How can we support our children through higher education? Is the system prepared to facilitate their integration?

Upon reaching adulthood, families also face their own challenges, as they must find a balance between supporting their son or daughter as needed and avoiding overprotection . The first step would be to discuss as a family what support needs might be required and to respect the adult's educational preferences regarding their autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It would be helpful to assess whether the person needs some initial support to practice the situation and to know when to withdraw (such as assistance with transportation, errands, etc.).

In academic matters, it may be necessary to seek support from a counselor who understands the specific characteristics of ASD. The academic counselor should be able to explain the necessary steps and challenges the individual with ASD will face so they can make informed decisions (it's worth noting that this same problem can sometimes be found in the non-autistic population: a lack of information when choosing a course of study). Furthermore, at the educational level, in Spanish educational institutions, students should be able to request support from professionals who can work with them to assess whether any methodological adaptations are needed, or to provide assistance with the sequencing or timing of subjects. I know of several universities that offer this service, but there is still much progress to be made, as some faculty members still lack the necessary training and awareness.

All the families explain that inclusion in early childhood and primary education is easier. In secondary school, there are usually more problems: perhaps the teachers are not used to dealing with students with disabilities, and then there's the added issue of adolescence.

In the classroom, individuals with autism may have difficulty understanding social conventions related to power hierarchies in the school context . For example, a student will not address a classmate in the same way as a teacher or an administrator. We also experience a lack of initiative in communicating and interacting with other people our age, or inadequate or unsuccessful attempts to establish connections, and difficulties adapting to schoolwork schedules , especially when there is excessive and rigid perfectionism that leads us to focus on details of the task and perform the activity meticulously and slowly. Thus, for example, in this regard, it can be helpful to use the backward chaining technique (helping them, the first time, to do the entire task, then letting them do the final step, then the last two steps, and so on. This way they will know what they have to do and how, and will eventually do it independently).

Regarding difficulties in adapting to the rhythms and organization of school work : schedules, homework, group work, exams, etc., a good idea is to always anticipate what is going to happen: warn, for example, that in 10 minutes we will start X, have the schedule always in view and, perhaps, work with timers.

We may also have difficulty sharing leisure time or group school activities with other classmates—recess, field trips, group projects, lunch, etc.—so we need to find ways for them to participate in these activities, rather than force them, so they can gradually gain confidence. For example, if they aren't good at sports, they can help by keeping score. This will help them understand the rules and feel more confident, which may lead them to want to actively participate in the game someday.

Since we tend to be seen by others as strange people, who are only interested in their own things or very specific topics, we are prone to suffering situations of abuse .

Thus, continuous support is needed in schools from teams of educators, therapists and other staff, who seek to reinforce autonomy in a well-understood way.

These professionals, of course, should be able to receive proper training. Furthermore, perhaps we should innovate in how we convey educational messages and how we assess acquired knowledge —I mean, in a more oral, visual, and individualized way, and less in a written and generalized manner. This doesn't mean lowering the bar, because playing a "different" game isn't the same as making it easier for us. A very easy example to understand is, given our difficulty in managing new situations or our preference for routines, eliminating surprise exams. Finding out we're going to have an exam this way will make us very, very nervous, and we'll probably fail, even if we know the answers.