START Building Your Future Project

Eliminating Barriers and Creating Opportunities for

Adults with ASD

Adults with ASD

Employment, Higher Education, Community Involvement,

Independent Living, Leisure and Quality of Life

Intent of this Presentation

This presentation is designed to assist adult service providers who are supporting people with Autism Spectrum Disorder navigate the complexities of this disability.

Agenda • Numbers of Adults with ASD

• What is ASD?

• Interference of High Interest Areas

• Literal Interpretation of Information

• Misunderstanding of Social Situations

• Lack of Social Reciprocity – Inflated Ego

• Hypersensitivity to the Environment

• Difficulty Staying Employed

• Hygiene Issues

• Responding to Others Needs

• Truth at all Costs

WWW.AFAA-US.ORG

Advancing Futures for Adults with ASD

Autism Speaks

What Does This Crisis Look Like In Michigan?

Let’s Re-Examine the Numbers of Students with ASD Currently Eligible for Services in

the State of Michigan

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

16000

1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Nu

mb

er o

f st

ud

ents

Michigan Students with an ASD Eligibility Label

1,208

15,403

5,682

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

Current 2010 Projected 2015 Projected 2020

Num

ber

of S

tude

nts

Year

Current and Projected Number of Students with ASD aged 18-26 in Michigan

*Based on the 2010 MDE, OSE-EIS Eligibility Count

1671

5927

9797

What Does This Crisis Feel Like for Parents and Families?

Concerns After Viewing This Clip Are:

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Misinterpretation By Others May Lead To:

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Strategies To Support The Person With ASD:

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

How About an Example

• Engineering Degree from Michigan Institute of Technology

• Masters in Engineering from U of M

• Fired from GM and Ford

• Fired from Several of the Suppliers (Consulting Firms to the Big 3)

• What Is He Doing Now?

The Dignity of Risk – Robert Perske

The world in which we live is not always safe, secure and predictable. Every day that we wake up and live in the hours of that day, there is a possibility of being thrown up against a situation where we may have to risk everything, even our lives. This is the way the real world is. We must work to develop every human resource within us in order to prepare for these days. To deny any person their fair share of risk experience is to further cripple them for healthy living.

What Does This Mean To Us

• Public Transportation – Brian

• Overnight/Sports Teams – Dan

• Washington D.C. Trip - Ryan

This Means…• Never again will a Student with ASD be in

such a protected environment. If mistakes are made, those mistakes can generally be fixed.

• With appropriate supports, Students with ASD must be given the same opportunities as their same aged peers.

• The Dignity of Risk needs to be a part of every decision educational teams are making for Students with ASD.

What Else Does This Mean?

• Where did the Students’ with ASD peers learn all the independent skills they have?

• How did they learn to independently ride the school bus?

• How did a typically developing student learn to be away from their family?

• Where do typically developing peers understand the social expectations?

So…How are the Service Agencies Supporting Adults with ASD Going to

Manage this Explosion…

By Looking At Autism Spectrum Disorder

Differently

Looking at ASD Differently

• Respect for what has happened

in the past…

• While implementing what must happen in the future!