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Special students auditing high school classes?
My sister is 18 and just graduated from HS. She has ADHD and autism. She and our parents are in the process of picking a class or two for her to take at a community college. During one conversation, my father was told about a program some of the area high schools have-special students who are not socially or academically mature enough for college can audit HS classes for a few years. Then they can enter college at, say, 21 prepared for it and with a better chance of finishing, as opposed to entering at 18, completely unprepared and wind up dropping out.
We are trying to get my sister's HS to start the program because a few more years of HS would be perfect for her.
My question-has anyone else heard of a program like this? Does anyone know where I could find information about it?
I think I may have made it seem like my sister is worse off than she really is. The type of autism she has is Asperger syndrome. She was mainstreamed for the last few years. She did have one of those job training classes-in computers. A few classes at the local college wouldn't be completely bad for her, its just that a few more years of HS would really help. If we can find out information and get the ball rolling, I really think the school will do whatever they can for her. They love her there :) I know one teacher especially will get behind this idea 100%.
Thanks for the info so far. I truely appreciate it.
2 Answers
- Anonymous1 decade agoFavorite Answer
It really depends on the state you are in, each state's education department has their own requirements for special needs children. I know in VA all students who have an IEP in high school are given, in their senior year, what is called a transitional IEP, and your parents would be apart of this process. In this IEP it would have been determined where and what your sister would do after graduating. They do have the high school program that you are talking about, and the students who attend go till they are 21, they are often assigned a job coach to help with finding employment, if that is in the student's best interest. If you want to find the most accurate information concerning your sister in this matter, I would visit your state's educational department website, and look under special education. It sounds to me like your sister was not properly looked after by her school system, but that is just my opinion. Good luck!
Source(s): me, a special education teacher :) - sonomanonaLv 61 decade ago
As Erika said, the laws vary from state to state, so I would start by contacting the Department of Education in your state and finding out what educational programs your sister may be entitled to under the Free Appropriate Public Education mandates for students in special education. In California, where I am a special education teacher, there are free transition classes for special ed students ages 18 - 22. Generally speaking, these classes teach students works skills by supervising them in job settings ( and the students get paid) and also teaching them community access skills (how to take public transit, how to make purchases, how to access recreational opportunities, etc.) They also help them to enroll in appropriate classes at the local junior college.
It also varies from state to state what services are available for adults with disabilities. In California, we have the Regional Centers, in other states they are called Mental Health/ Mental Retardation Services. But these programs can help adults with disabilities in areas of jobs, housing, training, etc. So I would urge you to check out those services as well. They may also be able to assist you family by advocating for your sister to get the educational services she is entitled to. If you can't figure out what agency to call, look and see if there are listings in your local phonebook for ARC, UCP, Autism Society, etc. Don't worry about your sister's diagnosis; I used to work at UCP (formerly United Cerebral Palsy) and we did referrals and advocacy for people with all kinds of disabilities, including autism. If they can't help you, ask them who can.
Kudos to you for being such an advocate for your sister.