryland and I also hear that Goucher gives a good deal of financial aid. And because there seem to be a lot of non-conventionally social kids there (my first point, really).</p>
<p>We are looking at Goucher although my son does not have Aspergers. (and we don’t live in Maryland)</p>
<p>Personally I wouldn’t necessarily think of college as vocational training, even with your son’s particular issues. I would look for an undergraduate program where he can be supported in his socialization skills, which he will need no matter what he does.</p>
<p>The ironic thing about listening to Temple Grandin tell us about autism and careers is that we are listening to somebody who, by definition, has a rather narrow worldview that focuses on information rather than social nuance. So that, while on the one hand, Temple Grandin’s view of autism can be uniquely helpful, it also — isn’t.</p>
<p>This is news to me that Goucher is a top choice for Aspergers kids. We drove by the lovely campus with a large lawn. Main reason we are not considering Goucher is that the school does not offer the programs my son is interested in (Accounting and Actuary Science). I can definitely see Goucher as a potential fit if you see an academic area that matches your child’s interests.</p>
<p>Totally agree, Cardinal Fang. I’ve rarely ever encountered someone with AS who did not have some degree of executive functioning issues. It is a blessing if they do not, indeed. And it is a spectrum for sure…
As for the expression ‘When you’ve seen one aspie, you’ve seen one aspie’, I love that. It is cute and true, though honestly, at my son’s orientation I saw a number of kids who clearly had AS. I was relieved. Even my son noticed and said ‘I think there are a lot of kids with Asperger’s here’ a week later when we picked him up for dinner. I had to smile…</p>
<p>Pick the school that your kids feel most comfortable in. The rest hopefully will follow. If the Admissions Department is not helpful when they are trying to lure you in, imagine what it’s like once your child is there? For high functioning aspies, I don’t think you necessarily have to choose a school with AS specialties or services, just a place that’s willing to help a student learn at their institution towards that end goal of receiving a great education. I think we’re all so used to being let down by the public school system that we don’t realize that college can be so much different. It’s not the cookie-cutter square peg thing anymore, it’s your child pursuing their dreams with their interests. It’s so cool watching it unfold.</p>
<p>I think AS is often confused with NLD (nonverbal learning disorder) and vice versa, plus some kids have both. </p>
<p>In either case, the kids often have trouble making friends, especially if they yearn to be with the cool kids. Does anyone have suggestionsin that regard?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Abed does it pretty well in Community.</p>
<p>I’ve actually never met a person with Asperger’s who yearned to be with the cool kids…</p>
<p>Sadly, I have. One of the aspects of the autism spectrum is that you can be very different from others on the spectrum. Some kids lack social skills and the interest in improving them, while others lack social skills and yearn to improve them.</p>
<p>I think the best bet is to become very good at something, which I know is easier said than done for some. My son is very good singer, so he was in the “in” crowd in choir based on his ability alone.</p>
<p>I think it’s a bit easier for guys than girls. Lots of the guys are obsessed with video games, but many NT boys love them too. If you’ve got the newest platform and games, other guys can be pretty willing to come over to play. (Also teen guys tend to be more accepting of less than perfect grooming and clothing than teen girls.)</p>
<p>You are 100% right about boys vs. girls. Starting in about 4th grade, girls tend to achieve social status by excluding other girls. Boys are much more accepting. In addition, boys can be accepted just by playing a popular video game or being adequate at sports.</p>