I think my family is slightly ahead of you in our autism journey. Our ASD son is now 29. He successfully completed college at a small liberal arts school that supported his needs. After college we found a post baccalaureate program at the NHI which looked like a better deal than it turned out to be but he was able (with assistance) to turn that experience as a stepping stone to a job at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research as a civilian contractor. It was a very positive experience, he had met friends during the NIH post bacc that became roommates enabling him to afford to live in the DC area. There was public transportation (he doesn't drive) and then . dun, dun, dun. . . the pandemic began. He came home. He applied to graduate school because he's always dreamed of earning a PhD in biology (infectious disease). He was accepted into a good school and began in 2021 BUT... the school accepted 10 into his cohort and really only had space for 6 in the department and he was "unusual" and had difficulty finding a lab after four rotations. He came home again. Reapplied. Amazingly was recruited at another school but once again finding the resources to support a young adult with neurological differences became an insurmountable problem. I'm deeply curious about where your research has taken you. I'd love to know more about what you've learned. I also wonder if there might be areas in which our needs and interests converge.
I'd love to compare experiences and exchange information.
I think my family is slightly ahead of you in our autism journey. Our ASD son is now 29. He successfully completed college at a small liberal arts school that supported his needs. After college we found a post baccalaureate program at the NHI which looked like a better deal than it turned out to be but he was able (with assistance) to turn that experience as a stepping stone to a job at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research as a civilian contractor. It was a very positive experience, he had met friends during the NIH post bacc that became roommates enabling him to afford to live in the DC area. There was public transportation (he doesn't drive) and then . dun, dun, dun. . . the pandemic began. He came home. He applied to graduate school because he's always dreamed of earning a PhD in biology (infectious disease). He was accepted into a good school and began in 2021 BUT... the school accepted 10 into his cohort and really only had space for 6 in the department and he was "unusual" and had difficulty finding a lab after four rotations. He came home again. Reapplied. Amazingly was recruited at another school but once again finding the resources to support a young adult with neurological differences became an insurmountable problem. I'm deeply curious about where your research has taken you. I'd love to know more about what you've learned. I also wonder if there might be areas in which our needs and interests converge.
I'd love to compare experiences and exchange information.
Sounds great. Let’s chat. Lmckenna11@gmail.com
I look forward to reading your posts and it seems you have a lot on your plate! Thanks for your efforts, they will help so many people.
Thanks for reading, Renée!