Gap Year Programs for Students with Autism
They exist, and I am not referencing community mental health-type group homes. I am talking about college support programs that specifically work with young adults with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis. There are young adult transitional programs that focus on this population. There are community-integrated programs that specialize in working with this population. There are even vocationally focused or internship-based gap year programs that focus on working with young adults with ASD. If you are a parent of a young person with an ASD diagnosis, I need you to know that options are available outside your home for your emerging adult.
Now, the programs aren’t completely easy to find. Some may fall under “gap year” programming, or some may direct their marketing efforts to “failure-to-launch” search engine optimization (SEO) to help direct families to their programming. Every program does it differently, and now with COVID-19 that has shifted programming. Whereas work-based programs may have focused on jobs within the community, now it’s just a little more complicated in finding work that isn’t overwhelming or over-stimulating. Not to mention, everyone has a baseline of anxiety when it comes to continue social distancing. If your child has lost all motivation and started to regress at home, this may just be the ticket you need to help get them back-on-track to being independent.
Each of these types of programs is different. The differences include the number of participants, location, focus, collegiate involvement, clinical programming, executive functioning coaching, family involvement, life skills, student profile, and community engagement. There is no single website where you will find any of these either. Some of them overlap on one site, while you may find a handful of others on another site. The best way to get connected to this type of resource for your young adult is to hire a professional to help. It takes a lot of work originally to find these places, let alone to do the research on who is admitting new participants and whether your child would be appropriate for their current community. Most recently, I have been encouraging families to also be direct in asking about the financial stability of the program they are inquiring about. These are things families may not even realize to ask unless they were working with a professional to help guide them.
Know that if college is a no-go in the Fall, that your young adult doesn’t have to remaining at home until “COVID-19 is over.” In that case, your child will never leave the nest. You need to have a plan in place to have them launch, and there’s nothing better than exploring that now while the rest of the world feels like they have to pause on their life plans. Young adults with an ASD diagnosis deserve the opportunity to continue to flourish.
For questions or comments contact Joanna.
