College and Autism
Volume 3, Issue 4 ~ May/June, 2008


"Transition Matters"
An Interview with James Williams


Positively Autism: Tell us a little about yourself.

James Williams: My name is James Williams Jr. I am currently attending Sam Houston State University (SHSU) in Huntsville, TX as a 21-year-old senior pursuing an undergraduate degree in Elementary Education (EC-4) with a minor in Special Education (EC-12). I truly have a passion for learning and I hope to share it with my future students. I am heavily involved in college activities which include: holding the office of President of the Sam Houston Council for Exceptional Children, serving as a committee member on the Council’s National Standing Committee on Students, participating in the Kappa Delta Pi Education Honor Society. My college achievements include the honor of receiving the International CEC Outstanding Undergraduate Student of the Year Award for 2007 and my continual placement on the College of Education Dean’s List since my arrival to college in 2005; my current GPA is a 3.93/4.0. I was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome in 1997 at the age of 11. Since that time, I have received many educational and social interventions designed to prepare me for post-secondary education and, most importantly, independent living. In addition to my courses in Special Education, I have been a national public speaker on Asperger’s Syndrome and Post-Secondary Transition for the past five years. My personal philosophy is that Autism is not a disease that needs to be cured; rather it is a difference, which can/should be addressed with appropriate interventions designed to enable us to cope and become successful, independent adults.


PA: What has your personal college experience been like? What supports and strategies have helped you?

JW: It is been both interesting and challenging. During my freshman year, I was able to room with my brother, Greg, who had been attending SHSU for a year before that and it enabled me to have a mentor and support system for the first year of college. Although my brother is very different from me socially and in terms of cleanliness, it was a way to forgo the freshman roommate situation and all of the difficulties it can present. College has and continues to be a huge growth experience for me in terms of my social and independent living development. As a freshman, it is very difficult to adjust to life without the direct support of your parents, particularly when you live farther away. I was used to my mom handling many things, such as doctor’s appointments, bills, and laundry. Fortunately, my parents and I had already taken steps to teach me how to handle these things. My most helpful support people in college have been my professors in my college, my friends, my parents, and the Services for Students with Disabilities Office. I receive basic accommodations from my university and they enable me to more effectively participate in class.


PA: What advice do you have for high school students with Autism and their families when preparing for and selecting a college?

JW: The most important advice I can give regarding preparation is to find good resources. The most helpful resources I found were usually located on the internet. There is so much good information on the internet regarding colleges, degrees, and career paths. I did have to know where to start and for that information I asked my brother, who was already in college, and my counselor’s office. There was a lot of good information available through my local library as well and I found it to be a good place to dig in and get info. I also found good information through some of my local state agencies, although the information was hard to find and at sometimes confusing. Honestly, this part of my transition was probably the most difficult due to the fact that there were very few places that you could find an organized batch of information. Because of this, I recently started a transition resource page called TransitionMatters.Org that consolidates many of the good resources I have found and used myself. In selecting a college, there are a couple of things to think about. First, I would develop a plan that includes my future goals. Then I would take those goals and use them as starting point. For example, I wanted to become a special education teacher and go to a school within 3 hours of my parent’s home. So I compiled a list of all the schools that offered that degree and then I went to the websites of most of them and narrowed them down to a few and made personal visits and contacts to each of them. I contacted both the Services for Students with Disabilities Coordinator and the College of Education Dean’s Office to learn more about what they offered. A strong indicator that you have found a supportive environment is the “culture” or attitude of the campus. A college can be grounded in tradition, but still progressive and pro-active in their effort to assist and promote the attendance of individuals with disabilities.


PA: What supports do colleges provide for students with Autism and how can students access them?

JW: Colleges offer a varying level of support and much of it depends on the size and funding of the Services for Students with Disabilities Office. On a small campus, the office could be minimally funded and offer very few basic services. However, it varies not only on size, but also on the commitment of the university to promote and accept the attendance of students with disabilities. Keep in mind, that the law says accommodations must be available to students with disabilities, but it does not specify the quality or size of those services. At my university, they offer several accommodations such as note-taking assistance, preferential seating, extended time, or alternate test site. In addition, they offer a weekly Asperger’s Syndrome/HFA group that is offered as part of the services available at the counseling center. Again, it varies school to school, but remember that just because an accommodation you want is not on their list, doesn’t mean you can’t ask for it and state your case.



PA: What aspects of Asperger’s Syndrome have made college more challenging for you?

JW: By far, the most difficult aspect of Asperger’s Syndrome has been my social challenges. In many ways, I was prepared for it, but college is such a different environment and some of the rules that apply in public school are different, so we must be taught the differences. Also, I think it is important to acknowledge that there are two different realms of college life: academic and social. The way you interact with peers in a class is very different than the way you would interact in a social setting, such as a party, coffeehouse, or at the movies. Unfortunately, many students with AS are not prepared for both environments and they are both equally important to college and life success. In regards to academics, I have done very well because my school did a truly excellent job in preparing me. It is important to address both to enable us to reach our post-secondary, employment, and independent living goals.


PA: What aspects of Asperger’s Syndrome have helped you in college?

JW: My intelligence and logical thinking have helped me many times in college and my academic coursework. For example, on multiple choice tests, I find it very easy to identify the answer because, to me, it is the only possible one that makes logical sense. Also, in college, you encounter many people that are different and people are much more accepting of all differences and in some ways being different or weird is a good thing.


PA: You’re majoring in Special Education. Stephen Shore is another individual with Asperger’s Syndrome with college degrees in Special Education. What do you think that individuals with Asperger’s Syndrome can contribute to the field?

JW: Not to sound boastful, but I think we offer a very unique picture into our world and those of us like Stephan Shore and myself have received a great deal of intervention that enables us to express our thoughts and feelings much more accurately then other individuals on the spectrum. In my opinion, I think this should serve as a model to schools and parents to the power of intervention and appropriate education. One of the biggest arguments in special education is over the term Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) and the lack of clarity as to who determines what is “appropriate”. In my mind, appropriate should be judged on the basis of the outcomes of the students receiving the “appropriate” services. As it is right now, many of our students with Asperger’s Syndrome or High Functioning Autism struggle to live independently, go to college, or obtain employment, wouldn’t they be receiving an inappropriate education because IDEA 2004 says they should be prepared to do all of those things? I suppose I am applying logic to a field that has always been somewhat devoid of it, so maybe it’s just me…maybe not. Either way, I feel that individuals like us that get involved in the field can continue to make great advances in understanding and assisting other individuals like us.


PA: You recently won the Council for Exceptional Children International Award for Outstanding Student Member. Congratulations! Tell us more about your experience with the Student Council for Exceptional Children at your college.

JW: At my college, I have served as the President for the last two years and I have had a blast doing it. For a many years, our chapter had been dormant and inactive and when I arrived at Sam Houston I decided that I couldn’t allow my College of Education to not have an active branch of the largest professional special education organization. I have put in hours and hours of effort and now I am proud to say that we have been recognized two years in a row as one of two Super Chapters in the entire state of Texas and our annual conference has grown to over 400 participants, making it the largest student-centered conference in the state. Our annual conference is put on almost entirely by students like me and it serves as our principle fundraiser for the year. Last year, our keynote speaker was Dr. Temple Grandin!


PA: What can teachers do to prepare students for college?

JW: Teachers can be the single most important influences in a student’s decision to attend college. In my case, my high school teacher, Livinia Johnson, inspired me to become a Special Educator and we are still good friends today and we support each other as colleagues. As teachers, we can prepares our students for college by ensuring they are getting challenging academics, social skills training, and living skills experiences. It would also be a good idea to directly discuss with the student what jobs they would be interested in doing and what training would be required to do them.


PA: Do you have any other advice for college-bound students?

JW: My other advice would be to understand your rights and responsibilities as a student. The first and most important step in understanding your rights and responsibilities is to read the basic ideas behind both the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. The laws are confusing and wordy, but several agencies, including the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights provide simplified pamphlets and resources on the main ideas. Using that knowledge, brainstorm a list of reasonable accommodations that you believe would enable you to successfully complete the courses your degree requires. Use this knowledge to request accommodations and assistance from your college. If your school’s SSD office approves certain accommodations and one of your instructors/professors refuse or seem unwilling to provide them, self-advocate your needs with that professor and handle it in a polite and professional manner. If there is no progress, then it is important that you contact your SSD office and explain the situation to them. When you do this, keep two things in mind: approved accommodations are legally protected/enforceable and you are never required to share your diagnosis with a professor or anyone else, if you do not wish to. You are required to disclose your disability to your SSD office if you wish to have accommodations, but you don’t have to defend or explain your disability to anyone who refuses to provide those accommodations. Lastly, remember that Hans Asperger, the father of Asperger’s Syndrome said, “Not everything that steps out of line, and thus ‘abnormal’, must necessarily be ‘inferior’.” In other words, it’s ok to be different, but rather it is how we handle our differences that make us successful members of society.


PA: You run a website of college resources for students on the spectrum, Transition Matters. Can you tell us a little about the website, including your inspiration for creating it?

JW: As I said above, the website consolidates many useful resources I have used and makes them easy to find. I credit every organization which makes the resources in hopes that people will investigate the various agencies to find more items of interest. The website has two parts, the first is a links part, and the second is a document list. To make things easier, I uploaded many documents directly as a PDF file, so a person is able download them directly from my page. My inspiration for creating it is simply to make resources available to others that my parents and I did not have when we were preparing for my transition. Education is the single most powerful factor in determining the success of a person or their family and I firmly believe that as both an educator and a person with Asperger’s Syndrome.



Note from the Editor: A link to James' website can be found in the "Links" section of this issue. I also wanted to thank James for his time and contribution to Positively Autism! Clip art in this article courtesy of Lakeshore Learning Materials.



Return to Issue Contents

Copyright © 2008. Positively Autism. All Rights Reserved.