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2	Strategies for the High School Years

After surviving the stressful years of middle school, I was hopeful that high school would be easier. The high school Eric would be attending was huge, close to 2000 students. I was worried about the transition to a new school and Eric’s ability to navigate the complicated campus. I knew there would be many students at the high school who had never gone to school with Eric before. I wasn’t sure how accepting they would be. I didn’t know the staff or teachers, didn’t know how involved I could be in advocating for Eric. I was told that there had never been an identified student on the autism spectrum fully included at the school. It looked like we were “paving the way” again.

All students with disabilities at our high school are assigned a case manager. Eric’s case manager called me at home before the beginning of school. She was a special education teacher working primarily with learning disabled students. She would be available to help Eric if needed, and also be a resource for the teachers if they had questions about autism or any problems in the classroom. She also informed me that she had a personal connection to autism, a young grandson on the spectrum. It was a relief to know that she would be at the high school to advocate for Eric and to help him through the transition to high school. There were a number of times in high school when Eric needed to go to her for help. At the beginning of each school year Eric would often need to go to her classroom when he wasn’t sure where he was supposed to be or if he had trouble finding a classroom. If your son or daughter does not have a person assigned to advocate for them at the school, you may be able to find someone on the campus willing to do that for that student. It is also important to find a guidance counselor at the school who can be an advocate for your child. The guidance counselor should have some knowledge about prospective colleges and keep up to date on the various requirements and levels of accommodations that are offered. Connecting with the guidance counselor early in high school can help guide the student through the important process of preparing for the college transition.

Now that we had made the decision to continue on the “college track,” the academics became more important than ever before. I knew that Eric’s grades from that point on counted. Colleges would be looking at his grade point average as well as the difficulty level of the classes he was taking. After years of having to help Eric so much with schoolwork, it was hard for me to imagine him being independent enough to do the academics of high school, let alone college. Eric proved to me very soon after starting high school that he could do the work required with very little help and do it better than I expected. I was beginning to see Eric’s real potential for the first time.

There were several aspects of high school that made things easier for Eric academically. At our particular high school they offered a class called “curriculum enhancement.” Most high schools probably have a class like this but may call it something else. The class was taught by a member of the special education staff, usually a learning disability resource teacher. The class was small and students received instruction to help with organizational and study skills. Most of the class-time students worked on homework and assignments from other classes with help from the teacher if needed. This was a great class for Eric and he took it every year of high school as one of his electives.

The variety of classes offered in high school was also helpful to Eric. He had more choices and could take courses that were centered around his interests. Students on the autism spectrum will most likely do better in a class that involves a student’s interest or is in an area in which the student is particularly knowledgeable. Our high school had a study program for students wanting to go into the animal science field. The animal science courses Eric took counted toward the required hours of science needed for graduation. Because of his interest in animals, these classes were more meaningful to Eric than other kinds of sciences such as chemistry or physics. It also enabled Eric to be in courses with other students with similar interests.

Unlike at middle school, many required courses in high school have different levels of difficulty. For example, a student can take English at the basic level, at honors level, or at the advanced placement level. Advanced placement is comparable to a college-level class in difficulty and amount of material covered. Having various levels of courses allowed Eric to take the higher-level classes in subjects he excelled in and take the basic-level classes in those areas that were more difficult for him. The higher-level classes also helped prepare Eric for the rigors of college academics. Colleges will be looking at the level of difficulty of the courses the student is taking in high school. Advanced placement courses are going to look good on a student’s transcripts to college. Many colleges want to see that a student has followed a rigorous academic schedule, especially during their junior and senior years of high school.

Students on the autism spectrum in high school who are expecting to continue on to college after graduation need to know the courses that will be required to get into college. They should work with the guidance counselor at the high school to make sure they are taking the necessary courses. Students should start as early as the last year of middle school to map out their academic schedule towards graduation. Colleges will vary as to what is required, so students need to research the requirements of any colleges they are considering.

Most colleges and universities require a certain number of years of a foreign language and certain mathematics or science courses. Eric did not take a foreign language in high school. We knew it would be hard for him and he had no interest in foreign languages at all. He took the curriculum enhancement class instead, which he needed in order to do well in his other courses. We later found out that the university he wanted to attend required two years of a foreign language. Fortunately, the university agreed to waive the requirement for admission as long as he took the foreign language while a student at the university. Not all colleges will agree to do that, so students need to plan their high school course schedule with this in mind. Most colleges do not accept course waivers; therefore, courses waived or avoided because of a learning disability may jeopardize college admission. If the student discovers too late that they don’t have the required courses for entrance into a particular college, they can look into taking the courses needed at a local community college.

High school students can prepare for college by taking computer courses and becoming more comfortable with using the computer for assignments. Colleges require most papers and assignments to be done on a word processor and students should have some skill in this area if possible. Students who have an easier time typing than handwriting will appreciate this at the college level where very little is handwritten. A student may also want to get some experience in high school with making graphs or tables on the computer. Any online research experience can also be beneficial in high school to prepare the student for college.

PE classes are usually required in high school. The negative experience of the middle school PE class convinced me that it was not appropriate for Eric to take the standard PE class required for graduation. He hated sports and, because of his motor delays, he was lousy at any kind of team sports. Why put him through it? I tried to have him exempted from PE in high school as I had done for the second year of PE in middle school. I was not successful in this endeavor. The high school required Eric to take some kind of PE class for graduation, but it did not have to be the standard course required for freshmen. Again, the variety of high school classes was to our advantage. We found a PE class that involved weight lifting and running, both sports Eric could participate in somewhat independently. The teacher for the class was great, knew nothing about autism, but was open to learning how best to help Eric.

Not all of Eric’s teachers were as accommodating in high school, however. For the most part, the teachers were supportive and willing to do the minor accommodations Eric needed. We had one experience with a teacher that was quite difficult. The class was physical science, a required class for graduation. When Eric started having some problems with the homework and had a low test score, I contacted the teacher via e-mail to tell her my concerns and to ask how I could help Eric at home with his work. She didn’t respond to my e-mail. I then tried calling her and leaving a message on her school voice-mail and she never responded to that either. Eric’s case manager at the school also tried to talk to her with no success. Eric’s grades continued to decline and we called a meeting with the teacher and the autism outreach teacher and myself but the teacher did not attend. I was very frustrated at this point because I knew Eric was a good student. He always followed the rules and always did his work. We weren’t asking for anything above and beyond what a “typical” student might need.

Eventually it came to our attention that this particular teacher, along with a few other teachers at the school, had been involved in a law suit initiated by parents of several students with learning disabilities. I never met with or talked to the teacher to get her perspective. My assumption is that because of that difficult experience with the law suit, she was refusing to get involved with students with disabilities who needed accommodations. I eventually had Eric taken out of this teacher’s class and put in another class. I mention this story for several reasons. First, it is important that parents pick their battles. I could have pursued this further and gone the legal route to get what Eric needed. But this was not a battle I wanted to fight because I didn’t think the end result would have made the teacher be more responsive to students with disabilities. Second, it taught me the lesson that we all, professionals and parents, have “baggage” that we bring to a relationship, based on our previous experiences. We have to work hard to not let past experiences cloud our future relationships and how we advocate for these students.

One professional who is important in the transition to college process is the psychologist with the school. If the student is in a private school or is home schooled it will most likely be a psychologist in private practice who will be involved. In preparation for the transition to college, a student with a disability needs to have a complete psycho-educational battery of testing completed before graduation. The information from this evaluation is needed to acquire testing accommodations for the College Board examinations. It is also necessary for requesting accommodations at the college level. Most colleges require recent (i.e. less than three years old) documentation concerning the disability. It is helpful if the student or parents know before the evaluation what testing the college requires for receiving accommodations. That way they can make sure the appropriate testing is done before graduation from high school. The information required by the college may also give the psychologist some guidance as to what information to stress in the written report from the evaluation. If the testing is not done in high school, or if the testing is not current enough for the college, the parents may find it necessary to pay to have the testing done privately. This can be very expensive.

Probably the most important event that will take place during the high school years for any student with a disability is the Transition Plan. In 1990, there were concerns that special education programs in the schools were not adequately preparing students for adult life. The Congress of the United States amended federal law, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), to require that each student of high school age have a Transition Plan. Students or parents can request a Transition Plan when the student reaches the age of 14 or earlier if appropriate. The goal of transition planning is to determine what services will be provided to the student during the high school years. These should not consist only of a list of agencies that can be resources for the student following graduation. They should address the high school years and focus on ways to educate the student in the skills they will need as an adult (Reiser 1995).

IDEA defines transition services as a “coordinated set of activities for a student that promotes movement from school to post-school activities.” These activities can include postsecondary education, vocational training, supported employment or integrated employment, adult education, adult services, independent living, and community participation. These activities must reflect the individual student’s needs and preferences and interests (IDEA 1990, section 1401(a)(19)).

The Individualized Transition Plan (ITP) is often developed as a part of the Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) for the student and should be reviewed annually. It includes long-range goals and services and is oriented to life after high school. The importance of the ITP is to clarify what the individual student wants in his or her life. The ITP team should be thinking about what the student wants to be doing in the future, where they want to live, what their dreams are and what they need to learn or do to reach these dreams.

There are many areas that can be addressed in an ITP in addition to the academic issues. Some of the goals written in the Transition Plan may address a specific skill. Goals may also address basic life skills such as the use of money, personal hygiene, transportation, assistive technology, and self-advocacy. The Transition Plan is a wonderful opportunity to concentrate on the individual student and help them to understand their disability and be able to advocate for themselves. Discussion in the ITP should include ways to help the student identify and access support services in the community such as Vocational Rehabilitation (VR), Social Security, or residential support services. In the past, educators have had to provide school-based services only. Now, with transition services, schools must include instructional and educational experiences that may need to occur outside the school campus.

Students with disabilities often learn a needed skill in the classroom and then practice it in the classroom. The next step should be to practice the skill in the community. Some schools may be reluctant to use a community-based approach to teaching the student the skills needed for transition. When turning down a request for community instruction, it is not uncommon for schools to report issues related to staffing, funding, transportation, safety, or liability. Parents and students may need to advocate for more community-based instruction opportunities for the student. This may be necessary especially for those students who are not in self-contained special education classrooms where non-academic skills are more frequently taught. Being in the mainstream setting may mean fewer opportunities to teach self-help and independence skills to the student.

I arranged for Eric to work at a library in the community one period a day during one of his years in high school. It helped him learn some vocational skills that he would not have the chance to learn in the school setting. The school was agreeable but I had to suggest it, I had to arrange it with the library, and I had to transport Eric to the library. VR was involved in supporting him by meeting occasionally with Eric’s supervisor at the library. They also paid Eric a small stipend while he worked there. If working in the community is not available to your child, there may be jobs available on campus that can be pursued. Possible jobs may include working in the main office or the guidance office, working in the cafeteria, or working in the mailroom. During the last two years of high school, Eric worked in the high school library one period each day. This was good experience and also gave him the opportunity to meet more students and feel more involved with the school. Parents may need to initiate ideas such as these as schools frequently will not.

Leisure and recreational skills should be included as part of the goals in the ITP related to community participation. All leisure activities and ideas should be based on the individual interests and desires of the student. Specific skills can be developed to enable the student to participate in a recreational activity the student enjoys such as singing, bowling, swimming, etc. Goals also might focus on skills to help the student learn how to choose leisure activities or how to use their leisure time constructively. Ideas for recreational goals may include attending activities and sporting events on the school campus or attending activities in the community.

Personal and social skills should also be addressed in the student’s Transition Plan. Good personal and social skills can benefit the student in most areas of their life. Goals should again be based on the individual preferences of the student and should be individualized to meet the student’s specific needs. Goals may include learning how to greet people, developing better eye contact, improving table manners, or understanding the difference between strangers and acquaintances. The ITP team, including the student, should assess what the social and personal needs are of the student and develop goals based on that information.

High school was a time of growth for Eric socially as well as academically. For most individuals on the autism spectrum, social skills are going to be an ongoing challenge. As I mentioned before, Eric had always been a loner and not very social with anyone outside of family. He was socially appropriate in most situations; he just didn’t like to initiate social contact and often preferred to be alone. Eric became more social in high school as he realized how enjoyable it was to talk to girls. There was one particular girl in one of his classes who was friendly with Eric and invited him to sit with her and her friends at lunch. For the first time in his school career, Eric was not eating lunch alone. She became his friend, inviting him to activities at the school and in the community. Eric’s relationship with this girl was a wonderful gift. It gave him confidence and showed him how pleasurable having friends can be.

After the social difficulties of middle school, it was refreshing to have a positive social experience for Eric, especially one that I didn’t arrange! Of course social experiences in high school will vary. They may not always be successful and many individuals on the autism spectrum report extremely difficult experiences in high school. However, many parents have told me and I certainly have found that high school is easier socially than middle school. Students in high school may be more accepting of differences than students in middle school.

As parents, the social rejection of our children is one of the most painful things we can experience. For the student, social rejection can be devastating. Individuals on the autism spectrum will probably always have to work hard to deal with the social aspects of their world. But as individuals mature, they learn more about themselves and their strengths and difficulties and, we hope, can adjust better to the social demands they face. As adults, they will also have more social opportunities with people who are more mature and more accepting. I believe social experiences can get better as the individual on the spectrum gets older.

For some individuals on the autism spectrum, the Transition Plan meeting may be their first experience of sitting around a table with people who are discussing the student’s disability and the accommodations they may need. Parents frequently choose not to include the student in IEP meetings. They might think it may make the student uncomfortable or may be difficult for the student to hear others talk about their weaknesses. Although school districts are always required to invite students with disabilities to their IEP planning meetings, students are not required actually to attend and are often not encouraged to attend. If students do attend, they frequently do not have the self-advocacy skills to participate in the meeting. It is crucial in high school that students on the autism spectrum attend and participate, if possible, in all meetings concerning their needs at school.

Parents and the school can help prepare the student for such meetings by discussing with them the purpose of the meeting and who will be there. If the student is prepared for the meeting, he or she can participate more fully. The student can be given an agenda for the meeting with a time designated for the student to make a statement if appropriate. If they are going to speak, some students may need to rehearse their part ahead of time. If the student is not able to attend the meeting, or speaking to the group is too difficult, he or she can possibly write out any questions or comments they would like to see addressed. If attending the entire meeting is too much for the student, consider having him or her attend the beginning of the meeting only, long enough to hear the introductions and hear about progress the student has made. The student can also write a statement that can be read at the meeting. Any opportunity to understand the transition process and participate in self-advocating will benefit the student.

Eric’s Transition Plan meeting in high school was his first experience of participating fully in a meeting about his school services. He had attended the before-school meetings with teachers to meet the teachers and introduce himself, but had not attended an IEP meeting. In retrospect, I wish I had included him earlier in other meetings so he would have had more experience in advocating for himself. I believe secondary schools should fully inform parents and students with disabilities about the emphasis on self-advocacy at the postsecondary school level. If your high school is not talking about this issue, the parent or student should be initiating discussion about this with the support team.

Other individuals attended Eric’s transition meeting who did not normally attend meetings concerning him. There was a transition specialist from the school system, Eric’s supervisor at his volunteer job in the community, a therapist who worked with him for years outside of school, and his grandmother. A representative from VR also attended. The Transition Plan meeting is the opportunity to invite anyone who knows and cares for the student to be involved in this important process. Parents can invite anyone they would like but should let the school know ahead of time whom they are inviting and how many people may be attending. Other family members, friends of the family, any support persons who have worked with the student, can be invited to attend. According to the law, agencies from the community that may be responsible for providing or paying for transition services to the student must be invited to the ITP meeting (Reiser 1995).

We began Eric’s Transition Plan meeting with everyone introducing themselves. Each person took turns saying their name and what agency they represented or how they knew Eric. When it got to Eric’s turn, his father and I were holding our breaths, not sure what Eric would say. He said, “My name is Eric, and I have autism.” I was completely taken by surprise that Eric volunteered that he had autism. I knew he had been aware of his autism for years but he had never just announced it to a group of people like that. After the meeting I asked Eric why he chose to say that in particular. He said that everyone else around the table was saying their name and why they were there so he had to say something too. He knew his autism was why he was there.

The ITP meeting was very different from previous IEP meetings and not only because of the new faces around the table. This meeting was all about Eric’s dreams and his goals for what he wanted to do with his life. During the meeting Eric was asked questions about what he wanted to do when he graduated from high school. They asked him about where he might want to live when he is an adult, whether he wanted to learn to drive, where he envisioned himself working. Sometimes Eric didn’t have answers to the questions and would say he didn’t know and that was OK. Even when he didn’t have an answer it was helpful because it opened up a discussion about what options Eric might have. Eric learned more about the decisions he would eventually have to make for his future. It was a learning experience for me as his parent because Eric had not spoken about many of these things before. It was good to hear Eric’s hopes and dreams for himself. When the ITP team had a better idea about Eric’s goals, they discussed ways to help him reach these goals. They suggested resources within the school and the community that could possibly be helpful. They talked about the skills Eric already had and what he would need to learn. Goals were written in the Transition Plan including the names of who would be responsible for working on these goals.

The ITP meetings are a wonderful opportunity to focus on issues of self-advocacy and independent living skills needed for the student’s future. In determining what needs the student may have in this area, parents, with the student, may want to consider the following questions:

•Does the student understand the disability and how it affects their learning?

•Can the student describe their strengths and weaknesses in ways others can understand?

•Does the student know what resources are available to help them?

•Does the student know how to access these resources?

•Does the student understand their legal rights in regard to accessing services?

•Does the student have the capability to live independently? If not, what skills do they need? (Heggie 1999)

The transition team can use these kinds of questions to stimulate discussion and keep the focus of the meetings on the future needs of the student.

When Eric started his junior year of high school, his sister became a freshman at the same school. It was the first time in many years that they would be attending the same school and riding the same bus to school. It was great for me as their mother to have them in the same school. The previous two years all three of my children were at different schools and life was complicated. I had concerns that socially it might be difficult for my daughter if other students asked her about her brother. Being a ninth grader entering high school can be stressful enough without adding that piece to the puzzle. As it turned out, my daughter handled it really well. There were times when new friends at school would ask her about her brother and she would explain that he had autism. She didn’t bring up her autistic brother to many people as a topic of conversation but she was also not afraid to answer their questions or correct them if they made comments that were not correct.

I think parents need to be proactive and try to prevent possible difficult situations from occurring for the sibling. It is easy to forget sometimes that the sibling may be feeling accepting and proud of their brother or sister with a disability but at the same time may also be embarrassed or uncomfortable when having to explain to their peers about their differences. At the beginning of the first year Eric and my daughter were at the high school together, the bus they rode home from school was very late arriving at the high school every afternoon. The students had to wait at the school for at least a half an hour for the bus to arrive. I knew what Eric would be doing while he was waiting for the bus. He would be walking back and forth, maybe quietly talking to himself, and maybe flicking his fingers near his face. It doesn’t bother people, it isn’t disruptive in any way, but I knew it could cause some stares or comments from the other students. I thought that would be difficult for my daughter to have to deal with during her first weeks of high school when she was trying to adjust and find new friends. I changed my work schedule and arranged to pick them up at school each afternoon until the buses became more predictable. Parents can try to think ahead and prevent uncomfortable situations for the siblings.