AANE - 2008 AANE College Survey

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2008 AANE College Survey

I. Introduction

This section is based on parents’ and students’ answers to the 2008 AANE College Survey. It contains general advice, appraisals of experiences at specific colleges, contact information for parents who have said they would be willing to offer additional advice, and fuller survey results from both versions of the survey – one for students with AS and one for their parents.

We hope this information will be helpful when making decisions regarding the post-high school experience.

This survey was conducted through an online surveying tool. The URL for the survey was e-mailed to members of the AANE mailing list along with a letter of introduction. Responses were collected over a period of several weeks.

You will notice that some colleges have both positive and negative appraisals. Please keep in mind that everyone’s experience is different – a college may be perfect for one student but completely the wrong choice for another. These results are intended only as a guideline, not as an absolute recommendation.

Material in italics is taken from respondents’ answers verbatim.

AANE wishes to thank all the parents and adults who responded to the survey, Emine Onculer of Columbia University for preparing the survey, Tom Novak who assisted Emine and Ilya Lazosky for collating the results and preparing the report.

II. General Advice – To Parents, From Parents

If there is any single fundamental factor that determines whether a student’s experience will be negative or positive, it is the willingness of the college’s disability office to take proactive action. This has come up again and again in parents’ responses.
If possible, get someone on campus to interact with your child regularly: it is essential that someone (advisors, disability office, academic support services, etc) take a proactive approach towards the student. Most kids with AS will not approach support services themselves, even when they are facing major difficulties – and by the time parents realize what’s happening, it’s too late.
It can be very helpful to have your child sign a consent form that information may be shared with you. Otherwise, privacy laws may prevent the college from contacting you about a problem unless your child requests they do so.
One approach is to match the transition to college to your child's current level of independence: first have him/her take a few commuter courses, get coaching through processes such as registration, buying textbooks, and asking for academic help. Then take a full course load the next year, and the year after that, take a full course load and live in the dorm. This way the child can build confidence gradually through experiencing success.
If possible, talk to other parents of students who have used the college's resource center and be sure that the student can receive the level of support he or she needs.
Be sure that the school is able and willing to provide an appropriate living situation – most students have done much better in single rooms, though they must be careful not to become isolated.
“Community colleges or colleges that allow students to attend part-time or as non-degree seeking student are an excellent way to "test the waters" so that the student can see what college feels like.”
“Be absolutely sure that your child will accept the help that is offered. Don't be alarmed about the confidentiality issues. Be pro-active with your child about his/her sharing of issues and progress.”
“It's important to research the college support systems before applying and then to disclose the issue in the application or essay. Parents need to be close enough to the college or have the financial wherewithal to fly there in the event of a "meltdown." I would also try to get my child established with a psychiatrist or behavioral therapist in private practice near the college that would see my child on a regular basis in addition to what the college offers. I would also like to see an effective group counseling program.”
“I would suggest making many more visits to the college(s) being considered than is typical. We went out to OWU 4-5 times before he started there! By then, we'd met virtually every administrative department who'd be involved with his life there. They knew us well and understood our concerns.”
“Find ways for your high school student to take steps towards independence -- taking the T, choosing classes, having a bank account, doing laundry, buying lunch, cooking simple foods -- in the year before college.”
“Accommodations at a college are only as good as the person it hires to administrate them. It is important to meet that person in private before making your college choice.”

III. College Experiences:

Alfred University

“I don't think the school is real experienced with students like my son, who has "invisible" problems with academics, but they have been warm, caring, and have gone further to help than I believe many schools would have. I think many colleges would not have bothered to call parents like this school has.”
“I was impressed by the person who supervised the accommodations for learning disabled kids. Untimed testing was held in a separate office and sensitively handled. Graduate students serve as academic consultants and meet with the LD kids once a week to go over academic issues. We hired one to serve as a social skills coach.”
Small classes were helpful.
“The school counseling service was poor. So we cultivated a relationship with a Dean of Students who was helpful.”

Bunker Hill Community College

College personnel were not well informed about AS: “They thought my son could self-advocate and that I should no longer be available to advocate for him as he was over 18.”

Clark University

Accommodating to students’ needing to take more time to write final papers.

Community College of Rhode Island

“The disability resources office prepare letters to instructors informing them of potential weaknesses and requesting accommodations in terms of lecture outlines, extra time for exams and others where necessary. Additionally CCRI provides a "safe" place for downtime and counseling.”

Dean College

“My son attended 3 English classes at Dean while still in High school, became very familiar with the campus, professors, advisors, etc.; and loved the school. A very supportive environment, with many activities. My son met a great group of friends and found his niche there. He loved the school.”
“Dean College was familiar with Asperger's and other disabilities. The school has many programs, services, adaptations, etc.. if the students is in need of such. The college wasn't surprised that our son had Asperger's, and was very willing to work with us.”
The college was very supportive and was able to point to specific services the student with AS could use. They also had several recent successful graduates with AS.
Professors were very supportive and accommodating of special requests.
Another student had a negative experience with a tutor and the parents considered this money poorly spent. The same family reported unhelpful counselors at the wellness center.

Gordon College

“Residential services worked hard to give him a room that would work for him - in a small dorm, a single with its own bathroom!( as a freshman!) Disability services was thrilled to have a student who disclosed his AS, and she helped him and some others to make a video about their disabilities which has been shown to faculty, admissions officers and students. They took it as a learning experience, and were very interested in attending conferences, etc.”
“The support was inconsistent due to both my son's lack of follow through and the school's. Despite efforts on my part to keep communication going, it fell apart and my son fell through not just a crack, but a chasm, that we are still struggling to get out of.”
“The contact person in the Academic Support Center … had worked with a few other students currently there with AS.”
“Got a lot of support from the Academic Support Center person and people in the Writing Center.”
“The Campus Counselor was extremely helpful and found him a "mentor," an upperclassman to meet with once a week to help him out with social issues, etc.”

Massassoit Community College

“The professors have been highly flexible, and generous about tutoring. They have given him extensions and encouraged him to persist. They have recognized his intelligence and effort and been extraordinarily encouraging.”
“He has found each of his teachers to be approachable and he also has a great relationship with his advisor. The disability office has not been used as a resource because the special program he is in is sufficiently attentive.”

Middlesex Community College

“The Disability Office had some experience with Asperger's and counselors with very accepting and accommodating.”
“…meltdowns in freshman year were handled well by Disability Counselors.”
“[Our son] contacted the Disability office at Middlesex. They were most helpful, calming him down and designing a solution. They also provided a profile on Asperger's to be given to each professor. As he became more acclimated, he advocated directly with professors with very good success.
The disability department became aware though my intervention that my child was not going to approach anyone if there were difficulties so the counselor built in a time each week to meet with our student. This worked out very well and helped our child organize their work and timetable for completing assignments.

New Hampshire Technical Institute

The disabilities center did not follow up on appointments or continue to check in on the student throughout the semester.
“The woman we dealt with in the resource center repeated told me she knew all about Asperger's and didn't need the articles I provided for her and resources I offered to link her with. She was adamant about my son having to ask for the help he needed and didn't appear to listen to my explanation of his lack of ability and desire to do that. He needed a more structured academic support system that was more understanding of where he was on the continuum of self-advocacy and independent organizational skills. Academically, this was such a negative experience for him that he won't consider taking another class, never mind going back to college.”

Northeastern University

“Northeastern's Disability Resource Center is very interested in students with AS. Ruth Bork, the Dean, described a set of services and supports that the DRC could mobilize for him.”
However, the services were not always delivered effectively: note-taking services were sporadic, the caseload for the Center were too high, and parents are discouraged from contacting academic staff themselves, which does not work well for students with AS.

Northern Essex Community College (Haverhill Campus)

“Services are available and the school does a good job of providing them.”
The Learning Accommodations Center was very helpful: they were familiar with AS and accepting of feedback for unique issues.
The Center was also “VERY pro-active about e-mailing and calling his cell phone to invite him personally to activities.”
The departments were very receptive to meeting and helping students who had had meltdowns.

Ohio Wesleyan University

“They were very supportive, much more than we expected they'd be.”
The college was accommodating about providing a single room when necessary – it even included its own bathroom which was helpful.

Rhode Island College

“RIC has a publicly funded Center for Disabilities on campus. There has been absolutely no contact or other outreach to our son or for that matter any other disabled student on campus. A missed opportunity.”

Rochester Institute of Technology

Has a program in Game Design & Development
The college offers “weekly check-in support.”
“The counseling and disabilities office was very helpful in making sure my son had appropriate accommodations (extra time, notetaking, priority course scheduling). They made sure he understood how the process worked, and encouraged him to seek any tutoring support necessary.”
Learning Support Services is a fee-based service that was able to resolve some of a students’ issues. They also prompted the student themselves rather than waiting for him to come to them for help.
“I believe that my son has had a positive experience with the support services at RIT.”

RPI

“We were thrilled that the director of the disability office put together a group that named themselves "AA" (Autism Anonymous) which meets weekly. All students who have identified themselves as on the spectrum were invited to attend.”

Sarah Lawrence College

“My attempts to get the administration to offer him more support around the on campus job search fizzled.”
“Two professors were a poor match, were put off by my son, and gave him poor performance reviews”

Suffolk Law School

“There has been excellent support and accommodations put into place for her organizational disability.”

SUNY Albany

“The disabilities dept. was not helpful AT ALL. They would not let me advocate for her, and did silly things like set up lunch dates between two Aspie students, who had nothing in common except Asperger's, and did not provide someone to facilitate conversation. Also, she is seeking help now from the Career Center on campus, and has disclosed to them, but the person working with her doesn't understand that she won't be able to network as easily as some people.”

University of Hartford

The Dean was very understanding, had heard about AS, and worked with us to make college life bearable. She was a major reason that our child graduated.
This college was accommodating and had several support groups.

University of South Carolina

“He did have a counselor and the head of the disabilities office. They were not as helpful as we had hoped and I think M. was more trouble than they had banked on. It seemed with in the first year they suggesting to us to remove him as "he was not happy or well placed" in the college.”

Westfield State

A good, if not extremely proactive disability support program. It can be difficult for students to take advantage of even great services if they do not want to ask for help.
“Disability office staff could be more proactive.”
“Westfield State's disability services are extensive, but they did not seem to have any understanding of AS. When my son's LD counselor, who was also his academic advisor, asked him how things were going and he said ok, she was happy to hear it and never asked a question.”

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

They have a helpful program in which a student can take only 3 courses per term. There are four 7-week terms per year. This way the student can concentrate on a smaller number of classes.