Many students and families will want to take advantage of all of the latest technology regarding the college search.  Learning about and experimenting with virtual college tours will be a part of this process.  Many virtual tour sites are available, as well as tours posted on Youtube.  Here are some examples of virtual tour sites for you to consider:  Collegedata.com, Campustours.com, and youvisit.com, all of which you can find links to on the resources page of this site.  These resources can give an excellent overview of schools you might be considering, as well the ability to begin to develop a sense of the personality of the college or university. 

The virtual tours provide helpful information to begin a search for the best school fit.  However, it is important to keep in mind that virtual tours are still developing, and are therefore not able to provide the prospective student with the level of detail they might need to choose a school.  This is particularly true for students on the autism spectrum.  Using a virtual tour is a great way to begin the search process, but nothing will replace an in-person visit to a school that is being strongly considered for a student with autism. 

Each student who is on the autism spectrum is unique, and each college or university has their own unique approach in serving students with autism.  It will only be through personal contact with the disabilities office at a college or university for a student and his or her family to really know what they can expect regarding support services.  For example, a school might state on their web page that they provide resources to support a student with organization or executive functioning challenges.  This can mean many things, and it is very important for a student to know that the school will actually be able to support him or her in a meaningful way.

In my work, I have come across many families who did not understand the need to visit a college or university, and they were therefore not able to ensure that the services provided met the needs of the student.  The use of the virtual tour websites should be one piece of data for a student to consider, and for some students it can save time and money by avoiding a trip to the school.  But in the case of students on the autism spectrum, virtual tours should not replace a personal visit to a school.

In beginning the college search for students on the autism spectrum, it is helpful to know that there are many colleges and universities in this country that offer a wide range of services and supports to meet the unique needs of students with autism.  However, it is important to remember that the amount of research and effort to find the best college fit can often be significant.  There are several reasons for this, including the fact that a student must research the typical aspects of a school such as location, cost, areas of study, etc. as well as researching the disability services provided by the school.  Each school must meet basic federal requirements in providing services to students with disabilities.  Here is a link to information about the Section 504 as it pertains to post-secondary education.

http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/transition.html

Knowing what to expect from a disabilities office at a particular college is a good start.  Many schools, however, offer quite robust services for students with autism.  Finding the right fit for you is the main focus, and this will start with being aware of what your particular needs will be both academically and social/emotionally.  One way to prepare for the college search, in addition to understanding the laws that pertain to you, is to spend time understanding existing research on creating successful transitions to college.  The link below has some great information as a way to explore what parents and students should be thinking about and working on to prepare for a successful transition.

http://iancommunity.org/ssc/autism-transition-to-adulthood

After building up a knowledge base of a student’s rights at college, as well as a knowledge base of the skills that are necessary for a successful transition to college outside of academics, it is then possible to begin to explore specific colleges that will be a good fit for the student.  This is an important part of a student’s life, and doing the homework necessary to support a student in making the best choices possible for college is critical to a successful experience.

The development of social media skills often takes place for teens through practice, maturity and feedback from peers.  Teens on the autism spectrum may have more of a challenge developing social media skills during their teen years, and may need more support than others.  One reason is that teens on the autism spectrum may have challenges with perspective taking.  That is, seeing things from the viewpoint of others.  When posting on social media, it is important to have a sense of the impact of the tweet one is sending or the Facebook picture one is posting, on those who might see it.  Some teens on the autism spectrum might only see the tweet or picture from their viewpoint, and may need help imagining how others might feel about it.

Awareness of this issue may take on new meaning when applying to colleges and universities.  These institutions are becoming increasingly aware of the social media footprints of students applying to their schools.  This awareness by the school can work for or against a student.  Here is an article from the New York Times from 2014 where they address the negative impact on students and their college acceptances as it pertains to the social media use of the students.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/20/technology/college-applicants-sanitize-online-profiles-as-college-pry.html?_r=0

There are strategies one can use to build the social media skills in order to avoid challenges in the future based on past postings:

• Consider having another person review postings before they are sent, particularly if you are posting when feeling emotional.  
  

• Think about your relationship with a person you are texting, and if the frequency of your texts and the tone are appropriate.
  

• Try to always think before you send a post.  Think about how others might interpret your words in ways that are different from what you intended.
  

Social media is a wonderful opportunity to stay connected with the world around us.  Learning the skills to use social media in a way that will reflect positively on you will be well worth your time.

When high school students on the autism spectrum are considering transitioning to a college setting after completing high school, there are many variables to evaluate when choosing a college.  There are the obvious considerations such as grades,  SAT/ACT scores, interested areas of study, etc. to take into account when choosing the schools to potentially attend if accepted.  But achieving an acceptance letter from a desired school may not be enough to ensure a good fit between the student on the autism spectrum and the school.  There are many examples of very bright and capable students being accepted to and attending colleges that might appear to be a good fit based on the students intellectual capacities and areas of academic interest, but in actuality are poor fits when other aspects of the student are considered such as social challenges and executive functioning challenges to name a few.

When students on the autism spectrum attend college away from home, they are no longer living with supportive parents who provide important structure and consistency.  They are also no longer entitled to the same services and supports from the college that they might have enjoyed in high school.  It is therefore important for students and their families to have an excellent understanding of the students area of need in order to ensure a school will be able to support those needs.  Here is a link to an excellent podcast from February, 2015 where a student and her mother were interviewed about the student's college experience and what she and her mother learned about what the student needed from her college in order to be successful.   http://www.thetakeaway.org/story/finding-services-adults-autism/