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Supporting students with High Functioning Autism and Asperger’s in Higher Education
The AHEADD Model
By Carolyn Komich Hare, AHEADD Executive Director
AHEADD (Achieving in Higher Education with Autism/ Developmental Disabilities) is a private (for profit) community organization that provides support for college students with Asperger Syndrome (AS), High-Functioning Autism (HFA), Non-Verbal Learning Disorder (NVLD), Learning Disabilities, and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). Originally developed in cooperation with Equal Opportunity Services of Carnegie Mellon University in 2002, AHEADD is specifically designed to help students develop individualized strategies to manage their college careers with maximum independence. AHEADD’s mission is to establish and maintain best practices of support in a manner that respects students as adults, complements the traditional college accommodations plan, and maximizes use of existing campus resources. AHEADD currently offers services in Pittsburgh, Albany, Dallas, and Washington, DC, and is enrolling students in Miami, Baltimore, Long Island, Bakersfield, CA, and Boston for Fall 2009.
The AHEADD model of support can be applied within any campus environment, and is tailored to meet the unique needs of each student. Students must be willing participants in the program, and able to function with relative independence on a college campus. (Students who have difficulty navigating the physical campus or waking up to attend class, for example, may need more comprehensive support than AHEADD provides.) The AHEADD model involves four core elements:
- AHEADD Professional Staff Involvement
- Development of Campus and Community Support Network
- Utilization of Campus Resources
- Peer Mentoring
Professional Staff Involvement
An AHEADD professional staff person meets with a student at the beginning of each semester to set personal and academic goals. Student and staff person then meet twice-weekly for 30-60+ minutes. Meetings may focus on increasing academic accountability, ensuring that the student is content with his/her overall quality of life, and developing individualized strategies for managing various aspects of college life, including:
- Self-advocacy.
- Faculty and classroom communication.
- Time management and organizational skills.
- Opportunities for social interaction/social skills.
- Utilization of campus and community resources.
Each meeting begins with discussion of upcoming academic obligations, entering those obligations into the student’s list of weekly responsibilities, and problem-solving for incomplete work or unmet obligations. AHEADD staff also assist students in drafting important communications with faculty, peers, and peer mentors, and in helping students identify and connect with appropriate campus resources. After the academic component of the meeting is completed, the student and his/her AHEADD staff member focus on broader quality of life issues: campus involvement, roommate relations, hygiene, diet, getting a job, etc. As the student and AHEADD staff member develop rapport, this aspect of each meeting becomes increasingly meaningful and productive.
Development of a Campus/Community Support Network
Outside of the twice-weekly meetings, AHEADD staff regularly liaise with the college’s Disability Services, faculty and related professionals, regarding accommodations, to:
- Raise awareness of the student’s strengths and needs.
- Ensuring that all team members are aligned in their perception of the student’s needs and performance.
- Problem-solve, when there is a disconnect between student and professor’s perceptions of performance.
- Provide a consistent message from all team members to the student.
Utilization of Campus Resources
While AHEADD’s professional staff provide particular expertise in supporting students with, it is also important to engage natural supports through existing campus resources, including: Disability Resources; Student Health and local medical professionals; Counseling and Psychological Services; Academic Development/Learning Center (content tutoring, writing assistance); Academic Advisors/Faculty Mentors; Extracurricular activities/Clubs; Career Counseling; Work/Study programs.
Peer Mentoring Program
Peer mentors are neurotypical students who volunteer their time to provide support and social opportunities/outlets for students enrolled in AHEADD. Peer mentors also provide us with valuable insight into challenges that our students may be facing during social situations; AHEADD staff can then incorporate these issues into discussions during the twice-weekly meetings with students.
Our peer mentors enter into the program though a comprehensive orientation program, and are then paired with an AHEADD student. The peer mentors and the AHEADD students make arrangements to socialize at least once every week or two, independent of AHEADD staff involvement. AHEADD also hosts a monthly “large group” mentoring activity during which all of the mentors, AHEADD students, and AHEADD staff members are invited to join in various events around town, including dinners, bowling, pot luck and board game parties, as well as picnics and athletic games.
Peer mentors are also asked to participate in two “decompression” meetings over the course of each semester, during which AHEADD staff provide professional guidance in response to any challenges the mentors are experiencing.
Response to AHEADD has been very positive. One college educator, Monica Andrews, Ed.D. said:
“I have known of initiatives from within the college/ university, but to have a model that you can take anywhere is revolutionary— or maybe it’s “evolutionary.”
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