Autism: A Battle Within

Aimee Turner

Contrary to popular belief, there is a large number of students who are enrolled in college with mental disabilities. Autism, a neurological-based developmental disability, affects an estimated one in 166 people, according to a 2004 study by the Centers for Disease Control Prevention. Both children and adults with Autism typically show difficulties in verbal and nonverbal communication, social interactions and leisure or play activities, according to the Autism Society of America. Autism affects individuals differently and to varying degrees.

Although every person with autism is unique, some characteristics are considered to be particularly important in the diagnosis of autism. These fall into four major categories, which are communication characteristics; social interaction characteristics; unusual behavior characteristics; learning characteristics. In spite of these learning disabilities, many of those diagnosed with autism have successfully completed high school and went on to become very successful.

Although many autistic students successfully make it through high school with assistance, many of these same students find this success rate difficult to achieve in college because of the drastic differences. There are important differences in the laws that protect students with disabilities in college, which can be summed up in the fact that students in college have drastically more independence. However, so colleges offer assistance to autistic students and students with other mental disabilities.

Georgia Tech is among a select amount of schools who offer assistance for students with diagnosed mental disabilities. These services are conducted through the ADAPTS office which stands for Access Disabled Assistance Program for Tech Students. The type of assistance students can receive through the ADAPTS office include assigned note takers, extended testing time, as well as other accommodations. ADAPTS serves any Georgia Tech student who has a documented, qualifying disability. Despite the services Georgia Tech offers mentally disabled students, more higher learning institutions should be willing to offers such services to encourage more students to pursue higher education.