Meet-Up: An Orientation Program for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

This innovate practice work-in-progress paper presents a pilot orientation program for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), a range of conditions involving serious dysfunctions in aspects of social relationships and learning. Young adults with ASD are more likely than the general population to concentrate on science and engineering, so those who enroll at college tend to choose STEM degrees. However, students with ASD often undergo stress and experience difficulty in the transition to college. For this reason our university considers the necessity for an orientation program to help such students in this challenging situation. In this paper, the authors describe this initiative, known as Meet-Up, and the problems we faced during the pilot program.