Expert: Jene Aviram - 4/12/2009

Question
I'm a mother of a young man with Asperger's. I'm also a special ed consultant with a school district and am currently working on a Ph.D. in autism. I'm one of the other autism experts @ AllExperts.com. I'd appreciate your thoughts on two areas, please.

1. My son attends university and lives on his own. Unfortunately I'm not sure this is the norm for young people with high functioning autism and Asperger's. What do you see as preventing them from having more independent outcomes?

2. I also need some help please for one of the classes I'm taking in my Ph.D program. Could you tell me what sorts of things in your experience families, teachers and/or counselors spend money on related to AS and autism? Which books and other forms of services do you feel are bought? Are there gaps in the information they can currently find?

Thanks for your thoughts and your time,

Sharon


Answer
Hi Sharon,

As my profile says, I'm better equipped to handle questions about whether a child could be on the spectrum.  However, I'll do my best to try and help you.

Firstly, congratulations on your son.  It's incredible that he is in university and doing so well.  While most university students like rooming together, I have frequently hear of those on the spectrum preferring to live alone.  In fact, I've heard of many that actually sound proof their room or apartment to filter out the noise.  Since you have raised someone with Aspergers and are in the field, I have no doubt that you are very experienced, have a lot of wisdom and that you encourage your son to join some groups where he has the opportunity to share his interests with his peers.

I think many people do not have independent outcomes because they were/are not given the correct support.  Are you in the States?  There is a lot of help here for young children but as they get older, the help is decreased drastically and unless parents have large financial means, it's almost impossible to get services that so many young adults on the spectrum require.  

Regarding things that parents purchase, speech & language tools, books, things to tell time, sensory toys, aids to teach socialization and communication is big.  Where is the gap?  When kids get to high school.  There is far less available for this population.  A good website to check out is http://www.nlconcepts.com
This site has the materials that parents purchase along with a section called "The Greatness of Autism" where parents, educators and those on the spectrum can learn and benefit from the interviews, articles etc.  There is a also a message board on the site.  People post questions and they are answered by someone with Aspergers so that people can really learn from someone who understands the disorder.

I hope this has been of some help.

Jene Aviram