The Autism News | English
Chris Ahrbeck, a 16-year-old Grade 11 student at Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School, lives with Asperger’s syndrome, a type of high-functioning autism. Ahrbeck, seen here with his dog, Otto, said he’s planning to go to university when he graduates from high school, and will need extra supports because of his disability.
By Heidi Ulrichsen | Sudbury Local News
Speaking in a precise manner, 16-year-old Chris Ahrbeck said he hates it when he hears news reports which refer to children with Asperger’s syndrome as “problem children.”
Asperger’s syndrome is a form of autism spectrum disorder characterized by social awkwardness and repetitive behaviour patterns.
Ahrbeck has a milder form of the condition, but that doesn’t mean life has been easy.
He’s often been bullied by his peers because his disorder, which has affected everything from his organizational skills to his ability to participate in team sports.
“I want to say I was never a problem child,” Ahrbeck, a Grade 11 student at Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School, said.
“There were some issues, of course, but that’s to be expected with just growing up in general. My strengths are different from other people. That’s really what makes me different from everybody else.
“Individuality should not have a negative name.”
To give an example of a positive aspect of his disorder, Ahrbeck describes how he often becomes intensely focused on one interest, and is able to stick to a task, when those without the disorder might lose interest and give up.
“While I cannot concentrate on things that do not interest me, if something stimulates me, I’m very single minded about it, and I can work on it for hours,” he said. “I’m really interested in the sciences, the maths and Lego.”
Ahrbeck said he may enter a university engineering program when he graduates from high school.
Because he’s a German citizen, he’s currently trying to decide whether to go to university in Canada or in Germany, where the tuition costs very little.
Ahrbeck said his family would move with him to Germany if he decided to attend university there.
Wherever he decides to attend university, the teen said he would require some additional supports because of his Asperger’s.
“The main thing, probably, would be someone to look over my essays, because I always have at least two trains of thought running in my head,” he said.
“Sometimes it’s hard to keep focused and be very organized in my essay structure. Throughout the board, my teachers have always said ‘Very good points, but not organized.’”
According to Cambrian College’s director of counselling and disability services, more supports are needed in colleges and universities for students such as Ahrbeck.
Susan Alcorn-MacKay, who founded the college’s disability services program 23 years ago, recently wrote a report about the topic.
While I cannot concentrate on things that do not interest me, if something stimulates me, I’m very single minded about it, and I can work on it for hours.
Chris Ahrbeck,
Grade 11 Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School student with Asperger’s syndrome
The report, entitled Identifying Trends and Supports for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder Transitioning into Postsecondary, was commissioned by the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO).
One of the report’s recommendations is that post-secondary institutions hire autism coaches to help students with the disorder navigate their studies and the social aspect of life at college or university.
“They would work with the student to try to minimize the trauma or the problems moving into the school,” she said.
The report also recommends there be “safe rooms” where students with autism would be able to go and calm themselves down if they become overstimulated.
“Right now, our colleges and universities are jam-packed to the rafters,” she said. “So to be able to carve a quiet, de-stressing space is a big thing to ask. But that is pretty important.”
Alcorn-MacKay said there should also be more activities for autistic students with to help them make the transition from high school to college or university, and from college or university to the workplace.
It’s only been in the past few years that Alcorn-MacKay has started to encounter autistic students at the college.
The number of autistic students entering post-secondary education in Ontario is expected to rise substantially over the next few years, she said.
According to the report, there were 5,800 students with some form of autism in Ontario high schools in 2009.
It is estimated that 1,100 of these students will enter post-secondary education by 2011, up from about 400 currently enrolled this year.
There will be about 39 students with autism in one of Sudbury’s three post-secondary institutions by 2011, up from about 15 right now.
These numbers were compiled after Alcorn-MacKay asked every school board in Ontario to give her the number of autistic students in high school, and predict which of these students would go onto college or university.
There could be a number of reasons for the jump in autistic students going onto higher education, Alcorn-MacKay said.
Medical professionals are getting better at diagnosing those with autism, so there are more people out there who know they have the disorder, she said.
Medical professionals are getting better at diagnosing those with autism, so there are more people out there who know they have the disorder, she said.
As well, parents now insist that autistic children be integrated into mainstream classrooms, allowing them to graduate from high school, and go on to college and university.
Alcorn-MacKay said autistic students often find college and university settings confusing and over-stimulating.
“They come from a school where everybody knows them – maybe a school of a few hundred students,” she said.
“Then they come to a college like Cambrian, where there’s 4,000 students. To them, everybody’s moving at warp speed. So sometimes they get confused, overstimulated and frightened.
“They may act out of fear by talking too loud. Some of them flap, moving their arms or hands in a way that helps them relieve their fears, but that looks odd to other people.”
Alcorn-MacKay said that as far as she knows, Cambrian has yet to see its first autistic graduate. But perhaps just the experience of post-secondary education is enough for some autistic students, she said. “I know graduation is important, but what is also important is growing up, being a young adult, and involving themselves in college life,” she said.
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