College. The word conjures up so many images and experiences. For incoming freshmen, 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 academics: OAR’s Finding…
College students with autism have the same desire as other college students: to become independent and obtain a degree that will lead to a career. Many need support yet retreat from services that focus on remediating difficulties, to the exclusion of developing strengths. They view intervention focused on remediating difficulties as an obstacle to independence…
OAR takes great pleasure in announcing the 2019 recipients of the Lisa Higgins Hussman Scholarship and Schwallie Family Scholarship. The two scholarships attracted over 700 applicants and the 38 awards total $114,000. With these additional scholarships, OAR has surpassed the $1 million mark, awarding a total financial contribution of more than $1,068,000 to 356 students…
Deciding when and how to disclose autism is complex and personal for each individual with autism and for their parents, particularly when making decisions about school and in the workplace. For this Perspective column, OAR asked three people with autism, Peyton Berardi, Laura Guerro, and Ben VanHook, and three parents, Susan Berardi, Lee Guerro, and…
Many children are born with two natural fears: the fear of falling and the fear of loud noise. For me, it all started at a railroad crossing. It was night: the sun had gone down and I was sitting between my mom and dad in the family car. We came to a stop and, all…
Louis Scarantino is an autism self-advocate. In this post, Louis discusses his experience in college, and what he would change if he had the opportunity to return. Louis’ story provides excellent insight on what it is like to attend college as someone on the spectrum. Every child goes to school from kindergarten through their senior year…
Michael John Carley is a self-advocate who frequently visits companies to discuss topics related to autism. In this post, Carley writes about how we, as a society, fail individuals with autism by not creating a comprehensive sex-education guide. This is the second post in a series about sex-education; this was originally posted on Sinkhole. The politics…
Michael John Carley is a self-advocate who frequently visits companies to discuss topics related to autism. In this post, Carley writes about how we, as a society, fail individuals with autism by not creating a comprehensive sex-education guide. This was originally posted on Sinkhole. In 2003, I founded the Global and Regional Asperger Syndrome Partnership…
It is widely known that adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) face obstacles that impede their quality of life. It is not as clear why so many become disconnected from services and educational or employment opportunities once they leave high school. In 2015, OAR awarded a two-year $30,000 grant to Connie Anderson, Ph.D., assistant professor…
Austin Shinn is a self-advocate who has Asperger’s Syndrome; he blogs to fight against the negative stigma people on the spectrum have. In this piece, he briefly discusses how living in a dorm affected and changed his life. You can read his original post on his blog. The subject of advice is always a tricky one.…
