Maybe you’re looking for experience in your desired career field. Or maybe your parents said it’s time for you to pay for some things on your own. Or maybe you just want to make some money over the summer to open a savings account. Whatever the reason, searching for a job or internship can be…
Read More
If you have weighed the pros and cons of disclosing your disability in order to obtain approved accommodations through your college’s disability office, please refer to the general steps in the process below. There may be differences in the steps at your college, but these should reflect the general or common practices. Sample scripts are…
Read More
Disability Disclosure Many Autistic individuals are provided information during their time in high school or elsewhere that encourages them to disclose their disability across college, employment, and/or social realms. However, making the decision regarding whether to disclose your disability is a deeply personal one and a choice that is yours alone. Data suggests that only…
Read More
Navigating academic responsibilities and a social life in college can be overwhelming, even more so for autistic students. Seeking help can also be challenging for autistic individuals. In an OAR “first,” two 2020 OAR applied research grantees used research from their most recent study to write a new OAR guide that provides advice about how…
Read More
Like their peers, many autistic students attend college. Of the 50,000 teens on the spectrum graduating from high school annually in the United States, at least a third of them pursue higher education (Shattuck, et al., 2012; Wei, et al., 2015). However, their graduation and subsequent employment rates are substantially lower than those of neurotypical…
Read More
Going to college can be an exciting opportunity for students to discover new interests, live independently, and develop self-advocacy skills. All college students deserve to have a fun and fulfilling experience, and that includes those who are autistics. OAR’s Finding Your Way: A College Guide for Students on the Spectrum was created to help autistic…
Read More
College. The word conjures up so many images and experiences. For students in their freshmen year, those experiences are likely to include adjusting to independence, exciting opportunities to grow, and keeping up with a rigorous academic schedule. These resources help students with autism know what to expect and how to adapt to college life and…
Read More
Students who are both academically talented and also on the autism spectrum can enjoy greater success in college based on the correct high school experience. That’s the finding of research performed by a UConn team in the Neag School of Education and published in a recent issue of the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.
Read More
As an autistic college student, how can you endure others’ judgment, discrimination, and misconceptions and find the confidence to be yourself? You can take steps to develop your own support systems that will promote self-advocacy and self-acceptance and help you thrive. Kathleen Burkhardt, an autistic self-advocate and previous winner of the Schwallie Family Scholarship, shared…
Read More