Asperger's and Autism: Achieving Independence After High School

Holly Robinson Peete is an actress, singer and philanthropist. She started by introducing herself as the daughter of Sesame Street's original Gordon.  For any of us old enough to remember watching this iconic PBS television show, you will remember Gordon who was Big Bird's human friend that helped him to understand the world around him. But as the keynote speaker on Thursday morning, she spoke as a mom with autism in her family.  Wife of football legend, Rodney Peete, Holly spoke of their son RJ.  The first day that RJ was diagnosed has forever been called the "The Never Day."  The reason for this title was because the specialist who reviewed all of the test results told the Peetes that RJ would never..... do this and do this and do that.....etc, etc, etc.  So it is always called "The Never Day". She spoke of the level of pain and understanding of RJ's diagnosis that had to come in their own family before they could speak to the world about

This week placed me at several days of meetings in a little-known company in the suburbs of Seattle, Washington called Microsoft. The focus of the entire three-day symposium is Autism at Work. The keynote on day one was Tom D'Eri, who co-founded a company called Rising Tide Car Wash.   His presentation not only spoke about the trials of setting up this social enterprise that currently employs over 80 individuals with autism but he spoke about the autism advantage that he has been recognized for as his company has more than doubled with now, 150 employees having been employed.  Initially, the enterprise was to provide an on-going employment opportunity for his brother who is on the autism spectrum. However, RTCW has become so much more than that.  It not only serves as a job for a number of years for some of the employees but it also can be a first-time job for many others who go onto college or a career after only a year or so. Tom has proven that you can run a company

Last week, we held our 2nd Annual Shark Tank event. We were privileged to have four very knowledgeable and successful individuals from the corporate and entrepreneurial worlds who listened to each of the presentations made by Hill Top students. Each of these judges brought their attention, their enthusiasm, their passion and their encouragement to the judge's table. While each of the judges were thoughtful enough to send us warm and glowing emails about how impressed they were with not only the student presenters but the general student body as well as the community of faculty and parents that took part in the event. However, Al Chiaradonna, who is the Senior VP of Private Banking at SEI Corporation, wrote a piece in his company blog. He shared it with us. The focus of what he wrote is not just about his experience at Hill Top but also about the influence it has had in his revisiting the topic of neurodiversity in the workplace. He essentially challenges his colleagues to loo

Dear Friends and Colleagues, For those of us who work with bright and creative individuals on the high end of the spectrum, we continually are struck by their achievements and abilities. But often we spend more time thinking about how to help them with their areas of challenge instead of celebrating their strengths. One area that many young adults struggle with, whether neuro-diverse or not, is self-reflection. But a parent of one of Hill Top's alumni wrote a piece for a course he is taking at college. Carter said that he didn't mind using his name and would enjoy being part of the conversation. So, I am sharing this insightful, reflective piece from a young man we all respect immensely. I hope you enjoy this piece as much as I did that was an assignment for an interpretive dance class that Carter enrolled in this semester. Thank you, Carter, for allowing us to share this. TWN Dance Project #2 Theme Essay What my theme is about is longing for reality. By that, I mean t

Hill Top Prep alumni parents attended meetings held at the Headmaster's residence for the purpose of sharing their thoughts about life after graduation.... it was intended to be just a conversation.  The alumni parents with children who are alumni from the past ten graduating classes and who had responded to Dr. Schindler's survey were the ones we invited to join this conversation. Each conversation was started with the question, "What does independence mean for you, for your child, for your situation?" Several parents spoke of losing the structure and the caring staff from their years at Hill Top when that diploma arrived.  After graduation, the parents were kind of on their own.  Legally, their children were no longer minors and that meant that the parents weren't able to manage their children's lives in as direct a fashion as they had before graduation.  Two parents talked about just trying to get grades from their child's college, or to learn how h

"Location, Location, Location......that's what they say." I was thinking that in my head as I rounded the corner from 37th St. onto Madison Ave in NYC and then reached the building. As I headed up in the elevator for an appointment with Mr. John Civita, Director of Winston Transitions I kept thinking, "what a killer address for a program that says that they can get you ready for the world of employment." Their website says: "Designed for young adults, ages 17-21, Winston Transitions offers an academic program and practical internships with guidance, structure, communication, and the continuous feedback that is a trademark of a Winston Preparatory School education. The Transitions student community is comprised of a diverse group of learners with unique patterns of strengths and needs all of whom need additional work to be prepared for post-secondary programs, or gain further academic, work, and/or life skills." But what I discovered w

Not just a Title but a real group of folks who gather together regularly in San Francisco, the Job Club meets monthly to discuss their own job-placement efforts, and learn new ones from other participants and specialists who are invited to speak at their meetings. This group began their efforts of supporting each other in 2011. The initial goal was to build an actual structure of employment for neurodiverse adults by: Identifying the most effective employment efforts out in the world. Understand that the job search process can be a long one that takes patience. Learning that the process of finding employment is a very individualized process Focusing on personal talents and add flexibility to enable the individual to work around difficulties. Being willing to gain experience through volunteering Sending out more applications than others Enhancing applications by including supplemental materials such as in-house recommendations, homespun video links, work samples

Bob Perkins is a talented young man who graduated from Hill Top only several years ago.  Like many of our students, Bob was bright and verbally creative with great puns and always played with language.  But his real huge standout ability was with cartoons.  His creative drawings knocked it out of the park every time.  He was enjoyed by fellow students and appreciated by the faculty.  It will come as no surprise to anyone who knows Hill Top that Bob developed a special relationship with Ms. Kassab over his high school years. So..... Bob graduated from Hill Top and headed out into the independent world. Now, fast forward the story to about two years ago.  Ms. Kassab received a phone call from a former Hill Top trustee who is also a therapist by trade here in the Bryn Mawr area, Dr. Frances Sutherland.  She was writing a book on ADHD and what she has learned about supporting individuals and their families. Fran says, "I had been thinking about pulling my thoughts and ideas tog

Here is a story that has grown geographically to three countries over only three days....... Several days ago, Ben Barretta's mom Lesley sent me an article about a new television series on Australia tv about a group of young adults with a variety of neuro-diverse diagnoses who all want to be employed and how they have struggled. I have the article here for you to look at.......... http://www.theherald.com.au/story/5316066/abc-creates-reality-show-with-a-conscience/ ABC creates reality show with a conscience Danielle McGrane ABC series Employable Me follows people with Neuro diverse conditions as they search for employment. Finding a job can be a struggle, for some more than others. In a new ABC series, Employable Me, a group of people with Neuro diverse conditions such as Autism, OCD and Tourette Syndrome are followed as they search for meaningful employment. The show doesn't exploit their conditions, instead it aims to assist them in their search for their

This was a very interesting visit to a program that just opened up in their new home last spring. As an outgrowth of programming that has been happening for many years on the campus of Valley Forge Educational Services and The Vanguard School , Customized Workforce Solutions is a program being offered to individuals who are not only coming from Vanguard School but from a growing number of school districts in the area. I met with Holly Zipperer who is the Director of Career and Community and Engagement Services and Sascha Baello who is the Site Supervisor of Customized Workforce Solutions.  Their offices are not on the campus but located at 5 Station Ave. in Berwyn and directly across from the train station. CWS offers employment services to young adults once they have finished high school with the discovery process, finding a job and then support once the individual has been hired. They also offer social events and some overnight experiences such as renting a house down t

As part of this sabbatical project, I have been doing a great deal of writing.   Much of the writing have been notes from reading, or notes from visits with professionals who may be helpful, or thoughts about the tours of programs that work to support young adults who have graduated from high school.   And, a few things I have written I have placed on a public site to be read by parents, faculty and friends of Hill Top Prep. However, this particular piece about growing up is something that I am writing to the current students and the alumni of Hill Top Prep .   I hope that it encourages some thoughts about your own life journey. The title above summarizes a theme I been reading about.   Much of i t comes from a book entitled " Asperger’s and Adulthood" by Blythe Grossberg, Psy.D.   In the beginning of the book, she has a chapter heading with the same title and she implies that there is a real difference between "growing up" (the day to day process of