Social Work Today E-Zine

This year, through a one-year grant awarded Dr. Laura Klinger from the Alabama Council for Developmental Disabilities, The University of Alabama (UA) developed and launched a college transition program, known as UA-ACTS, for students with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Three freshmen are currently enrolled in the program, but Klinger envisions the UA program becoming self-sustaining and eventually expanding to serve up to 16 students.

Students in the program, who must first be admitted into UA on their own merits, are assigned graduate level therapists/mentors to assist them in navigating the challenges of college life. During both individual and group sessions, the students are guided in such areas as improving interactions with instructors, building and managing relationships with college peers, including roommates, managing time and improving daily living skills. The students are also monitored for signs of high anxiety and depression, challenges faced by many with an ASD.

The UA-ACTS program coordinates services with UA's Office of Disability Services. UA instructors and residential life staff are educated on some of the challenges faced by people with ASD in the college environment. The magnitude of students entering college world-wide with ASD is a testimony to the success of early intervention programs, Klinger says. In times past, college would not have even been considered an option for many similar students, she says. Others would have found the road rocky.

“For the most part, they don't do very well,” Klinger says of previous generations of students attending college with ASD. Some, of course, overcame the obstacles. Klinger hopes the program can give current students a needed boost.

— Source: Dr. Laura Klinger, University of Alabama