Prospective Students and Families

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Prospective Students and Families

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These resources are for current high school students and incoming RIT students and their families who are navigating the transition to college.

Parent and Family Programs @ RIT

The Parent and Family Programs office is a primary resource for those supporting the success of RIT students. If you have RIT-related questions or want to have a better understanding of how campus resources can best support your student, visit the Parents and Family Programs website.

Guides

Going to College with Asperger’s & Autism 
Transitioning to college can be stressful for any young adult, but those with Asperger’s syndrome or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often face additional challenges during this time. There are people and programs in place to help, though. This guide offers information, expert advice, and resources to help make the transition to college smooth and successful for students with ASD and their families.

OAR’s Finding Your Way: A College Guide for Students on the Spectrum
This guide is intended to help students with ASD become better prepared for college life and academics. This guide addresses challenges that are both universal and unique to students on the college autism spectrum by providing information, guidance, and resources that address them. Finding Your Way offers practical advice from autism experts; powerful narratives from self-advocates; and relevant resource tools. It is intended to help readers anticipate and improve their academic and social situations by advocating for themselves.

Publications

Navigating College: A handbook on Self Advocacy Written for Autistic Students from Autistic Adults
This book is a project of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN). Navigating College is an introduction to the college experience from those who've been there. The writers and contributors are autistic adults, and they’re giving advice that they wish someone could have given them when heading off to college.

Preparing for Postsecondary Education
This pamphlet, from the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in the U.S. Department of Education, provides information about the rights and responsibilities of students with disabilities who are preparing to attend postsecondary schools.

Cover of Preparing for Life: The Complete Guide for Transitioning to Adulthood for Those with Autism and Asperger's Syndrome.

Preparing for Life: The Complete Guide for Transitioning to Adulthood for Those with Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome

Author: Dr. Jed Baker
ISBN: 978-8170339441

Cover to Parent’s Guide to College for Students on the Autism Spectrum.

Parent’s Guide to College for Students on the Autism Spectrum

Author: Jane Thierfield Brown, EdD
ISBN: 1934575895

Cover to Realizing the College Dream with Autism or Asperger’s Syndrome: A Parent’s Guide to Student Success.

Realizing the College Dream with Autism or Asperger’s Syndrome: A Parent’s Guide to Student Success

Author: Anna Plamer
ISBN: 1843108011

Cover to Developing College Skills in Students with Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome.

Developing College Skills in Students with Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome

Author: Sarita Freedman

Cover of The Autism Transition Guide: Planning the Journey from School to Adult Life.

The Autism Transition Guide: Planning the Journey from School to Adult Life (Topics in Autism)

Authors: Carolyn T. Bruey, Mary Beth Urban
ISBN: 978-1890627812

Cover of Succeeding as a Student in the STEM Fields with an Invisible Disability.

Succeeding as a Student in the STEM Fields with an Invisible Disability: A College Handbook for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Students with Autism, ADD, Affective Disorders, Or Learning Difficulties and Their Families

Author: Christy Oslund
ISBN: 978-0857008176

Online

Going to College

This site is designed for high school students and contains information about living college life with a disability. Provides video clips, activities, and resources that can help students plan for college.

Stairway to Stem: Student Resources

This is an online resource for autistic students who are transitioning from high school to college and interested in entering STEM fields. Contributors are tackling everything from important steps to take during your junior and senior years of high school, to making friends, navigating a syllabus, and mastering time management to disclosure, accommodations, and building collegiate support systems and more.

For students, we recommend reading Transitioning from High School to College as an Autistic STEM Student.
For parents, we recommend reading Preparing your Autistic Student for Achievement in College.

Misunderstandings About IEPs, 504s, and College Accommodations: Clarifying the Vocabulary

There is — understandably — a lot of misunderstanding and misinterpretation of what does and doesn’t happen for students with disabilities at college. It seems some people either believe there are no disability accommodations available at college or that they’re only for people with visual, hearing, or physical disabilities, or that colleges have to follow students’ high school plans. None of these statements is true.

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