EARLY PREPARATIONS FOR UNIVERSITY BOUND STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
BY EMILY WEIBLE AND IVOR WEINER, PH.D.
Many young men and women with disabilities want to succeed. They enjoy work or school and relish the chance to serve society, but despite their best efforts, something isn’t working. These young people are trying their hardest to make an independent life, to no avail. Chances are, if you’re reading this, you know what we’re talking about.
The transition from the K-12 system is a personal matter for both of us. Ivor is the father of a child with autism who is about to graduate from high school. Emily is the sister of a young woman with disabilities who, since graduating from high school, has exemplified many of the difficulties faced by our young adults with disabilities. In addition to our personal experiences with transition, we are also professionals in the field, working and supporting college students on the autism spectrum.
In our professional lives, we’ve seen and heard things that would give most parents sleepless nights. We’ve picked students up miles from campus when they got lost on the bus. We’ve seen young adults spray insecticides on food surfaces without a second thought. We’ve seen students take a stranger to an ATM and withdraw money for him. The scariest part is that these were university bound students, assumed capable of living on their own. The fact was that these students were not only unprepared for independent living, but that in trying to do so, they were putting themselves in danger. Many of our students, typical or with disabilities, are coming to universities academically unprepared, but the challenges for students with developmental disabilities reach beyond the classroom. Sometimes these students are socially awkward or easily victimized. Sometimes they need adaptive skills training, but as students in college prep courses, academics are their main focus. Many times, these students have been sheltered from life and learning experiences, both at school and at home.
But there are ways to remediate these challenges.
We as a community need to change our perception of transition to adulthood. A typically developing child spends the first 18 years of his or her life learning to live independently. It would be wise to apply this kind of thinking to students with disabilities as well, if we expect them to live a life akin to their peers. Focusing on academic, functional, and social skill building at earlier ages, and holding our student to high standards worthy of their capabilities is an intrinsic part of improving transition outcomes for our youth with disabilities. We’ve compiled some suggestions for working with children on areas that are critical for successful university completion.
ACADEMICALLY
• Start early with study skills: Learning to manage time effectively is a skill that can be worked on at any age. University bound students need to effectively balance school-life, home-life, sociallife (and sometimes work-life, too). Using a daily planner can help keep assignments and commitments organized. Have your child estimate the time it will take to complete a task, and then block off time in the calendar. Help her create a schedule for study, such as working for 45 minutes and then taking a 10-minute stretch break. Evaluate what tools or environments help them study best, for example: some people enjoy music when studying, and others need complete silence. Encourage your child to build stamina by persisting with schoolwork, even when they don’t feel like it. Psychologists say that motivation follows action, meaning sometimes getting started provides the motivation to finish.
• Promote taking rigorous courses: If your child is on track to attend a four-year university, AP or honors classes that emphasize academic reading and writing will be more likely to mirror university courses and promote critical thinking skills. Also, consider dual-enrollment during your child’s junior or senior year: many community college districts allow high-school students to dual enroll in college courses and high school for credit at both institutions. This can be a great way to find if college is right for your child, and give them experience in a less structured environment while the stakes are still low. Be aware, taking rigorous courses doesn’t mean taking a heavy load. Balance harder courses with some easy or fun ones to help students stay motivated.
• Explore career options: Many of the students we worked with had very unrealistic ideas about their major in college, such as the student who wanted to be a scientist, but had difficulty performing basic math operations. Exploring careers and corresponding degrees with your child is as easy as going online and researching professions. Try taking career aptitude tests online to see what might be a good fit for your child’s personality, strengths, and needs. You can also reach out to friends and acquaintances to see if someone in your child’s profession of interest might be willing to talk to him about the demands and rewards of the profession. In addition, some children might need a more hands-on experience in their field of interest. Consider having your child accompany you to take your child to work day, or look in your community for job shadowing opportunities.
FUNCTIONALLY
• Chores: Household chores are a necessary part of independent living. A very young child can sort silverware or laundry, put away their toys, or make their bed. Older kids can do dishes, mow the lawn, wash and fold laundry, sweep, or vacuum as they are able. Start by working together or having the child complete an additional step in the chore each time until they can do it independently. Chores provide an opportunity for parents to explore with their children what it means to have a good work ethic.
• Financial: According to the research, children are able to understand the concept of money beginning around age six. An allowance tied to chores is a great way to teach your child about spending and saving money. Allowances can be given in cash and saved in a jar or piggy bank, or children can practice balancing a checkbook by receiving credits and debits in an old check register. For teenagers, most banks will issue a debit card under a parent’s account with strict controls. ATM cards allow teenagers to buy online items which gives them experience in handling online transactions, including entering billing and shipping addresses, monitoring packages for delivery, and returning items. It’s also a great way to learn about and practice good online security.
• Hygiene: In a survey of vocational rehab counselors, hygiene and appearance was the most cited issue clients had in the workplace. We often tell children that it’s what’s inside that counts, but if you smell bad on the outside, people won’t stick around long enough to find out. It is important to impress upon your child the social reasons for good hygiene, as this can be a real motivating factor. It is also important to link good hygiene to work-readiness. The way that we work on our appearance, by ironing or shaving, shows an employer our dedication to our job. Sit down with your child and create a hygiene routine for morning and evening. If followed consistently, the routines will become habit. Insist that your child wear clean, wrinkle free clothes, and help them put together an appropriate outfit. As children enter puberty standards for dress and hygiene will need to be revisited.
• Community Outings: Have children help you make a shopping list, cut coupons, and pick out items at the grocery store. When traveling, use public transportation and talk about the social rules of taking the bus or train, for example, offering your seat to an older person. At any time in the community, always talk about safety.
SOCIALLY
• Emotional Regulation: Keeping calm under pressure can be difficult for the best of us, but for children with issues of inadequate self-regulation, being cool can be even harder. The rigor of university and the demands of independence can overwhelm individuals with disabilities. Work with your child to develop a multitude of coping strategies such as deep breathing, mindfulness, or exercising to relieve stress. Helping children regulate their emotions will also help them become better problem solvers; it’s much easier to think critically when you’re calm.
• Social Difficulties: Connection and campus involvement, not academics, are the reasons that young people choose to return to college for a second, third, and fourth year. Group skills are also essential for projects in class or for collaborating in the workplace. Many students with disabilities want to join clubs or get involved on campus, but have difficulty creating an in-group status for themselves. Many are afraid of being outed as having a disability, or are so used to being rejected that they don’t even try. For our children with disabilities, it’s important to practice making social connections early and often to increase the number of positive experiences with socializing. Participating in extracurricular activities is a good way to help children meet peers outside of school. Especially if your child struggles socially in school, joining a non-school peer group allows children to meet others, without carrying their reputation (perceived or otherwise) with them. Getting involved at younger ages allows children to experiment socially and gain skills while they still have support. Involvement in extracurricular activities when children do have support will enhance their ability to join and maintain group membership, and builds capacity for when they are adults and do not have that support.
• Encourage Interests: Professionals often talk about extinguishing a child’s “obsession” or “perseveration” on a certain subject. Instead, building on their interests can be great openers for conversations. A student with a passion for Legos might be an inspiration to his fellow Lego-loving peers. Believe it or not, video games can actually be a great social tool, too. Just recently Emily was working with a group of children, and when the conversation turned to video games, all of the students, including the ones with special needs were completely engrossed and participating in the conversation. If used as a means, almost any hobby or preoccupation can serve a social purpose. Using an interest or passion can help children practice social skills with peer groups and attain in-group status with like-minded individuals. This is not an exhaustive list by any means, and it is important to remember that our recommendations should be applied as they are appropriate to your individual child. Our work in the field has shown that people with disabilities often need additional practice to fully master a skill, so for realworld success, it is crucial to begin working on these skill areas as soon as it is developmentally appropriate. Our young people may need guidance and exposure beyond that of their typical peers but with systematic and consistent practice, we can increase their odds at completing a degree, obtaining meaningful employment, and living a productive and independent life •
ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
Emily Weible is the sister of a young woman with a developmental disability, a special education and psychology student, and an emerging professional working with the DD community. Recently, she collaborated with Dr. Weiner as coach for a group of college students on the autism spectrum, which inspired her interest in transition to adulthood. Her research interests lie in transition, social communication and executive functioning, and the arts for people with developmental disabilities.
Dr. Ivor Weiner is a professor of Special Education at California State University (CSUN) and principal investigator of the CSUN Family Focus Resource Center, an organization that provides emotional support, referrals, and trainings each year to 1,000 families who have children with disabilities in the San Fernando, Santa Clarita, and Antelope valleys. When asked who is his greatest teacher, his reply is unequivocally his daughter, Layla, who is 18 and has autism.
