A few more months went by, and their DD waiver was denied. They said that since he had received medical assistance care for so long, such as Devontae’s speech therapy or occupational therapy, that the care would no longer be required in the sense that they requested and they had to deny the claim.
Devontae continued to struggle with communication skills and reading, but his excellence in math pushed him through high school to his graduation. He graduated at age 19 with a regular high school diploma, just like the rest of his classmates.
Since both of Devontae’s parents have doctorate degrees, they encouraged him to attend college. Due to his ASD, it was determined that it would be better for him to attend a local community college and live at home until he graduated. He took classes part time so he could take his time complete his work and work on his communication skills. He graduated in 4 years with an Associate’s Degree in Computer Science from the community college.
After graduating, he found a job at a local business as their computer technician. This job was good for him because it required little interaction with strangers and he understood computers very well from his training.
Once he held his job for a year, he decided to move out at the age of 23. He found a small apartment near his parent’s house, at their request.
Through his job, he gets health insurance that covers his regular doctor’s appointments and medications as needed. Devontae is still attempting to control his ASD without medication. He doesn’t have tantrums anymore, but he still has OCD tendencies, which does not cause many problems.
Ten years later, he is still working at the same company, because Devontae does not like change if it is unnecessary. Because of this, he has made some acquaintances at work.
There is a female book keeper named Anne that he gets along well with. She understands his love of numbers, so they can communicate well about math. He decides to try to see her outside of work and takes her to lunch one day. It goes well, and they decide to continue seeing each other on the weekends. He is unsure of where this relationship will go because he has not had many relationships with females, but he is nervous and excited about where it will go with Anne.
1) Provide statistics for children with ASD earning their high school diploma.
2) Has Devontae met his transition goals thus far? Is he setting anymore for his future (family, future employment, more schooling), and if so, what are they?
3) How is Devontae doing living on his own? Do most people with ASD move away from their caregivers and into the real world, and if so, at what age?
4) Although it doesn't cause him any prominent problems, Devontae has severe OCD. What are some things that he is OCD about? Do ASD and OCD go hand-in-hand?
5) If things start to escalate with Anne, Devontae will eventually have to tell her about his disorder. Write a short dialogue between the two discussing Devonate’s ASD.
Statistics for children with ASD earning their high school diploma include:
ReplyDelete• A record 57.4% of special education students graduated from high school with standard diplomas in 1998-99, up from 51.9% in 1993-94.
• Dropout rates for special education students fell to 28.9% in 1998-99, down from 34.5% in 1993-94.
• Those students least likely to graduate with a diploma were those with multiple disabilities (3.2 percent).
• Only 56% of students with autism finish high school.
• The mean age of was 21.5 years of children with autism when they finished high school.
• The average per-pupil expenditure for educating a child with autism was estimated by SEEP to be over $18,000 in the 1999-2000 school year. This estimate was nearly three times the expenditure for a typical regular education student who did not receive special education services.
• A new study found one in three young adults with autism had no post-secondary education or employment in the years after graduating from high school. According to the researchers, autistic youth had a higher risk of not enrolling in college or finding a job than youth with other developmental disabilities.
• Seven years after high school, 35 percent of autistic young adults still had no paid employment or education beyond high school.
Devontae has met most of his transitions goals thus far even though it hasn’t been easy. Since Devontae has been able to overcome certain obstacles and is pretty well of f someone with ASD. He has met his transition goals of receiving training for employment because he has control over his tantrums. The career services counselor have been able to seek him out a job with little interaction with people utilizing his number and computer skills that he has acquired while close to his parents. One transition goal Devontae has not overcome is being able to use public transportation to be able to get to and from his job since it requires being able to handle different people every day on a crowded bus which becomes overwhelming. Devontae future transition goals include elements on family since he has a steady job thus far that he is comfortable with and more schooling would be a stretch he feels like at this point in his life. Devontae is setting out to eventually have Anne move in with him if their relationships persist at the rate it is going on now. If they were to move in together, Devontae would like to get a fish for their place for Anne and him to take care of together to feel like a family as he does not feel that children are in the picture for them.
According to a National Autistic Society survey of over 450 children and 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. Therefore most people do not end up living independently and have some sort of care, even if it is not necessarily with their main caregiver they have all their life. As the public schools' responsibility for providing services ends when the young adult with Autism Spectrum Disorder reaches the age of 22, therefore that is around the age when the move into group homes or into an apartment with visits a few times a week by a professional. Devontae is doing somewhat well living on his own but it he is not fully independent as a professional visits him three times a week. The professional will help Devontae with meal preparation, housekeeping, and personal care needs. The professional gives Devontae some companionship while he is there too while being a big help. Now Devontae is able to have his lunch ready the night before he goes to work so there is one less thing he has to worry about in the morning and help cleaning up the bathroom and kitchen which allows Devontae to be able live in a healthy environment. The help from the professional allows Devontae to keep living in his apartment rather than moving into a group home.
ReplyDeleteAutism Spectrum Disorders and Obsessive Compulsive Disorders can appear at the same time in an individual. “The big difference is that children with OCD do not like the experience of having repetitive thoughts and would do anything to get rid of the thoughts. Children with Autism Spectrum diagnoses are not bothered by their repetitive behaviors and thoughts, and instead are usually comforted by them.” However, everyone is unique and some individuals with ASD have OCD but are not as comfortable or okay with having these obsessive thoughts as others. Devontae has had some repetitive thoughts of lining toy cars up over and over when he was a child but he has grown out of that little by little as he grew up. Devontae now with his own apartment could be OCD about how it is kept clean and he may even have a routine every morning and night before and after work. Also Devontae has to turn on the light off and on three times, every time he has to enter a room.
Devontae: “Anne, there is something I have been meaning to talk to you about.”
Anne: “Um, okay. Is there something wrong?”
Devontae: “No, no. I just know that you and I are getting close and I want to be honest and straight forward with you.”
Anne. “Okay, you are really worrying me. What is it?”
Devontae: “Well, I have Autism. I’m sure you may already know what this disorder entails. This disorder makes it more difficult to learn and communicate. I, however, have adapted and learned decently well for myself. Sometimes I can get flustered when I am around a lot of people though.”
Anne: “Wow, I had no idea!”
Devontae: “Really? You couldn’t tell that I was somewhat different?”
Anne: “Well, I think that everyone is unique. As you can tell, I am not the most “normal” person either.”
Devontae: “So…you don’t think that this is a problem?”
Anne: “Of course not. I liked you before I knew you have ASD and I will like you now knowing you have ASD.”
References:
ReplyDeleteAdults With Autism Spectrum Disorder. (n.d.). A Child With Autism Can Get Their Needs Met… From Preschool To Adult Services.. Retrieved June 24, 2012, from http://www.child-autism-parent-cafe.com/adults-with-autism.html
Bowers, Dr. Mark. 2009. Autism and OCD in children. The Inner Child. Received on June 24, 2012 from http://drbowers.wordpress.com/2009/10/20/autism-and-ocd-in-children/
Employment Research and Reports | Autism NOW Center. (n.d.). Autism NOW Center | Autism Resource for parents, teachers, employers and individuals | National initiative of The Arc. Retrieved June 17, 2012, from http://autismnow.org/on-the-job/employment-research-and-reports/
Students with Disabilities Exiting Special Education. (n.d.). Students Who Graduated with a Diploma or Certificate. Retrieved June 24, 2012, from www2.ed.gov/pubs/OSEP96AnlRpt/chap1c.h