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ASPartOfMe
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02 Nov 2017, 12:11 am

College students with autism have low graduation rate

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The transition between high school and college can prove to be difficult for individuals with autism, and their college retention rates remain low despite resources to help them complete coursework.

Jennifer Breunig, a sophomore with autism studying informatics, said in an email interview that students with autism are as smart as any other college student and have plenty of potential.

“But autistics are often given very little support, especially once we become adults, because the focus is on the parents’ feelings instead of the autistic person’s well-being,” she said.

The study found that fewer than 20 percent of college students with autism had graduated or were even on track to graduate five years after high school. Rast said some of her colleagues believe that the number goes up to 39 percent after the students are seven years out of high school.

One of the big problems that students with autism face is the transition period and learning to navigate the college systems which are completely different from what they had to do when they were in high school,” she said.

The study found that fewer than 20 percent of college students with autism had graduated or were even on track to graduate five years after high school. Rast said some of her colleagues believe that the number goes up to 39 percent after the students are seven years out of high school.

Rast said that while the numbers increased, these students had an extra two years to complete their degree.

According to Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee, 2 percent of research funding for autism in 2015 was spent on long-term issues such as the lives of individuals with autism after they graduate high school.

Autistics on Campus President Ryan Borneman, a junior studying robotics engineering, is one of the founders of Autistics on Campus.

Many students with autism do not reach out to ASU’s Disability Resource Center because of the stigma surrounding the disorder.

“There are many things about the stigma, the way that autism is depicted, I believe, is on par with retardation,” Borneman said. “Because society has such a view of autism, they tend to reject the people who are characteristic of the disorder.”

Borneman said the stigma divides people between “normal people” and “autistic people.”

Maria Dixon, a speech and language pathologist and clinical associate professor at ASU, is the faculty advisor for the ASU organization Autistics on Campus.

Dixon said ASU provides resources for students with autism, but it depends on whether or not a student wants to identify with Autism spectrum disorder at the Disability Resource Center when they start their classes at ASU.

“We do know that people do come to college, and they may not access those services because there’s a stigma to autism,” she said.

Dixon said she thinks retention of students with autism is difficult because of the transition between high school and college. Students need more than just academic skills, she also said.

“Now, you have to do some self-advocacy,” she said. “You might have to go and find out what is available on campus either through the DRC or you might have to advocate for yourself about what you need in your class.”

Jennifer Breunig said she had to make adjustments to her life when she transitioned from high school to college.

“I have noticed the need for work-arounds, mainly because my brain is differently programmed,” she said. “I also have to manage my workload more carefully because living in a non-autistic world is inherently stressful, so I need to avoid adding too much stress on top of that, or I will start getting sick.”

Breunig said she has noticed a lot of ignorance on campus, but most of her friends are open to learning about autism.

However, some of her professors have come off as “extremely hostile” if she challenges their preconceptions of autism, she said.

“People who think they know very little are often very open,” she said. “People who think they know everything can be very cruel.”


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Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity

“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman


Adventure4U1
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21 Feb 2018, 8:05 am

I graduated from Oakland Community College with a Associates Degree and have about 2 years left before I get my Bachelors at OU. I am taking it slow. School's pretty much okay. Not too many problems academic, I am pretty good in that range (I am usually one of the first people to finish exams)

The only problem I am having with the school is the dorm. Not so much being with a roommate, but more the dining hall food. It's tastes like garbage and me being a selective eater doesn't help. Thank God the school does have a Panda Express Joint, I've eaten almost all of my meals there. Yeah, I know it's not the healthiest option, but what are you supposed to when your parents prohibit you going shopping while on campus? Eat food that makes you want to vomit? I don't think so.

If anything is going to stop me from graduating, it's that crappy food. Nothing else.



Yokokurama
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22 Feb 2018, 9:55 pm

Colleges try to force students to live on campus, which can be horrific for students with ASD. It's why I quit, and am struggling to go back. Society expects you to be independent at 18, and have the necessary maturity and patience to handle an entirely foreign environment full of people who couldn't care less that you're sharing a space with them. I never felt as lonely as I did during my 6 months at University. I sat alone during meals almost everyday and I never interacted with anyone outside of my 15 hours of classes every week. It's completely different than high school, and the stakes are much higher. Most professors simply don't care if their students pass or fail.



Adventure4U1
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23 Feb 2018, 7:33 pm

Oakland University is one of those schools that do not force any students to live on campus. I actually commuted for a while and hated it more, constantly being distracted by my parents. I am even in the best dorm. It's a upperclassman dorm, two solo rooms with personal beds and desks plus a common area and shared bathroom. My roommate is gone so much, I have the place to myself so often.

I find that classes at Oakland University aren't too difficult. The major courses I take classes require a minimum of 2.0, general ed courses typically require a minimum of 1.0. Usually I find myself teetering around the 3.0 or getting higher then that. I even once got a 4.0 in a General Ed Class. They do have a disability office in case you need extra time, but I stopped using it cause- well I'm usually the first one whom finishes tests, and I always do well.

I suppose you have a point, though if my parents keep insisting that I eat all my meals at the DH. I know they mean well, they want me to eat healthy, but there actions are doing more harm then good. Now that healthy food disgusting, I have no desire to eat it. I'll eat it if I'm forced too, but it makes me want to gag. The only thing that's yummy is the "junk" food.

Now only if I had the money to get to Minnesota earlier then 2020, when I plan upon graduating. Dining hall food is bad, but being homeless would probably be 100 times worse. I doubt soup kitchens would have that many GF options (and I have to avoid nightshades and lactose too) And food pantries- I know they don't. I've volunteered at one. Why the heck does nobody donate gluten free stuff?



papercraneheart
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23 Feb 2018, 7:46 pm

I never finished school. I changed my major I don’t know how many times. I went from teaching to Spanish to journalism to meteorology to business to computer information systems. I think I’m missing something between teaching and Spanish. I had semesters where I would get all As and Bs but they were far and few between. The rest of the time were Bs and Cs, and lots and lots of withdrawals (too late for refunds), and Fs. I work in IT now, doing tech support. I really like it but I worry about finding something else in tech without a degree. If I had it my way, I would have stuck with meteorology but my math skills were too weak for the math minor I swore I could handle despite having failed college algebra twice. But when it was good, it was incredible. I loved homework, I loved taking notes, and I love to read. I hated writing papers and class discussions though. I hope someday I can at least get an associates in Computer Info Systems because it’s the most feasible career path for me, and I do like it quite a lot. I would like to get Cisco CCNA certified or be a database admin. I really enjoy working with SQL, and networking fascinates me. I have the books for the certifications I want but I haven’t opened them yet. I think more of this might have to do with my having ADHD but there was a lot of sensory and anxiety issues at play as well. I excelled best at online classes where I was home and in my element, but they were the most expensive.



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Blue Jay
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23 Feb 2018, 10:50 pm

I did graduate with an Associates degree. So I'm happy in that way. But I think it's made me overqualified for most of the "low pay jobs" my parents are tying to encourage me to get, jobs at movie theaters and Burger King. My brothers got jobs there but that was before they went to college. And some of my autistic friends got jobs in restaurants and stores probably because they went to post high instead of college.

I am hoping I can find a summer job. That way I can purchase pasta and pots online if I comes to that. Otherwise I'll be stuck with a dining hall meal plan and get tired of college.. I've got 2 more years of college left after this semester. I'm looking forward to graduation, but I'm also nervous about what life is going to be like afterwards. I hope things end up okay.



Grammar Geek
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23 Feb 2018, 11:20 pm

I’m in my last semester of college and have taken the normal four years. If I pass my Super Semester classes, which is basically shooting and editing a bunch of videos and producing newscasts, I’ll get my bachelor’s degree in journalism. It’s been very hard; there was far more technology involved than I thought there would be, and I am not good with computers.



lambdamoses
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24 Feb 2018, 10:54 pm

I don't have ADHD, so can't relate to problems caused by ADHD. But I would say I'm really one of the most fortunate persons in the world. I never had trouble with academics; graduated summa cum laude with double majors in molecular, cell, developmental biology and computational and systems biology within 4 years; those, especially the latter, coincided with my special interests. I feel ashamed to tell people that I may be an Aspie, since I fit the Sheldon Cooper stereotype a bit too well though most Aspies aren't like that (that stereotype exists for a reason). I reiterate, most Aspies aren't like that. But it doesn't mean that I haven't got into major trouble in college.

I almost never talked with my roommates in my freshman and sophomore years in the dorm, and thanks to poor social skills, I had trouble finding roommates in my junior year when I decided to live off campus. A friend initially agreed to be my roommate but she broke her promise the last minute, after I signed the lease; I chose a one apartment apartment because that was what she wanted. I never had the courage to tell her how upset I was and exploded when alone, since it's hard to make friends and I really didn't want to lose her. Then I had to pay $2450 every month plus utility for almost a year, living alone in a one bedroom apartment meant for 2 people. That's more than my graduate school stipend! Fortunately my parents were willing to pay that for me, so my life wasn't that hard, but that made life hard for my parents. During that year, I briefly had a roommate but still paid most of the rent since she lived in the living room. I cooked for her all the time since I wanted to befriend her, but I still almost never talked with her and couldn't get along. Eventually she left and lived with her new boyfriend instead so I had to pay $2450 for a few months again. Senior year went pretty well; I moved to a 2 bedroom apartment and got roommates from friends of friends; they are pretty nerdy and understood me, and eventually became close friends whom I would remember for my entire life. Occasionally I had conflicts because I left dirty dishes in the sink for over a week (my hygiene is way worse than that when living alone), but everything else went well. In my sophomore year, I had trouble in my lab because I couldn't fit in (and people in the lab were complaining about work all the time); my faculty mentor in that lab appreciated the work of another undergrad but not my work even though I worked equally hard probably because I didn't tell others what I did and I was pissed yet still didn't tell anyone. But in my junior and senior years, I changed lab (also in part because my interests changed) and got a really nice postdoc and faculty mentor who did most of the socialization for me. I also learnt a lot of social skills from them.