Another Piece of the Puzzle

I can't let April go by without mentioning that it is Autism Awareness Month. As most of you know, my middle child has autism. She is 23 and a recent college graduate with an associate's degree in early childhood education.

For most parents, graduation from high school is a joyous occasion, filled with hopes and anticipation for the future. For parents of children with autism, graduation often garners the opposite reaction . . . fear and dread of what will happen to your child now that services provided through public schools has ended. Some children with more severe disabilities are able to remain in school until age 22, but most are sent on their way to the unknown. A push for 'transition plans' was made less than a decade ago. However, from my experience and those I know, the 'plans' are just written by the parent and signed by the school team. It was idiotic to me. I didn't need a written plan for something I was having to put in place myself. It would be like me writing a plan for how I plan to celebrate Christmas. Way to go, Department of Education, for making it seem like you are helping to transition those with autism into society.

The reality is that unless your child is extremely low functioning, you are on your own. You will also receive no services unless you are at poverty level. I spent years looking into various resources, only to turn up empty-handed. Even more crazy, I live in an area with world-renowned medical care, but can't even find a general practice physician with any expertise in autism for my daughter, who has aged out of our pediatric practice.

According to a National Autistic Society survey of over 450 adults with autism, an astonishing 70% of adults with autism are unable to live independently. Of these individuals, 49% live with family members, creating a huge financial burden on aging parents, and 32% live in residential care facilities, which offer little or no privacy, autonomy, or stimulation. Only 3% of adults with autism live fully independently. In terms of employment, only 6% of adults hold paid, full-time jobs. Regarding mental health, over half of adults with autism have been diagnosed with depression some time in their adult life, while 11% say they have suffered a "nervous breakdown."

With current autism diagnostic rates of 1 in 68 children, this is only going to get worse. My daughter has never had a job. There was no way she could handle going to school and work at the same time. Homework took her hours to complete, and she always needs 'down time' to regroup. Plus, there are many tasks involved with minimum wage jobs that we didn't think she could handle, such as using a cash register and handling money. And even if she was trained well enough to do these things, there are always going to be people in the general public who will take advantage of someone like her.

After she graduated in December, we decided to take a breather before she began applying for jobs. After my husband and I returned from our trip in March, I helped her send out resumes and apply for jobs online in her field. She was called for five different job interviews and I drove her to each one, prepping her on interview skills the night before each one, and reminding her to shake hands and look the interviewer in the eye when responding. Of course, she came out of every one thinking she had done well, but I didn't really have high hopes.

I am so happy to tell you that one place did call her back and offer her a job. It's just a minimum wage job, 25 hours/week, but it is in her field and it's a good beginning for her. It's more of an after-care program, so she will be babysitting, not teaching. BUT IT'S A JOB! and it's in a safe environment. She started last week and I'm also thrilled to say that she said all of her co-workers are friendly and she felt welcomed by all. She had a rough first few days, feeling very overwhelmed, but by Friday, she seemed to be more comfortable.

It's a BIG first step for her and our family!