How to Prepare Your Child With Autism for Life After High School

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By doban
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Autism awareness

Every parent of a child with autism will have to prepare them for life after high school. What will their employment look like? How independently will they live? What supports will they need? Will they continue to live at home? If your child has autism, no matter what their level of functioning, life after high school will require specific planning.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Step 1

To prepare your child with autism for life after high school, know who to contact for help.

One place to contact is MHMR services in your state. They can help with intervention services and can also connect your child to adult services such as a group home and other types of placements or living supports. You state should also have employment services for people with disabilities. Your local public school is required by law to provide information about these services as part of required transition planning in high school.
Step 2

Start planning early.

It is hard to think about preparing your child with autism for life after high school when your child is only in primary school. However, in some places, the waiting lists can be very long. I have seen waiting lists for placements through MHMR be as long as 10 years and more. If a waiting list is 10 years long and you want to have services available for your child when they turn 18, then they would need to be on those waiting list at the age of 8. Start planning early. Even if you are thinking that you won't need any outside help, why not get on the waiting lists. When services become available you can always turn them down. However, if you or your child's needs change, then it may be a real benefit that those services are available.

Job related service agencies sometimes will not get involved until your child is almost ready to graduate from high school, however, the school should start long before that. They should assess your child's abilities and needs so that they can look at job training and supports in school.
Step 3

Consider how independently your child with autism will live and start early getting them needed supports.

Will they be able to live independently? Will they need supports or special training for that? Or will they need a group home? Do you want them to continue living at home with you? There are a wide range of options and the one that is best for them depends on your preferences, their preferences, and their level of functioning. A higher functioning child may be headed to college and living fairly independently. However, a lower functioning child with autism may need to live with someone who can help them. Plan early. Also, make sure that, if they will need any help, they receive that training from their school as well as at home. Your child may need instruction that is presented in the context of life skills.
Step 4

Consider your child's strengths and interests.

Children with autism tend to have splinter skills. They may have deficits in some areas but they also often have some real strengths that are out of proportion to their other skills. Focus on those strengths or interests. They can be the basis for successful employment or socialization.

Comments

kjshannon said

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on 8/1/2009 Challenging situations with love are required. Great considerations for parents. I wish they would begin to think about this transition at an earlier age ( around 8th or 9th )