Programs Help Autistic Students in College

Kevin Rinaldi speaks with a fellow
classmate at California
Lutheran University.

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- Kevin Rinaldi was so silent as a child that his mother studied sign language in case he never talked.
She didn't expect he would ever go to college. But the boy who was diagnosed with autism at 3 and didn't speak in sentences until he was 6 earned As and Bs as a freshman last year at California Lutheran University. He edged into the social life at the Thousand Oaks university, too, living with roommates and joining a club.

College Is Possible for Students with Autism

Kerry Magro knew from day one that college wouldn't be easy.
On the first day of classes, Magro distributed cards to each of his professors letting them know he had autism.
"I pretty much had to be very vulnerable and say I have a disability," said Magro, 23, of New Jersey. "One of the big problems for an autistic individual is usually the communication and social issue. It's asking you to do something that your disability says you're going to have a problem with."

Colleges Welcome Students with Asperger's

PHILADELPHIA -- When Jon Dorfman was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome at 9, his parents weren't thinking about their son's future. They were just trying to get through the next tantrum.
It was 1998. Asperger's syndrome, a developmental disorder on the high-functioning end of the autism spectrum, had been listed as a mental illness for only four years. Even as a child - Dorfman could read multisyllabic medical terms at 4, but had violent meltdowns in shopping malls - he knew the diagnosis was not good news. "Whoever heard of anyone successful who had autism?" he recalls thinking.
This month, Dorfman, now 22, will graduate from St. Joseph's University. He's a film major, a former NBC intern, and a paid mentor at the school's Kinney Center for Autism Education and Support.

Above and Beyond Academics

Beyond Academics gives students with intellectual disabilities more than a college degree — it gives them a chance to live on their own terms.

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Demario Chandler quickly flips channels, coming to rest on ESPN. Big men, clad only in garish shorts, grimace and grunt at one another. Punches fly as they grapple — big, meaty arms swinging around necks, into ribs. Demario paces excitedly, a grin on his face.
The grin returns when he flips the channel again and catches the weather report. More snow might be on the way.
Minutes later, he ushers a fellow UNCG student into the apartment. They decide to go to the apartment's club house to relax.
"Demario, tell me about your trip to D.C. You went to the White House, right?"
"It was alright."
"What did you do?" the student prompts.
"Talked about jobs."
There's much he doesn't say. The quiet UNCG senior deflects questions with a shrug. The trip was important. He was invited to DC to participate in job shadowing as part of the national Disability Mentoring Day. A workforce he'll soon be headed into.
Demario came to UNCG in 2007 when Beyond Academics launched. The fledgling program sought to provide a rare opportunity to college-age students with intellectual disabilities — the chance to go to college and learn to live on their own, just like their peers.

Students with Autism Learn to Survive and Even Thrive at College

In many ways, Mark Heim is a typical senior at Colorado State University. He has the kind of smart humor you'd expect from someone who excels in computer science, engineering and math; his T-shirt reads, "Department of Redundancy Department."
But as a student living with Asperger's syndrome, a high-functioning form of autism, the everyday social interactions of college life can be awkward. Heim is part of a new influx of kids with autism who are heading off to college, creating a new demand for college services to help students with autism fit in, graduate and find jobs.

Autistic Teen Seeks College Life

NANTICOKE, Pa. – Quentin Karpowicz is a kind-of-shy, 20-year-old who enjoys playing piano and holds down a job in a mail room at a local hospital.
He wants to take a couple of courses at the local community college for self-enrichment and an opportunity to socialize with people his own age.
But officials at Luzerne County Community College won’t let him.
Why?
Because he has autism, said his parents, Leonardia and Edward Karpowicz, of Nanticoke.

Some Students With Autism May Make Transition to College

RALEIGH, N.C. — Although it’s not common, students with autism can make it into college if they have help and clear expectations.
That’s primarily because "we’re starting so much earlier with early intervention services. We definitely know it’s possible,” said Ann Palmer, director of advocacy and chapters for the Autism Society of North Carolina. "Not for everybody, but it’s an option.”