A Roadmap to Life After High School
Being a parent of a child with autism is a rewarding adventure. The world is constantly changing and bringing on new challenges and opportunities. There are so many tools and resources out there, where do you even begin?
Once your child with autism hits puberty, we know that it’s time to start laying the foundation for who they will be for the rest of their lives. That all starts with sharpening basic skills necessary for being a part of society.
This may sound like a lot of pressure, but it doesn’t have to be. The advice we are going to give you for your teen is advice you can also take. It isn’t about making a big, overwhelming, massive change. It’s about taking baby steps and enjoying the journey instead of focusing on the outcome.
The Transition from High-School into Adult Life for Teens with ASDs
Teens will continue picking up skills well into adulthood, so it’s ok if they don’t have it all perfected when they finish high school.
However, there are many skills you can help them hone in on before they graduate. Organization, planning, independence, communication, and other social skills will help your child gain confidence about the future.
Here are some tips:
1. Helping Teens with Autism Learn Organization
Routines are very important for teens with autism. They stimulate self-confidence, making them feel more comfortable, and facilitating learning certain social habits. Establishing a routine in their daily life helps them become increasingly independent.
For instance, you can begin with simple habits such as teaching them hygiene. Later they may be able to tackle more complex routines such as helping cook dinner, running errands, or doing their own laundry.
Get our complete Autism Tool Kit for downloadable resources to help them stay organized.
2. Helping Teens with Autism Multitask
Many jobs these days require multitasking, and like most things in life, this skill can be learned.
Here are some ways you can help your teen:
Break down larger tasks into smaller, bite-size tasks so they are not as overwhelming. Have them do one small task at a time, then add another simple one once they have perfected the first one.
Practice time management by focusing on how long each task takes them to accomplish.
Use visual aids to help them visualize the tasks instead of relying on their memory.
Make sure they get good rest and eat well so they can approach tasks at their best.
Have them do brain exercises. There are fun apps and memory games that help them focus on several things at the same time.
3. Sharpening Social Skills in Kids with Autism
Teens with special needs sometimes need help learning how to act in different situations, from hanging out with friends to starting conversations with coworkers. It's curious because they often desire to interact with others. Still, sometimes they might be overwhelmed by the idea of new experiences and getting out of their daily routine.
Building social skills takes time and practice, but the results can give your teen a sense of belonging, help with family relationships and making friends, and even develop hobbies. Some social skills that are important to start building:
Communication skills – for instance, choosing topics to talk about or what body language to use, building cognitive and language skills.
A great way to practice these skills with others is to attend an event that matches their interests. If they love legos, why not search for a Meetup or Facebook group for lego lovers? Or start one? Rubbing shoulders with others and helping them get out of their comfort zone is a lot easier when their interests match. This can help them develop communication skills while getting social at the same time.
Organization skills – Focusing on planning, timing, and attention.
Sitting down with your student before the week begins and helping them plan out their goals for the week is a great way to practice organization and planning.
Emotional skills – for instance, learning emotional behaviors and understanding how others feel; developing friendships.
Talking to your child about how they feel is imperative in developing their emotional intelligence and empathy. The more they open up about their own sentiments, the more they realize the importance of understanding others’ emotions, helping them keep others’ feelings in mind when interacting with them.
Problem-solving skills – for instance, dealing with conflict at work or making decisions in a social/casual situation.
You can do role play to help them practice problem-solving skills in real-life situations.
Having new goals and doing different activities helps teens explore the world, interact with others, and discover new interests.
You can encourage this by motivating them to try new things, like playing sports, enrolling them in a workshop on a topic they are passionate about, playing board games, or planning something that goes out of their daily routine, such as going for a walk in a new place.
What About a Transition Program?
One of the areas that parents have less control over is the environment at school.
A well-structured transition program helps students practice daily living skills and experiment with different types of jobs so they can figure out what they want to be when they grow up.
A good transition program should take into account their strengths and personal interests, finding a happy medium between what they are capable of doing and what they are excited about.
Our program, Lyfe Launch, is a transition program created specifically for teens 18-22 years old. In one component of the program, we use a role-play approach, where kids are the ‘employees’ and teachers are the ‘employers.’ This hands-on approach helps them put themselves in the shoes of their future potential selves, and teaches them invaluable skills that they will use forever.
If you think your student could benefit from a transition program, learn how you can get them into the program for free. Get in touch with an enrollment specialist to learn more today!