You need to get your son signed up with the Adult Services agency in your State. Call state ed to find out what it is. Your case is a perfect example of why we should try to get our kids to NOT GRADUATE until at least a year after they turn 18. At 18 they can access Adult Services. If they spend a year on Adults Services as well as having an IEP, they can transtition more smoothly. YOu can also speak to an advocate or lawyer about whether or not your school district did an appropriate Transition Plan for you son. If not, you can get up to two years of compensatory services. You'll need a lawyer for this, but the law is now pretty strict about forcing schools to properly transition sped kids to adulthood.contact your states occupational vocational rehab office. they can test and train your child to see what type of job and job training he needs. is easier to get services if your child already receiving social security. My son has PDD-NOS. He will be graduating at the end of the month. But what to do from there?! I found a school in Minnesota (Life Skills) and visited it. I really liked it, but the tuition is not affordable. I do have him signed up for Rehabilitation Services in IL. I've read about so many Autism people who have went on to college and became a success. He doesn't want to go on to college. He was not diagnosed until the end of 8th grade, and had a horrible time in school. In 9th grade, he was in a small secluded class. He needs the structure and more one on one. I did find a college in Evanston that is for LD population. I guess it is on the Threshold program. I do not think this is a good fit. If he doesn't want to go on to college, and keep learning, I do not think I should make him do this. I think people like Temple Grandin had the desire to learn. He doesn't. There really isn't much out there for teens and adults. I don't think college is necessarily ideal for a lot of kids on the spectrum..... or maybe I should just speak for my own. I'm sure there are some with PDD that may do well, but mine is not one of them. However, I do think it's our responsibility to figure out their strengths and weaknesses, so we can introduce them to something they could potentially be great at. For example, my son is horrible at typical academics. He could care less about math and reading or anything else in the classroom. But if you put him in front of a computer, you will see a computer genious come out. It's the same way with many electronics; he can figure things out before most adults around him. When he was just 4 years old, the computer at his preschool was broken and he was able to instinctively fix it even though the teachers had worked on it for a week (and I had never let him touch my computer at home). So.... I don't think we should push our kids into college especially if they're not interested, but we should find out what their strengths are and help them develop those things further.
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