Realizing the College Dream with Autism or Asperger Syndrome: A Parent's Guide to Student Success

by Ann Palmer

Overview

Realizing the College Dream with Autism or Asperger Syndrome is both a practical and a personal account of one ASD student's successful experience of going to college.

This accessible book focuses on how to get there and stay there: deciding to go, how to get in and how to get the most out of it. Ann Palmer advises parents and professionals how to prepare the student for the transition from school and home life to a new environment and educational challenge, and how to support them through potential problems such as academic pressure, living away from home, social integration and appropriate levels of participation in college. She offers helpful strategies that will encourage and inspire parents and students and show that college can be a suitable option for students with an autism spectrum disorder, as well as the basis for a successful independent life later.

This book is essential reading for any parent considering college as an option for their child, disability service providers in colleges and for ASD students themselves.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781846422508
Publisher:	Jessica Kingsley Publishers
Publication date:	09/26/2005
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	176
File size:	682 KB

About the Author

Ann Palmer is married with three children, one of whom, Eric, was diagnosed with autism when he was two years old. He is now 24. She has 13 years' experience working with families of individuals with autism at Division TEACCH (Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication handicapped Children). Ann coordinated a volunteer parent mentor program that provided support to over 800 families in North Carolina. In her current role as Director of Chapter Relations for the Autism Society of NC, she coordinates over 40 parent support groups throughout the state. She is also the co-author of Parenting Across the Autism Spectrum: Unexpected Lessons We Have Learned, published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers. This book was the 2007 Autism Society of America's Outstanding Literary Work of the Year.
Ann Palmer has spent the last 20 years working in the field of autism as the Parent Support Coordinator for Division TEACCH and the Director of Advocacy and Chapter Support for the Autism Society of North Carolina. At TEACCH she developed a parent mentor program supporting over 800 families. At the ASNC she established support groups around the state and coordinated 50 groups of family members of individuals with ASD. She is currently a Family Faculty member at the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Ann is the parent of an adult son with autism. She lives in Cary, North Carolina.

Table of Contents

Preface. Introduction.1. Starting Out: Diagnosis and the Early Years. 2. Strategies for the High School Years. 3. Making the Decision about College. 4. Everything You Need to Know about Life: A Summer of Lessons. 5. Moving Out: The Transition to the Dorm. 6. Supports and Strategies at College. 7. Self-Awareness and the Issue of Self-Disclosure. 8. Positives of the College Experience. 9. What Comes Next? Useful Books and Websites. Sample Self-Disclosure Form. References. Index.

Editorial Reviews

Owing to vast improvements in therapies and diagnosis, high schoolers with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) have the option of going on to college. As a case in point, Palmer shares the story of her son, Eric, who was diagnosed with ASD at age three and after many years of therapy attended college. Interweaving personal experiences like preparaing Eric for college with general information and resources results in excellent guidance for ASD students in high school or college and their parents. Of particular note are the chapters on support strategies (accommodations that can be made for the students), self-awareness/self-disclosure, and links for resources on disabilities on campus. Palmer has worked with professionals at the acclaimed Treatment and Education of Autistic and Other Communications Handicapped Children and Adults Program in North Carolina; her book makes an excellent complement to Judith Cohen's Succeeding with Autism: Hear My Voice. Strongly recommended for all academic and public libraries with ASD or education collections.-Corey Seeman, Univ. of Toledo Libs. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

This is a guide book written (for all 'you fellow autism spectrum club members') to provide advice, reassurance, information and hope in supporting students on the autism spectrum to fulfil their dreams. It is a book both parents and teachers will find equally stimulating and immensely valuable... Ann Palmer tells the story of her son Eric's transition through school, highlighting the difficulties in the education system for children on the autism spectrum. The scope of Realizing the College Dream with Autism or Asperger Syndrome covers diagnosis, parental concerns, school experiences, and the realisation of the college dream. Each chapter deals with a different aspect of Eric's schooling and provides insights into how to access the school system to accommodate the needs of a child on the autism spectrum.

British Journal of Special Education

They say experience is the best teacher and there can be no better way to learn about coping with life's challenges than first-hand from others. The detailed and comprehensive scope of Ann Palmer's book about her experience of enabling her autistic son, Eric, to progress through school and into college, makes it a valuable resource.

Newscheck

Realising the College Dream with Autism or Asperger Syndrome is both a practical and personal account of one ASD students successful experience of going to college. This book focuses on how to get there and stay there: deciding to go, how to get in and how to get the most out of it. Writer Ann Palmer advises parents and professionals how to prepare the student and the transition from school and home life to a new environment and educational challenge, and how to support them through potential problems such as academic pressure, living away from home , social integration and appropriate levels of participation in college. She offers helpful strategies to show that college can be a suitable option for students with an autism spectrum disorder, as well as the basis for a successful independent life later. The book is essential reading for any parent considering college as an option for their child, the disability service provided in colleges and for ASD students themselves'.

Autism US

Through "paving the way" and discussing the difficulties encountered at key stages in the education processes, the author clearly provides help and encouragement for parents of a child with Asperger syndrome. The main strength of the book, however, lies in its consideration of preparation for adult life within the further education system. There is clearly a sense of both stepping out, and of letting go, with the author again highlighting key stages in the process for both herself and her son'.

Teaching Fellows Journal

This is a very comprehensive guide to college preparation, selection and success. The real-life, personal accounts of Ann Palmer and her son concerning his own path toward and through college life are a key and unique component to this work. I would buy this book if only for the excellent appendices!... Our international organization will use this book as a reference for years to come.

Susan J. Moreno

Palmer describes how parents can help children with autism or Asperger Syndrome attend college, using information, learned from assisting her own son. She details his diagnosis and experiences in elementary through high school, how to decide to go to college; safety, health, and academic issues; self help skills, time management, and orientation; adjustment; support services; self-awareness and self disclosure, the benefits of college; and what to do after college. The appendices contain an annotated list of useful books and websites and a sample self-disclosure form.

Book News