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
