Dan Hanks, the Director of Northwest College Support, Coeur d'Alene in Idaho talked about college success for autistic young adults with Lon Woodbury and Liz McGhee. He was interviewed on Parent Choices for Struggling Teenagers on L.A. Talk Radio. During the course of the interview, he outlined why even brilliant autistic young people frequently have trouble being successful in university. He went on to summarize a few of the things parents and professionals can do to assist these youths attain success in college.
The host of the show, Lon Woodbury is the founder of Woodbury Reports. He has worked with families and struggling teens since 1984. Co-host Elizabeth McGhee is the Director of Admissions and Referral Relations at Sandhill Child Development Center. She has over 19 years of clinical, consulting and referral relations experience.
Dan Hanks
The guest, Dan Hanks created the Northwest College Support and Growing Guidance. After graduating from the University of Idaho and holds a master's degree in Education in Counseling and School Psychology. As a qualified Therapist and an accredited College Psychologist, he works at Northwest University Support, as a School Psychologist and concentrates on dealing with people with finding out handicaps, individuals on the autism spectrum, people with ADHD, and persons struggling with addictions.
Difficulties in College Success for Autistic Young Adults
The primary struggle for high-functioning autistic children is not the academic work itself but the executive skills required to do the work. Executive skills, Dan explained, included peripheral proficiencies like organization, time management, and social skills. He compared this ability of the brain to execute related tasks as similar to a conductor of an orchestra coordinating the roles of the various musicians. While autistic children may have been good at studying specific subjects in High School, students at the college level were also required to deal with deadlines and measure up to teacher expectations. Autistic students found this new level of complexity difficult to comprehend.
One autistic pupil he worked with began college with straight A's but then started failing within three semesters. When working with Dan, this student discovered time management, self-organization abilities, and practical social capabilities. A specific technique proved especially practical: self-monitoring. After being videotaped doing his homework; he would check out the tapes and make progressive improvements based upon self-evaluations. Currently, he is working on getting an engineering degree, confirming that college success for autistic young adults is quite realistic with the proficient help of a specialist in autism.
The host of the show, Lon Woodbury is the founder of Woodbury Reports. He has worked with families and struggling teens since 1984. Co-host Elizabeth McGhee is the Director of Admissions and Referral Relations at Sandhill Child Development Center. She has over 19 years of clinical, consulting and referral relations experience.
Dan Hanks
The guest, Dan Hanks created the Northwest College Support and Growing Guidance. After graduating from the University of Idaho and holds a master's degree in Education in Counseling and School Psychology. As a qualified Therapist and an accredited College Psychologist, he works at Northwest University Support, as a School Psychologist and concentrates on dealing with people with finding out handicaps, individuals on the autism spectrum, people with ADHD, and persons struggling with addictions.
Difficulties in College Success for Autistic Young Adults
The primary struggle for high-functioning autistic children is not the academic work itself but the executive skills required to do the work. Executive skills, Dan explained, included peripheral proficiencies like organization, time management, and social skills. He compared this ability of the brain to execute related tasks as similar to a conductor of an orchestra coordinating the roles of the various musicians. While autistic children may have been good at studying specific subjects in High School, students at the college level were also required to deal with deadlines and measure up to teacher expectations. Autistic students found this new level of complexity difficult to comprehend.
One autistic pupil he worked with began college with straight A's but then started failing within three semesters. When working with Dan, this student discovered time management, self-organization abilities, and practical social capabilities. A specific technique proved especially practical: self-monitoring. After being videotaped doing his homework; he would check out the tapes and make progressive improvements based upon self-evaluations. Currently, he is working on getting an engineering degree, confirming that college success for autistic young adults is quite realistic with the proficient help of a specialist in autism.
About the Author:
Learn more about Lon Woodbury on Struggling Teens. He has recorded the entire interview on his weekly L.A. Talk Radio show for people to listen to at any time.
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