About the book
Overview and Purpose
Building Bridges, Removing Barriers: A College Transition Guide for Students with Autism demystifies one of life’s biggest leaps—moving from high school to college. It pairs practical strategies with encouragement so students, families, and professionals can navigate new freedoms, routines, and responsibilities with confidence. The guide focuses on building independence, self-advocacy, and campus belonging, without losing sight of the real-world challenges that make college both exciting and daunting.
Written for three audiences—students, parents, and campus professionals—the book offers step-by-step tools that make progress visible, from time management and sensory supports to communication with professors and disability services. Each chapter transforms complex moments into clear, actionable steps.
Key Themes & Topics
- From Support to Self-Advocacy: How to request accommodations, talk to faculty, and build executive-function routines that stick.
- ASD Essentials: What autism looks like in college settings, including social communication, sensory needs, and hyperfocus, plus myth-busting and strength-based strategies.
- Programs & Fit: Traditional vs. autism-specific supports, checklists for evaluating colleges, and housing decisions that balance comfort with growth.
- Ready-to-Use Tools: Worksheets, checklists, and timelines that help students and families plan, track, and adjust throughout the semester.
- Mental Health & Social Life: Practical guidance for friendships, dating, substances, routines, and campus support networks.
- Decision Points: What to do when doubts arise, switching majors, transferring, or stepping back, plus a self-reflection survey to decide the next right step.
Table of Contents Preview
Introduction
Purpose & Audience Sets the tone for students, families, and campus professionals, explaining how to use the guide and what success looks like in the first year and beyond.
Chapter 1
Building the Foundation: Understanding Autism and College Transition Lays out the essentials: transition milestones, how different colleges and programs shape the experience, and side-by-side ways to evaluate traditional vs. autism-specific options. You’ll also find frank talk about challenges, strength-based strategies,
inclusion, housing choices, and a toolkit of resources and worksheets.
Chapter 2
Building Knowledge: Autism Spectrum Disorder Essentials Clarifies terminology and development in the “emerging adult” years, then tackles core ASD characteristics, common myths, emotional regulation, sensory needs, and executive-function routines. Includes a hyperfocus mini-guide, plus practical checklists and templates to put insights into action.
Chapter 3
Laying the Path: Evaluation and Preparation for College Shows how to assess true “college readiness” beyond grades; build a holistic support plan; and strengthen social skills, independence, and self-advocacy with feedback loops that evolve over time. It comes with a self-assessment, parent checklist, and scoring sheets you can use immediately.
Chapter 4
Crossing the Bridge: Beginning the College Experience A week-by-week guide to the first day, week, month, and the run-up to finals, navigating spaces and social situations, finding classrooms, balancing time, using tech, and knowing when to ask for help, plus “Tips for Success” throughout. Includes end-of-term reflections and post-semester reset guidance.
Chapter 5
Supporting the Journey: A Parent’s Guide Reframes the parent role from advocate to coach, with success stories, readiness tools, and program comparisons. Walks families through selection, campus visits, life-skills growth, and the legal landscape (IDEA/504/ADA), capped with strategies that build independence and a healthy support network.
Chapter 6
Navigating the Bridge and Other Academic Choices For crossroads moments: how to evaluate transferring, switching majors, or exploring alternative paths, then wrap with reflective prompts to make a grounded decision.
Chapter 7
Planning the Next Semester: Setting Intentions and Goals Turns course selection into strategy, with guidance on advising, scholarships, workload, activities, and aligning choices to long-term aims. Opens with a clear framework for evaluating the prior semester from multiple angles.
Chapter 8
Navigating College Social Life with Confidence Practical, judgment-free advice on relationships and substance decisions, tailored to common campus situations and sensory/social realities.
Chapter 9
Navigating Mental Health in College A student-centered mental-health starter kit: understand campus context, build routines and coping strategies, map your support network, and make informed choices about medication.
Chapter 10
Reaching the Crossroads: Stay, Graduate, Change Schools, or Move Forward Normalizes doubt and offers structured checklists and a self-survey (“Should I Stay or Go?”) to evaluate academics, social life, well-being, and career fit—alongside pathways for graduating, pausing, or pivoting.
Chapter 11
Reflections on My College Missteps (and What I’d Do Differently) A candid, encouraging close: lessons on choosing majors, friends, standards, money, mentoring, balance, and grabbing real-world experience—so readers can skip avoidable detours and accelerate growth.