Also, as someone pursuing a Computer Science degree myself, I do not believe ABET accreditation is necessary. Computer Science often does not fall under engineering in many schools, or some schools offer Computer Science within engineering and within arts and sciences. Even GPA is not necessarily a deal breaker for many tech internships. The level of aptitude and side projects rank higher than GPA for most technology internships, as I understand it.
I like the deal @intparent suggested – let him go back to college only on the condition that he agree to attend every single class session. Graduating sooner rather than later is a huge win.
I hired tech folks for many years and never asked about GPA. I know it is something that is asked by a number of large companies, but this may not be his best fit anyway. Might he do better in a smaller work environment where the number of people with whom he needs to interact is smaller? Those companies are pretty unlikely to be doing on-campus interviews.
I think you need to separate the gpa issue from how skilled he is in CS, despite the gpa. That happens. Does he have any experience in the field? Will he have that and/or any references from profs?
The hard part is predicting. Some kids don’t get the class attendance part but are still excited by the work itself.
Can you talk to the disabilities office to see what type of Spectrum Support there is?
Here is an example from RIT:
https://www.rit.edu/~w-ssp/
It might be worth to work on the “going to class” skills…because “going to work” will not be optional.
My ASD D is a current HS senior, so this has been a useful thread. I think you’ve gotten lots of great advice here and I agree that he should finish at his LAC and not worry about the GPA. As many have said, a C student can definitely get a CS job.
Coming back home may not be as positive as it might seem. My oldest D (not autistic, but has a LD with some similar traits) moved back home junior year (her college is local) and it was a disaster. The family dynamic changes once a kid’s been away from home for a while. And of course autistic kids tend to have a harder time with transition than most.
I would suggest to have him really concentrate on interviewing and job skills over the next year through both disability and career services if possible. If he’s like most ASD kids, this will probably be a big challenge.
@bopper, RIT is #2 on my D’s list. I would love to have her in a spectrum support program and we both thought the school was great when we visited.