The Autism College Connection

IDEA, the federal legislation that guides public education for students with disabilities, only protects students in public education. Once your student graduates and leaves the public school system, either at age 18 or 21, those protections end.

IDEA is a powerful set of laws that safeguards our children. Prior to its passage in 1975, schools had no obligation to educate our kids. Only 1 in 5 students with disabilities was educated at their neighborhood school building. The rest were either warehoused in institutions or kept at home.

Now, we take for granted that our schools will find a place for all children, regardless of their disabilities. The little school bus comes to our homes at 8, and drops them off at 3. We know that our children have the right to an individual, appropriate education. We attend yearly IEP meetings and work as part of a team, along with teachers and therapists, to create appropriate goals written up in a 40-page IEP.

Once our children graduate from high school, they lose those guarantees and rights that parents have come to expect. Instead, disabled peoples’ only legal protections come from the Americans with Disabilities Act, which has much less robust support for disabled people.

For example, on a college campus ADA laws state: “Post-secondary schools must make reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities unless doing so would result in a fundamental alteration of the program or would result in undue financial or administrative burden.”

So, what does that mean? Well, a college professor does not have to alter his curriculum to support students with learning differences or cognitive disabilities. Most likely, the college professor has no training in supporting students with disabilities, and probably has never had any pedagogical training. Professors are experts on German literature or Roman history or aerodynamics. They don’t know anything about autism.

While IDEA gives parents an important role in shaping their student’s education, a traditional college program does not permit parents to contact professors. Parents do not have access to grades or financial information, because their students are now adults. Unless a students signs a FERPA form that gives the college permission to talk to a parent, administrators might not answer any questions.

Also, colleges do not have to accept all students. Even at a community college, students must pass an entry exam to become full-time students. If students exhibit any unusual behaviors, they will be escorted off the campus.

There are also no guarantees of support and services outside the college campus. Workplaces are not obligated to employ our kids. There are no rights to a full day of supervision for our kids, who are now young adults. After 15-18 years of legal protections under IDEA, the years after high school can be a big transition for everyone.

That’s why good preparations are essential. Parents should ask their school or private therapy center to conduct a full round of evaluations on their child during the freshman year of high school. They should shore up weaknesses and bolster strengths throughout their remaining years in public school. Good preparations ensure that your kids will have the best chances for success after high school.

While students won’t have the full range of supports that they enjoyed in high school, colleges do provide accommodations for students with documented disabilities. Those accommodations differ widely from school to school, program to program. Some colleges do little more than provide extra time on tests and a quiet testing room. Other colleges provide unique programs with special classes for students with IDD.

So, are there IEPs in college? No, there are not. But good preparation and research will lessen the shock to you and your student. And hopefully, they will be ready for independence and ready to take on adulthood without the IDEA safety net.

If you need help finding the right program for your student, reach out for support. Email — McKennaConnect@gmail.com.

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