I’m thrilled with many of the comments that have been made in the General Advice & College Recommendations for ADHD & Neurodiverse Students thread. But I also know that we still do a lot of research outside of that thread and some lurkers may not feel comfortable posing questions. All of which leads me to my question:
When thinking of students with Autism and other neurodiversities, what resources have people used and found helpful during the college search/application process?
I’m a little out of date to be helpful, but I read a number of journal articles on dyslexia and a couple of books, one by Maryanne Wolf (Proust and the Squid) and other by Sally Shaywitz (Overcoming Dyslexia). The former was really two books in one, one interesting and literary but not all useful and the other more useful and focused on the neurodiversity. The Shaywitz book seemed simplistic to me as dyslexia takes different forms in different folks, but there was useful stuff in it. I recall reading a bunch of IMHO schlocky books (e.g., The Gift of Dyslexia, although even in there, there are some useful ideas).
There is a newsletter called 2E newsletter that often had different interesting sources.
My father and 2 of my 3 siblings were on the autism spectrum. Very different manifestations. But, I have never really read much about ASD.
One thing that some could or should write is about how to navigate the public school and college systems and how to negotiate with the special ed folks, teachers and often administration at schools and the disability services office (and professors) in college.
One additional thing that I would say. My experience was that folks in Special Ed and and teachers generally really did not know much about a) what dyslexia was; and b) what helped. So I read journal articles to be up on the literature. Since I had deeper and more recent understanding (I would send them links to the articles), that gave me a lot of credibility in conversations with Special Ed folks.
Teachers on the other hand just assumed that I was another upper middle class dad who thought his little snowflake was gifted and special. Although I was explaining the neuropsych testing data and its implications and the latest academic studies, my annual or bi-annual meetings with teachers had little impact. What did work for teachers were the reports to them of previous years’ teachers. So, I would ask last year’s teachers to talk with the current teachers.
@Coast55 shared a link to Top College Consultants in a different thread earlier today and it reminded me of a helpful resource for individuals who are looking for colleges that offer additional help for neurodiverse students.
The link below includes 227 schools along with brief descriptors of the type of programming and the cost, if any, for that programming. I’m sure there are schools beyond these that have programs, but it’s a good start.
Additionally, there was a blog post which I think should be required reading for parents of all kids going away to college.
As a key part of that article:
Tasks parents commonly assist with that students will need to do on their own in college:
- Getting up on time for class
- Eating a balanced diet
- Scheduling medical appointments
- Speaking with their instructors about any difficulties with the coursework
- Limiting gaming and social media use
- Managing money
- Going to bed at a reasonable hour
- Making a plan to get homework done on time
- Remembering to turn in completed assignments
- Doing laundry
I think those things go beyond executive functioning skills and moves into adulting, but adulting is a skill kids need to learn!
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