Realizing the College Dream with Autism or Asperger Syndrome. Ann Palmer
notebooks, we requested he use one large notebook for all his classes. We used subject dividers with pockets between each class section. One pocket was designated for things to come home: assignments, notes to parents, etc. One pocket was for things to go to school: homework, notes to teachers, signed permission slips, etc. The notebook also had a clear cover under which we could place a copy of Eric’s schedule that would be visible from the outside of the notebook.
Eric’s middle school had a very complicated class schedule and no consecutive days had the same time schedule for classes. There were “block” days when certain classes were extended and certain classes were not on the schedule at all. This was going to be a challenge for Eric. To help with this, I made a simple, easy-to-read schedule that included each day of the week and placed it in the cover of his notebook. Each class was color coded on the schedule, green for science, blue for math, etc. so Eric could easily see on the schedule what classes he would have that day. I also included in the schedule possible times when he might go to his locker and to the bathroom if needed. I had to research this a bit, finding out when the classes were located near enough to each other to allow time to go to the locker or bathroom.
If you have ever been in a large middle school when the bell rings between classes, you know how chaotic and loud it is. The halls are suddenly filled with stampeding students, all talking at once, bumping into each other as they hurry to get to class or to their locker. It is very overwhelming, even for people without sensory issues. With all the noise and bedlam going on around them, and having to hurry too, it can be a real challenge for the student to concentrate on what they should be doing. The location of the locker for the student on the autism spectrum is important. We had Eric’s locker assigned near a supportive teacher’s classroom, someone who didn’t mind keeping an eye out for Eric between classes. Frequently, middle school teachers will be asked to stand in the doorway of their classroom between classes to help monitor the halls. You also want the locker located near as many of the student’s classes as possible. The time between classes is extremely short and students have to hurry if they want to go by their locker and get to class on time. Our middle school had top and bottom lockers in the hall and we always made sure Eric got a top locker and one on the end of a row. That way he was not crowded by students on both sides of him or above him and could have easier access to the locker.
The lock on the locker can be a problem for the student on the autism spectrum. Our middle school required a standard spin dial combination lock for the locker. With Eric’s fine motor delays, this kind of lock was very difficult for him, especially if he had to hurry. We arranged for Eric to use another kind of lock, a roll dial lock where he rolled in the numbers of the combination. As long as the school is given the combination of the lock, my experience is they are usually agreeable to this accommodation.
There are also ways to organize the inside of the locker to help the student. You can buy locker organizers that compartmentalize the locker so the student can find things more easily. We also found it helped to post a schedule inside the locker that told Eric what to put in the locker at each visit and what to remove. For example it might say: “Put in English and math textbook, take out social studies notebook and your lunch.” This strategy can be very helpful in the beginning and, as the school year progresses, the student may need less assistance of this type.
In middle school teachers expect more independence from their students. The homework assignments may be written on the board in the classroom each day before class. Students are then expected to take responsibility to write them down in their assignment book without reminders from the teacher. Then students must organize themselves enough to remember to have the correct textbook, notebook, and assignment for each class in their backpack at the end of school. This was very difficult for Eric. Many times when he would get home from school he would have the book and not the notebook, or the assignment and not the book. One helpful solution for us was to have an extra set of textbooks for home. This was included in the modifications in his IEP and saved us many unnecessary trips back to the school to get a forgotten book.
Many of the modifications available to students with learning disabilities are available for autistic students. Our middle school had highlighted textbooks that were prepared by the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) and available for students with learning disabilities. The textbooks would have the key points in each chapter highlighted or underlined. This can be very useful to students who have difficulty determining what the important parts of a chapter are when it is time to study. As I mentioned earlier, in our middle school the students were assigned to “teams” for each grade. Each year we arranged for Eric to be on the team that included the students with learning disabilities. This team had an additional teacher, a learning disabilities resource teacher, who was available to the students on that team. They would go from one class to another to help when needed with testing, special classroom projects, etc. This team of teachers was already prepared to make modifications for the learning disabled students and therefore was more accepting of any modifications Eric might need.
In addition to the organizational issues, the social dynamics of middle school are very complicated and difficult for all teenagers, but especially for students on the autism spectrum. Anyone who can remember their own middle school years can remember the angst a teenager goes through developing friendships during those years. Students in middle school are very sensitive to differences as everyone strives to be like everyone else. For socially withdrawn students such as Eric, totally avoiding social situations may be the answer. Eric didn’t mind not having friends or going to parties or the mall. He walked the halls of middle school as one with blinders on, oblivious to the personal relationships and social battles of the teenagers around him. However, other students on the autism spectrum may be very social and want to have friends but struggle with initiating conversations with others. For those students, individual or group therapy that specifically works on social skills can be helpful. There may be appropriate speech, occupational therapy, or autism-related programs in your area that offer social groups. Most public schools do not offer this resource unless they have several included students on the autism spectrum at the school.
Without that resource available from the school, trying to figure out creative ways to work on social skills with Eric within the middle school seemed a waste of time. It was too difficult to find “typical” middleschool-aged kids who were willing to invite him into their world. There were a few students who occasionally helped Eric. But for the most part, it was not a time to look for good role models or students willing to step outside of the group to be friends with someone who was different. I found it more helpful to concentrate on developing social situations for Eric with family and friends outside of school.
During his time in middle school my concerns for Eric were that he would get lost in the shuffle and no one would know if he was being bullied or treated badly by the other students. I was not sure he would be able to defend himself in those situations. Eric had a bad experience in the physical education (PE) class in middle school. I had no idea that things weren’t going well until I asked him how his PE class was going and he frowned as he said, “OK.” When I asked him why he didn’t like his class, he responded that the kids were mean to him there. After further questioning, I discovered that other students were putting their hands on him and being rough with him while in the locker room. After a few minutes of alarm, I made myself calm down enough to call the school and talk to someone about what was happening. We arranged that Eric would not go into the locker room anymore where there was no adult supervision. Although this experience scared me, it taught me that Eric didn’t always know what was important to report to someone. It brought about a good talk between Eric and me about safety and dangerous situations and what information the teachers and his parents needed to know.
Despite the difficulties, the three years of middle school were good for Eric. He learned to be more independent, which was critical for success in high school and college. He adapted to crowds of people and hectic schedules. He got used to following a schedule and became more organized in doing his academic work. As a parent, I learned a great deal too. Not only did I learn about my son’s needs and vulnerabilities, I learned how much he could do. He surprised me with his flexibility and calmness during a time in his life that could have been very stressful.
Toward the end of middle school, we were still not considering college as an option for Eric. Then one day Eric brought