A College Program for Students with Autism Spectrum
Disorders and Asperger’s Syndrome
Students with autism and Asperger’s Syndrome often struggle
with the social and emotional demands placed on them by the college experience.
CLE helps students with special needs acquire the fundamental skills that will
help them experience success in college and prepare to transition into independent
adulthood. Mentors, tutors and independent living skills instructors at CLE
provide the support and assistance that helps students with autism and
Asperger’s manage the demands of college.
Academic Support
CLE helps students with autism and Asperger’s Syndrome get off to a good
start by assisting with college applications, enrollment and registration.
Because a lack of organizational skills is often an issue for college students
with autism and Asperger’s Syndrome, CLE mentors and case managers provide
students with organizational structure that helps them make it through the day.
With the help of their CLE advisor, students with autism and Asperger’s
Syndrome learn to organize their activities and commitments according to a
color-coded schedule. The schedule helps students with autism and Asperger’s
Syndrome track important deadlines and new activities that make up the life of
a college student. Additionally, tests, projects and papers can be color-coded
to help students focus on the most important assignments. Visual cues
associated with their schedules can help them remember important assignments
and deadlines.
The use of adaptive technology helps CLE students with autism and Asperger’s
Syndrome manage their assignments and college responsibilities more
effectively. Special speech recognition software helps students complete
assignments by transcribing their spoken words into written documents. Another
technology reads text aloud from a printed source, helping students with
reading and writing tasks.
Independent Living Skills
CLE provides independent living skills assistance to students with autism
and Asperger’s Syndrome. For example, a wake-up call might help students arrive
on time to morning classes, while coaching and hands-on modeling provide
students with structured and supervised opportunities to manage household
responsibilities within their apartments. A CLE mentor might model a task such
as folding the laundry while explaining the proper steps as the student
observes. The student then has a chance to perform the task under the
supervision of the CLE staff person and receive encouraging and positive
feedback.
Using visual cues also help students navigate daily life in college. Simple
reminders such as "remember to take medication" or "turn off the
lights" help integrate independent living skills into daily routines for students
with autism and Asperger’s Syndrome.
Social Skills
CLE staff members offer verbal instruction, modeling, coaching and
personalized feedback to students with autism and Asperger’s Syndrome. Group
discussions guide students in identifying social opportunities and provide a
forum to experiment with functional and age-appropriate responses. The group
setting also allows students to discuss issues they encounter in college,
including roommate interactions and social engagement. Students have the
opportunity to further develop their social skills through a variety of group
outings to museums, shopping areas or other popular destinations.