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I am currently a University student who has recently had a classmate with Asperger's. Listening to today's program made only reaffirmed the need for greater awareness and education on autism not only for our educators but for the general public as well. I don't feel the need to outline what my classroom experience was like, but would rather draw attention to what I saw as the University system's complete lack of preparation, understanding and in my opinion failure to meet the needs of this particular student. There was no support system, and I could tell after more than one class with him that professors were entirely unprepared to deal with someone with Asperger's. I also know that most students would have appreciated some kind of preparation on how to incorporate him into our larger learning experience.

While this experience may be read as a failure of the University system to accommodate people with autism I think the larger lesson is that we as a community are NOT prepared to interact with adults on the autism spectrum. As these children grow up and enter our communities as functioning members of our society we, the general public, need to be educated on how to interact with them in a constructive way. It sounds like there are wonderful resources available for people who interact with people with autism every day, but what can I do as a person who only has chance encounters? What do I need to know to help these soon to be adults become a part of my community?

posted 5 years, 3 months ago
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