It is a wonderful time of year here in Denver. The mornings are a little cooler, the leaves are starting to get flecks of gold and we received a fresh crop of smiling, yet bewildered faces. It is fall, and new student orientation. Despite having two weeks of orientation, getting adjusted to new living situations, new roommates, new peers, new places, new study habits, new jobs, new foods and new noises is a LOT of work.
Riley Smith is a student at the Costa Mesa center who traveled with CLE to Japan in summer of 2015. He was interviewed about his experience.
by Terri Shermett, Program Director, CLE Davie At College Living Experience in Fort [...]
Frequently I find myself reflecting on Autism and how it has formed me into the person I am today. I didn’t choose to walk this journey; but I was indeed selected to raise this beautiful boy of mine.
My life with autism has been an interesting and challenging life, but I never imagined that I would be advocating for people and kids in the autism community. It first started when I was in 8th grade. I was not properly diagnosed until I was 14 years old, and I felt like I needed to tell my classmates about why I acted and learned differently than they did. So I wrote a letter explaining my autism and I decided to read it out loud in front of my class, along with my teacher and school principal. When I first went up, I was a little nervous because I don’t always like talking in front of people, but I got over it fast. All I needed to do was read from my letter, and I did. When I was done, I got an applause. That was my first time telling my personal story of autism, and I thought as I got into high school, I could tell more about the autism community.
As long as I can remember every January 1st people have begun the New Year with a promise of a better year. It’s a way to re-write the wrongs we didn’t from the previous year. The tradition stems all the way back to the Babylonian era. The Babylonians made promises at the start of each year that they would return borrowed objects and pay their debts. Doing the right thing and giving back does seem like a worthwhile idea. Sadly, in our modern times it has became more about ‘self’ with improving physical well-being topping the list of most popular goals for New Year’s resolutions.
While a young adult with classic autism may appear content with a solitary “monastic” lifestyle, this is often not the case with young adults who have Asperger’s syndrome or high-functioning autism. Clinical experience has identified that the majority of such adolescents and young adults would like a romantic relationship. However, there is remarkably little research examining this aspect of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) or strategies to facilitate successful relationships.
Congratulations! You’ve made it to the next level of the game when it comes to your education: college. This next stage will be an exciting one, but it will also bring its share of challenges. As a high school graduate, you’re undoubtedly a clever scholar who knows your way around the education system. But one of the challenges of success in college is recognizing how it differs from high school. The following chart will help you recognize some of the differences between high school and college and how to navigate those differences.
In 2010 I graduated from high school and moved to Austin, Texas where I started College Living Experience. I didn't know what to expect when I got there, it was scary and challenging, but only because I made it that way. At the time, I thought I knew everything about life and I didn’t need to learn anything, boy was I wrong. As a result, I did not listen to others’ advice and I wasted a lot of time instead of making good use of the program and the CLE staff.
Change is hard. Although change is one fact of life on which we can always count, that does not make the transition from the comfortable and familiar to that which is new and scary any easier. This is true for people of all different backgrounds and personalities, and can be especially true for individuals with disabilities.
