matthanson42 asked:
This is another question regarding autism, and there are more individuals with Asperger’s Syndrome/HFA entering college. I was wondering why no individual with classic autism is or will be attending college?
There is a difference between high-functioning autism/Asperger’s Syndrome and classic autism. Classic autism, individuals develop language late in life or not at all, unlike AS/HFA where individuals develop language earlier in life.
This is another question regarding autism, and there are more individuals with Asperger’s Syndrome/HFA entering college. I was wondering why no individual with classic autism is or will be attending college?
There is a difference between high-functioning autism/Asperger’s Syndrome and classic autism. Classic autism, individuals develop language late in life or not at all, unlike AS/HFA where individuals develop language earlier in life.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
where did you find that out?
is it actually ducmented that none with calssid autsim is in college?
because they don’t feel accepted or they’re not accepted!
I’m autistic and I attend college. How do you know for sure that autistic people aren’t enrolled in college? Are you an expert on judging who is autistic or who isn’t? Sometimes you can’t tell if people are autistic or not, especially when they have high function autism. I look normal and I’m quiet, so people assume I’m just a quiet girl. They can’t tell I’m autistic unless they associate with me. I don’t need to tell anyone I’m autistic as I don’t need to have an “autistic” label on my forehead. Sometimes it’s best to keep my condition quiet since people are going to judge me differently based on it.
Edit:
I apologize. I didn’t know what classic autism is. I believe there are some autistic people that can’t speak attend colleges.
Colleges don’t have to enroll every person with every type/severity of every disability.
The Americans with Disabilities Act only requires reasonable accommodation of an otherwise qualified person.
If an individual with autism can perform college level work with reasonable accommodations, then they are considered elgible for enrollment in college.
The college does not modify academic curriculum content, but they do work on course structure and can help with a certain degree of social skills.
Off campus the state rehabilitation office can provide additional services.
There are many people with Autism enrolled in college, there always has been. It’s just that they are now being properly diagnosed and not just told they are “different” or “behaviourally challenged”. There are many degrees of Autism ranging from mild to severe. Many people who have Autism are exceptionally intelligent, but they cannot handle the general atmosphere of college and would probably enroll online.
My son has “classic autism”. He is old enough to go to college. The reasons he could not go
-He can not talk, no language at all
-He only understand simple commands like a two year old would
-He still has accidents in his pants
-He can have behaviors so bad he can put his head through sheet rock so if he head butted someone, and he does do this, it would knock you out.
-He bites
-He does not always know you can not take off your clothes in public
-He would not even know what college is
-He can not read
-He can not drive
-His attention span is about one minute
-Many more reasons
It is not true that no individual with classic autism attends college. Some individuals with classic autism DO go to college or enroll in online college courses. Not everyone with autism can go to college though, for various reasons, such as:
- Some have severe cognitive disabilities, so the studies would be too complicated for them.
- Some have a severe speech delay, so they cannot communicate well or even at all. They may not understand speech well either.
- Some cannot read and write, due to cognitive disabilities.
- Some don’t know how to interact with other people.
- Some have behavior issues.
- Some have really bad sensory issues, so they couldn’t handle that sensory environment.
- Some have a very short attention span.
- Some don’t want to go to college.
- Some have been underestimated and have not had enough learning opportunities to prepare them for college, because of other people’s low expectations of them. It’s sometimes hard to know how much the autistic person understands if they cannot communicate well.
Whether or not they can go to college depends a lot on how well the individual can function. Colleges accept students that need reasonable accommodations. Sometimes reasonable accommodations are simply not enough, so some people (whether they are autistic or not) are unable to attend college. Colleges don’t change the curriculum for students who can’t handle the normal curriculum for whatever reason.
Definitions are important – look at the term “autism”! You use “enrolled” and “attending”… well, I’m sure matriculaton would be just about non-existent. On the other hand, many colleges offer courses which could be accessed with a bit of creative support… very much on a case by case, course by course basis.
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