program; a young man who did a cooperative education placement in a pet store may subsequently seek employment there.
Young adults with ASD usually value the “tried and true,” but as this does not always lead to success, try to expand their horizons as well. Find out what your young adult values. Listen to their comments about what high school courses are “great,” and what characters in stories or shows they admire. Ask about the fantasy world where they live when you are not around, and what makes it exciting. Ask other adults who interact with your young adult (e.g. a favorite teacher, a youth group leader at church) what topics cause them to participate in the group. These are the areas where they will be most motivated to try something new!
As shown in the table, everyone seems to agree that family, social, and community support is needed, but the level of support which is ideal varies from one young person to another. For example, your 18-year-old ASD adult may have memorized the subway or bus system and navigate it without difficulty, an ASD classmate may be able to use public transit independently after several “practice runs” with a parent to the same destination, and still another autistic youth may be anxious about even attempting to travel more than a few blocks from home. All are the same age and, officially, have the same diagnosis but the level of support they need in order to travel is vastly different.
The optimal type of support varies too. For instance, your young adult may not want you to accompany her to an event, but will go to activities with a teacher or other adult. For others, the reverse is true. Similarly, activities involving groups of autistic youth are enjoyed by some and rejected by others (discussed further in Chapter 8). Buddies, whether neurotypical or affected by ASD, may be helpful to smooth the transition to something new for the latter group. Overall, most autistic youth will respond to some form of support to broaden their horizons so don’t give up looking for one that works.
Sources of motivation vary from person to person too. After years of working with your son or daughter, you probably have a pretty good idea of what motivates them to try something new. Still, it may be worth taking a moment to review what has worked in the past before discussing goals.
Moreover, because of their tendency toward strong, idiosyncratic interests, young adults on the autism spectrum are not always motivated by financial gain to the same extent that other young adults may be. For example, when looking for a job, they may value time off to pursue their favorite game more than a higher rate of pay. Others may value the money as a means to obtain something consistent with their interests. For instance, I have seen several young people who saved up diligently towards getting a pet. Youth on the spectrum may also have a strong sense of right and wrong, which sometimes motivates spending money on worthy causes. Still others may continue to value child-like rewards such as candy or other treats.
Regardless of what drives them, young people are more likely to pursue new goals when they can obtain their desired item or activity more consistently as a result of doing this. Sometimes you may need to provide the rewards but, more often at this age, it is a matter of gently pointing out what lies in store once they overcome the fear of doing something new, or of setting up routines which facilitate the new activity. We will revisit this issue in Chapter 3 on promoting independence.
Where to start with goal-setting
One universal truth about goal-setting is this: the earlier you start, the better! Even if goals have to be modified over time, discussing goals and long-term plans throughout the high school years sets the expectation that the young person will continue to grow and develop beyond graduation. That expectation of continued growth and change is invaluable. Over forty years of educational research have shown that teacher expectations of students early in the school year relate to how well those students do academically by the end of the school year. Parental expectations have recently been found to affect child outcomes too, especially when the child appears vulnerable in some way (Briley et al. 2014). In short, setting a positive expectation regarding your child’s further development increases the chances it will actually happen.
Starting early also allows time to try out different options before having to pursue them seriously. For instance, if your child is considering working in a library, she could do a cooperative education placement in this setting during high school to test out this career choice. If he is fascinated with reptiles, he could volunteer at a zoo to learn about work related to this interest. Some high school courses also offer practical experience related to possible long-term goals. Cooking, wood shop, landscaping, and photography courses are just some examples. This early experimentation with different types of work and work environments is particularly important in those who have developmental delays. If your child is very bright and university-bound, some career decisions can be sorted out in those post-secondary years. If your child is likely to seek work or vocational training right after high school, there is a greater need to find an area of long-term interest while still in high school.
If it is possible to obtain part-time work related to the young person’s interests, that’s ideal. Working part time in high school is one of the best predictors of long-term career success (Carter, Austin and Trainor 2012). Don’t be discouraged if finding paid employment is difficult though, as employers are often more amenable to offering young people with disabilities volunteer opportunities than paid work (an issue discussed further in Chapter 5).
If you didn’t start planning early in high school, don’t be too self-critical. Educators are partly responsible for helping with post-secondary transitions too, and it’s never too late to start the process. Just read on and start now!
Begin with goals related to the young person’s interests and ambitions. Youth are often willing to go outside their comfort zone to achieve these goals. In addition, try the following:
• Find an aspect of achieving your youth’s goal that you feel has value. For example, if your youth’s goal is to collect every video related to dinosaurs in a particular series in order to prepare for eventually becoming a paleontologist, which you are not sure is realistic, discuss what is needed to complete the collection. Perhaps some of the videos are only available in a store or library across town. Point out that you are too busy to drive across town, but would be willing to demonstrate how to use the bus. If your youth’s goal of completing the collection can support your goal of getting them to use public transit independently, you can work together with minimal frustration on both sides.
• Use modest, day-to-day goals to see if larger goals are feasible. Completing a collection or including a new activity in the daily routine may seem modest, but can help test the waters to see if larger goals are feasible for you and your child. In the previous example, a young person who cannot learn to use the bus is unlikely to manage a college program in paleontology, let alone flying to the Gobi Desert to dig for fossils. On the other hand, finishing the collection successfully might lead to a class presentation on paleontology, and subsequent work with a guidance counselor to plan for the academic prerequisites needed in that field. Small, modest steps allow people to show what they are capable of doing, and sometimes youth with ASD do surprisingly well when challenged in an area which fascinates them.
• Rather than stressing about the lofty goals of employment and further education, emphasize small goals which get the young person out of the house. Most autistic youth function best when they have one or more regular, daily activities away from home, and you may welcome the break from your autistic youth at this time too. The routine of getting out into the real world each day, whether for a job, volunteer work, or just a regular fitness or arts program helps with emotional stability for young people on the autism spectrum, and keeps them from spending too much time in their own minds. As most activities involve at least some social contact, socialization may improve as well.
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