The Autism College Connection

Parents often think that colleges offer special education classes, with adapted curriculum, similar to high school offerings. Some assume that they can call professors and have them change requirements for their students. They might believe that their child will continue to enjoy certain rights guaranteed by IDEA and still have an IEP plan. They’ve heard rumors that staff will monitor their student’s activities, and the college will assign an aide to accompany their student in class. 

Sadly, none of that is true. 

College professors have different training and responsibilities from high school teachers. Professors are not education experts. Most have never taken a class in pedagogy or child development, and certainly have no training in autism. Instead, professors are experts in Shakespeare, differential calculus, and Ancient Greek history. The college expects them to teach for a few hours a week, sit in a bunch of meetings, and write many research papers. 

Professors will not alter their curriculum in any way for students with special needs. The class will be taught exactly how it is described in the syllabus. Parents cannot write to the professor or call them to discuss the student’s progress. They really don’t want to know about an individual student’s diagnoses or particular issues. 

Most colleges have Offices of Disability services, which provide extra time on tests and a quiet room to take the tests. They might set up a standing appointment at the tutoring center. Students must be responsible for registering with this department, which could take several appointments and paperwork. Then they will be responsible for forwarding the “accommodations letter” to each of their professors every semester. 

The standard college campus, as I’ve described it, probably doesn’t sound like a super autism-friendly environment. But this system actually works really well for some flavors of autism. For a person who is really passionate about a particular interest and can mask some autistic characteristics, a college campus is heaven. If you look around at the faculty members in the physics, engineering, and computing departments, you’ll see a whole lot of autism. 

In addition, there are new college programs opening up right now, aimed at different brands of autistic students. The trick is to match up your student’s autism flavor with these programs. If your student has an intellectual disability, great social skills, and few behaviors, then can explore the many I/DD programs available on college campuses. The Think College website has those options.

Community colleges are becoming the default college for autistic students. 80 percent of college-bound students with autism attend a community college at some point in their college career. And community colleges are responding with new programs aimed just at these students. 

The standard four-year college might not be right for every student with autism or another disability. But that doesn’t mean that college should be off the table entirely. Instead, parents should look at all the options to find one that works well for their student. 

College may seem harsh as I first described it, but it’s also a unique place. It’s a community of young people learning things, eating together in dining halls, and hanging out in the student union. It’s fun. If college is a possibility, parents should explore all the options.