Judge Rules Asperger's Prevents Woman From Holding Job and Repaying Student Loans

A bankruptcy judge has ruled in favor of a Maryland resident who claimed she could not repay her student loans because her Asperger’s syndrome prevents her from holding a job.
Carol Todd, who attended the University of Baltimore School of Law in the 1990s before dropping out, successfully made the case that her disability prevented her from repaying the nearly $340,000 she owed in student loans.

Helping Children with Autism Attend College

SAVANNAH, Ga. -- Dr. Roel and Katrina Laygos’ fourth child, Nate, was diagnosed with autism shortly before Nate turned 3.

Katrina Laygo, a Savannah mother of five, suspected Nate had the increasingly common neurological disorder because she noticed changes in him around 18 months of age.

He didn’t have a lot of language. But what he did have, he lost. He acted vacant and non-responsive “like someone flipped off the lights in his eyes,” Katrina said.

Katrina had enrolled Nate in Babies Can’t Wait — an early intervention program for children who have delays — even before the official diagnosis.

So by the time the autism diagnosis came, Katrina was already in survival mode. She recalls telling herself, as she and her husband left the pediatric neurologist’s practice, there had to be more she could do for her son than just speech and occupational therapy.

Turns out, there is much more that parents can do for children with autism.

'Just Treat Me Like Anybody Else'

McMINNVILLE, Ore. -- Scott Wood is many things: valedictorian of the Class of 2011 at the Media Arts and Communications Academy, where he also was elected prom king; a budding scholar who is leaning toward studying either accounting or astrophysics when he starts college on a scholarship this fall; a young entrepreneur who spends Saturdays running a booth at the McMinnville Public Market.

He also is autistic. He's willing to talk about the neurodevelopmental disorder that makes communication and interpersonal interaction challenging. In fact, he started his market booth so he could educate people about autism.

However, he doesn't let autism define him, and he doesn't want to be dealt with differently because of it.

"Just treat me like anybody else," he said.

"Don't try to treat me as someone who needs help, or who's different," he said. "Just treat me like anybody else."

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.