Читать книгу Realizing the College Dream with Autism or Asperger Syndrome - Ann Palmer - Страница 9

Preface

After my son Eric was accepted into college word spread in our local autism community that I was the person to call if you had questions about college and autism. I never felt like an expert in this; I was just a mom trying to survive my son leaving home. I was surprised that anyone would be coming to me for advice because I wasn’t feeling confident in anything I was doing. That time in my life was very similar to 16 years earlier when Eric was first diagnosed with autism. Like then, I felt overwhelmed, I had more questions than answers, and I was pressuring myself to learn everything and do everything to help my son.

The parents who contacted me, some I knew well and some I had never talked to before, were hungry for information and appreciative of any experience I would share with them. They didn’t expect all the answers. They wanted to hear from someone who was going through it, who could talk about the mistakes, the surprises, anything we were learning during this process.

I was very pleased when my colleagues at TEACCH (Treatment and Education of Autistic and other Communication handicapped CHildren and adults) invited me to present at a conference on high-functioning autism and Asperger Syndrome in college. The conference was attended by disability services providers from colleges and universities along the eastern coast of the United States. I was asked to give a parent’s perspective and to share some of the strategies that had been useful for Eric. For the first time I would be telling our story to professionals, not parents, and I wasn’t sure how well it would be received. I had doubts that an audience of college service providers would be interested in a parent’s perspective, knowing the emphasis in college is on student self-advocacy and not parental involvement.

The conference went well and the audience was very receptive to my presentation. I learned that day that college service providers are committed to helping students be successful in college and they welcome a parent’s help in preparing the student for the transition and supporting them at college. They understand how complicated the needs of students on the autism spectrum can be. In many cases they alone cannot provide all the supports a student may need and realize that a parent’s support may be crucial.

My experience at the conference and the questions I got from other parents convinced me that there is a significant need for more readily available information for professionals and parents who support students on the autism spectrum in college. This book is my attempt to get more information out to other parents who are thinking about college as an option for their child. I hope it will also be helpful to those individuals who work at colleges supporting our sons and daughters. It is my hope that my experiences and the experiences of my son can help other families realize their college dreams.