The Autism Society Event and Education Recordings Archive

This session will discuss the programmatic and systemic issues of education for the spectrum of students with ASD at the high school level and offer opportunities to explore how high schools can create quality high school programs to result in better outcomes for their students. This presentation begins with an overview of the current state of adult outcomes for students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and discusses characteristics of  high schools and of high school students with ASD that sometimes make programming challenging at the high school level.  The components of successful high school programs will be discussed as well as ways to address the challenges of high school dynamics. 

The incidence of autism has continued to increase over the past 20 years (CDC, 2014). As children with ASD age into high school, the transition of youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) from school to adulthood has become challenging for public school systems (Hendricks & Wehman, 2009; Schall, Cortijo-Doval,Targett, & Wehman, 2006; Shattuck, Wagner, Narendorf, Sterzing, & Hensley, 2011; Wehman, Smith and Schall, 2009; Taylor & Seltzer, 2010). There are currently over 127,000 students in US high schools identified with autism (35^th Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of the IDEA). According to Dr. Paul T. Shattuck, Associate Professor, A.J. Drexel Autism Institute and Drexel University School of Public Health, an estimated 50,000 adolescents with autism will turn 18 this year. 

Public education has had difficulty meeting the needs of adolescents and young adults with ASD.  According to The National Longitudinal Transition Study 2 (NLTS2), individuals with autism fall behind peers with other disabilities in post-secondary education, employment, living independently, having friends and engagement: all measures of successful and happy adult life.  As thousands of children with ASD are identified nationally and become adolescents, high schools must deliver programs that better address their needs  in order to prepare them for adulthood.

This session addresses important components to consider in designing successful high school programs for the full spectrum of students with ASD and improving their post high school outcomes. Evidence based interventions for students at the high school level will be discussed as well as resources  regarding how to implement those interventions.

A high school district provides examples of how it developed its full continuum program for students with ASD and addressed challenges given the nature of high schools.  In addition, participants will be provided opportunity to examine their own high school programs and explore specific ways to design their program for effectiveness for students with ASD.

Learning Objectives: participants will learn differences of effective high school programming for students with ASD;  identify components of building an effective high school program for students with ASD; gain specific examples of how one high school district designed its program to increase effectiveness for the continuum of students with ASD.

This information is critical to the field as the number of students with ASD entering high school and eventually adulthood continue to rise. High schools must better address the needs of students with ASD while still in high school in order to improve their success in adult life.  As such, this session addresses a highly important area for parents and family members, high school administrators, high school teachers, transition specialists and related service providers.

Learning Objectives: