Helping Teens with Autism Succeed in High School and Beyond

New guidelines have been published in ‘Remedial and Special Education: Autism, Adolescence, and High School’ by the researches at University of North Carolina to help students with autism to meet the Common Core State Standards and help them in further endeavors such as college and employment.

The core standards for math and English were released in 2010 by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers. The guidelines provide the outlines for what the educators are supposed to teach to the children. However, no clarity is provided in terms of how to teach these children.

According to lead author Veronica Fleury at the UNC Center on Secondary Education for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder, many educators are not yet ready to take on these instruction methods as they feel unprepared to meet the teaching standards set by the state as well as the needs of these autistic children.

She says, “College enrollment of people with autism is among the lowest for all categories of disabilities. In addition, less than 40 percent of the population with autism is employed—and most of those with jobs only work part-time, without benefits.”

Children with autism have many career opportunities opening up for them in the coming years; these include a professional field such as science, technology, engineering, and math. Previous studies have shown that students with autism chose these majors. Therefore, schools should equip themselves with the necessary skills that will help them lead these students to achieve their goals.

Dr. Fleury believes, “While the very structure of high school poses challenges for students with autism, being able to anticipate and understand activities, schedules, and expectations can improve their ability to respond to classroom demands. Establishing routines and creating written schedules also helps.”

She, along with her co-authors have provided a number of strategies in the guidelines that can be used to help these students. Some of the strategy include exposing autistic students to different assignments before lecturing about that particular topic.

One strategy mentioned in the guidelines was to include mnemonic devices to help students remember the different steps in any task. Through this technique, educators can deliver highly explicit instructions to teens with autism.

“We know that when students with autism receive appropriate instruction and supports, many of them are capable of learning academic content that is aligned with state standards,” says Dr. Fleury.