in Academia Cc~lege$ are applyir!g a variety cf apprcache$ '~c help llitudenb" with the di$c~'der $ult:ceed lOr! reamptlis.

BY JACKIE JONES ! -) -j -; reshman year of college can be rather confusing. There's the roommate to get used to and figuring out where the classrooms are, when the dining hall closes, where to get help if your financial aid is messed up or how to talk to a professor who seems indifferent. Many students may not know where to go to resolve these issues, but they usually know enough to ask. UYou talk to somebody," said Felicia Hurewitz, an accessible to autistic students, including a Peer Mentor assistant professor of psychology at Drexel University program in which they are paired with students who not and founder and dire~tor of the Drexel Autism Support only show them the ropes for practical help, but also help Program (DASP). "You go to your roommate or your RA., so to increase social engagement. Currently, 16 students are we tend to socially address these problems." matched with peer mentors. The volunteer peer mentors For students on the , the simple act of are trained, supervised and matched with students. The asking for help can be overwhelming. . pairs meet two to four hours a week, and the mentors are ulf you're a person with autism, that social interaction is supervised once every other week.

not there," Hurewitz said. IfYou might not ask." Students with autism also are invited to attend a DASP provides professional development and technical seminar that will help them address issues in which they assistance to make the postsecondary experience more themselves have expressed an interest, Hurewitz said,

38 March 15, 2012 The Chronicle of Higher Education I Diverse: Issues In Higher Education ---- .------'-"'""'"

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including IIsocial skills, how to initiate conversations. How to education, from molecular biology to developmental do I get organized for academics? How do I make small pediatrics, from occupational therapy to , talk? It's geared toward what students want." to work toward finding cures for neurodevelopmental disorders, starting with autism. Their research has New Data Would Help expanded to cover other syndromes including Tourette's The program is just three years old, so it is too soon, and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Hurewitz said, to gauge its effectiveness for student Autism is being diagnosed retention and postgraduate outcomes. IIThere's no college earlier and treatment options or study that can show that/' said Hurewitz, who estimated begin earlier, experts say. At the it would take about five more years to track a critical same time, public awareness mass of autistic students to determine how beneficial the of the autistic spectrum is college experience has been. growing and more students Marjorie Solomon, an associate professor of clinical with some form of autism psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral are being prepared for and Sciences at University of -Davis, agreed that admitted to college. more data are needed. "There's a growing "There really isn't a lot of good research out there, but recognition that the autistIC there should be, and there will be in the next couple of spectrum is broader," Solomon years," said Solomon, who also is on the faculty of the said. "Some affected individuals MIND Institute and of the postdoctoral Autism Research Felicia Hurewitz is founder and with cognitive abilities in the Training Program. director of the Drexel Autism average and below-average Support Program. The UC Davis MIND Institute (Medical Investigation range are attending community of Neurodevelopmental Disorders) is a collaborative colleges. Then, there are the intellectually gifted with international research center committed to the autism-spectrum disorders going to four-year colleges awareness, understanding, prevention, care and cure of and universities." neurodevelopmental disorders. The institute was founded By definition, Solomon said, "people with the Asperger's in 1998 by six families, five of whom had sons with autism. disorder diagnosis must have average IQs or above and The goal was to bring together experts from neuroscience normal 'language development. Thus, they always are

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verbal-sometimes precociously so." an autism -spectrum disorder. Autism appears to have its "There are postsecondary opportunities for all," she roots in very early brain development. However, the most added. "They differ based on the cognitive and adaptive obvious signs and symptoms of autism tend to emerge at 2 functioning level of the individual." to 3 years of age. What's not clear and what research has not revealed Although high-functioning people with Asperger's so far is whether there are certain types of jobs in which syndrome are considered the mostlikely college candidates, autistic adults fare better. In fact, Solomon said, most some researchers say it may be possible for students with research into autism-spectrum disorders has focused average and above-average IQs on the autism spectrum to on high-functioning adolescents and young adults up to navigate college successfully. age 18. The data on what happens to them after that are ''Until pretty recently, a lot of kids with Asperger's weren't harder to find. really going to college, so this is kind of the first wave," said Allison Gilmour, director of programs and community Skills Vary Widely outreach at the Organization for Autism Research (OAR) in According to , a science and advocacy organization that funds autism research, autism-spectrum "Until pretty recently, a lot of disorder (ASD) and autism are general terms for a group of kids with Asperger's weren't complex disorders of brain development. Symptoms occur in varying degrees and range from problems with social really going to college, so this interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and is kind of the first wave," repetitive behavior. Problems also can include issues with physical health, and motor skills. --Allison Gilmour, Organization for Autism Research The spectrum includes a number of categories including autistic disorder, pervasive-developmental disorder and Asperger's syndrome. People on the autism spectrum can Arlington, Va. "It's really hard to track the outcome because range from some who can barely communicate to others once they are out of the public school system, they don't who excel in visual skills, music, math and art. have to identify as having a disability." According to the federal Centers for Disease Control The organization did fund a small study that looked and Prevention (CDC), an estimated 1 in 110 children has at the experiences of 19 students at Oakland University

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40 March 15, 2012 'The Chronicle of Higher Education 1 Diverse: Issues In Higher Education Special Advertising Supplement Convergence: Diversity and Inclusion

in Rochester, Mich., with Asperger's syndrome who self­ to give our AIM students as much support or independence identified as autistic. The st"dy, led by principal investigator as they need." Janet Graetz, Ph.D., asked the students questions to gauge He meets with the freshmen how they dealt with stress and managed their time once a week to assist them and what support systems were available for them. The with social-skills training. participants and their parents or guardians were asked to The Asperger's students are assess the students' social, emotional, and psychological encouraged to live in housing set strengths and coping skills. aside for students with learning The students were asked about their participation in differences. (Not all have on- and off-campus social events, such as visiting the Asperger's.) Students have their recreation center, meeting with counselors, going to the own bedrooms, an uncommon academic skills center or meeting a friend for coffee or lUXUry at Mercyhurst, but share lunch. About half the students surveyed said they never apartments. The idea is to help met with a friend socially. Fifty-five percent also said they them learn how to interact with never participated in an off-campus activity, but 45 percent others but provide a safe space Brad McGarry said they went to the Disability Support Center. That could Asperger Initiative at Mercy- by letting them have their own indicate, Gilmour said, that once students identified the hurst University. ~, bedrooms. On average, 16 to center as a place to go for help, it essentially became one­ 20 students participate in the stop shopping. program, which started with just four students four years ago. Social Issues Are Crucial I/We continue to monitor them to make sure that (a) it The common experience reported in interviews is that (the social component) doesn't completely overcome their once autism-spectrum students learn how to navigate the academic experience and (b) they advance their skills and things that most people take for granted, the better the mold into the college community with their peer group," college experience. McGarry said. "It's not a comprehension issue; it's a social issue/' said A letter is sent to all faculty stating that AIM can provide Bradley McGarry, director of the Asperger Initiative at assistance in dealing with Asperger's students who may be Mercyhurst University in Erie, Pa. "We do everything we can in their'classes.

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The Chronicle of Higher Education I Diverse: Issues In Higher Education March 15, 2012 41 Convergence: Diversity and Inclusion Special Advertising Supplement

/fIt's funny," McGarry said. "More and more I'll get a call master's and Ph.D. in animal science and became an expert from a professor saymg, 'I'd like to talk to you about Ben,' and consultant in the animal-welfare indusuy. She said and I'll say, 'I'm sorry but Ben is not in my program. I was there were awkward moments in college initially. talking about Suzy.' Maybe Ben has Asperger's and hasn't "I did have a lot of social problems, roommate problems," been diagnosed or identified to us." Grandin said, but she was able to forge relationships by McGarry said some faculty are uncomfortable dealing talking about common areas of interest with other students. with the issues because they have not been trained to The key to a successful collegiate life, Grandin said, is to interact with students with Asperger's, but 'lance they are help students develop an area of strength and encourage educated on what it is, I haven't had anyone say yet 'I can't relate to this,'" "I did have a lot of sodal prob­ lems, roommate problems." Like Actors in a Play It is the direction, focus and repetition that helps many - , author and professor autistic students succeed, said Temple Grandin, a professor at Colorado State University, a best-selling author, and, as them to focus on getting better at it. Once they succeed, a person with high-functioning autism, a noted advocate they can translate that ability to mastering other things. for the autistic. Grandin said that in preparing any and all students, but especially students with autism, for the rigors Muddling Through of college life, the value of old-school, 1950s parenting-like In fact, it appears, others have for generations. According the upbringing she experienced - cannot be overstated. to the National Institutes of Health, Asperger's syndrome She was diagnosed with "brain damage" at age 2 and is being increasingly diagnosed in adults seeking help for diagnosed with autism at age 3. depression, attention deficit'hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) flThey didn't even know what it was, and I was put in and other mental-health conditions. an old-fashioned, small, structured nursery school," said As with Grandin, many adults were considered as eccentric Grandin, now 64. Her mother hired a nanny who played or odd, but may well have had some autism-spectrum board games with Grandin and her sister. By elementary disorder that was never diagnosed and they simply found a school, Grandin was functioning well with supportive way to muddle through. While there is greater awareness of mentors and teachers, as well as a mother who kept her the possible outcomes that autism-spectrum students can focused. achieve, it does not mean achievement was not possible "One of the problems is that many kids are not learning before now. enough basic skills, like being on time, how to shop for Solomon said a Dutch colleague, Dr. Hilde Geurts, recently groceries, how you do laundry/' Grandin said. "Today's received a grant to study senior citizens with autism­ parents aye so much looser, and it hurts autistic and spectrum disorders. While reading Dr. Hans Asperger's Asperger's children more. They've got to learn it's (being in original work written in German, Geurts realized how college is) like being in a play." many of Dr. Asperger's patients had carved out a niche for She explained that dealing with college requires themselves in college and the working world long before learning by rote and repetition - the wayan actor learns there was a name for what they had. lines and practices movement on the stage. Grandin also "There wasn't such a tendency to label people" Solomon recommended teaching children board games as she was said. Thus, students who appeared to have extreme taught at an early age so they learn how to follow the eccentricities or who struggled in a lot of areas, but were and how to take turns as they work up to performing chores extremely talented or gifted in others, attended college and and developing a work ethic. went to work. "They've got to learn work skills like walking dogs, doing In her book Thinking in Pictures: My Life with Autism PowerPoint presentations, updating church websites," (Vintage, 2006), Grandin points out that high-performing Grandin said in a straightforward, no-nonsense way. people with autism can make significant contributions to It was learning similar skills, Grandin said, that helped society. her develop academically and, eventually, socially. Middle "In an ideal world the scientist should find a method school and high school, however, were miserable, Grandin to prevent the most severe forms of autism but allow the said. She was seen as socially awkward and was teased and milder forms to survive/' Grandin wrote. "After all, the really made fun of by peers who mimicked the way she spoke, social people did not invent the first stone spear. It was especially because she repeated what she heard (not probably invented by (someone with autism) who chipped uncommon in those with autism) and nicknamed her "tape away at rocks while the other people socialized around the recorder." campfire. Without autism traits, we might still be living in IIWhat saved me was my science teacher" who believed caves." in her intellectual capabilities, Grandin said. "If I hadn't had - Jackie Jones is an independent journalist based in Washington, my science teacher, I would have been nowhere." D.C., a career-transformation coach as director of Jones Coaching, She went on to earn a bachelor's degree in psycholOgy, a LLC and a journalism lecturer at Howard University.

42 March 15, 2012 The Chronicle of Higher Education I Diverse: Issues In Higher Education