Transition Planning for Autistic High School Students Heading to College
The college environment is drastically different from high school.
Schedules: Students move from a very structured environment to one in which they have more control over their time.
Living Arrangements: Students need to navigate living among peers with constant distractions.
Self-Advocacy: Students need to advocate for themselves after their 18th birthday.
Emotional Regulation: Students need to regulate their emotions and stress away from their familiar support system.
These transitions can be even harder for autistic students After coaching hundreds of autistic students and their families, we’re sharing our top 3 tips for transition planning for autistic high school students. Share these with neurodivergent students and parents in your conversations starting freshmen year:
- Start early. Too many families procrastinate until senior year.
- Don’t underestimate what your student can do.
- Broaden your focus beyond academics.
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- Start early. Too many families procrastinate until senior year.
Life does not calm down after the wild ride of junior year.
It’s easy to think that schedules will calm down during senior year. Most students are done with their college applications in the fall and have completed SAT/ACT/AP exams. But don’t forget all of the senior-specific celebrations and activities that your students may want to enjoy.
In middle school, focus on life skills and self advocacy. Students can learn money management by going grocery shopping with a list and a budget. Middle school students are able to practice self advocacy by leading conversations with teachers and being a part of the IEP process.
In high school, focus on executive function by encouraging a weekly family meeting to review upcoming deadlines and plan, outlining supports and researching testing accommodations. Focus on social communication through hobbies, modeling different types of social interaction and facilitating situations for students to practice communication.
- Don’t underestimate what your student can do.
It’s natural for parents to see their students as their precious little ones. They have loved and nurtured this little life from the day they were born. Sometimes this causes parents to underestimate their student’s abilities if they have a hard time picturing them as the mature young adult that they are. This comes from a genuine place of love, but underestimating autistic students’ skills can do them a disservice.
As a counselor, this is a great place that you can push your students to exercise their independence in school and extracurricular activities.
Arrange a college visit. Have your students select a college campus they want to see and plan the trip – set a date, figure out transportation, register for a tour and find a map of campus. If in-person visits aren’t an option, help them learn to navigate a college website.
Pursue a new interest. If your student has a new interest in anime or animals, music or Minecraft, encourage them to learn more through community clubs, extracurricular activities or local events. Participation in clubs in college can become a great source of potential friends in a new environment.
- Broaden your focus beyond academics.
As a society, we are obsessed with the college admissions process. But academics is one part of the college experience. Successful autistic college students are able to balance academics with social activities and take care of their own personal needs to stay well and balanced.
Reframe the conversation about college admissions to college readiness . Academics is one piece of the pie but autistic students will also need to:
- Manage their time and schedule effectively
- Understand which study techniques help them to stay on track with coursework
- Regulate their emotions and control stress
- Build healthy habits around eating, sleeping and exercise
- Understand many forms of social communication including email, text, social media and in-person conversations
- Know when to ask for help and what types of help are available
- Be able to get back up after a setback and try again
By including all of these skills in your preparation and conversations your students will be ready to thrive as they take the next step after high school!
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