Transitioning to adulthood is no small feat for any child. From considering legal guardianship, to
developing a plan to remember to take medication, to determining the likelihood of continuing
postsecondary education, there are dozens of details to consider throughout this phase of life.
Regardless of age, it’s never too late to sit down and put together a plan for the future. By
talking through an ideal future plan and taking small steps to reach it, families can have a better
chance at helping their child reach their goals. The following resources provide excellent
information to utilize and several considerations to think about while planning for transition:
- Autism Speaks Transition Toolkit: This 118-page resource, reviewed by physicians,
professors, doctors, and parents of children with autism, is full of contacts, questions to
consider, and activities for families to work through. By including interactive exercises to
help make decisions in job planning, housing, and other topics, this resource allows
families to walk themselves through planning for transition, all while having access to
specialists noted in the guide.
- Puberty and Self Care: Explaining the unforeseeable changes in your body and how to
care for yourself while going through puberty can be hard, no matter how mature a child
is. These five resources on the ECHO Autism website provide easy ways to explain an
array of topics related to bodily changes in teenagers.
- Life Journey Through Autism: While in high school, a child with autism must work with
their family to talk about what their life may look like as an adult. This resource guide
tackles these age-specific topics, like considering agency help, employment, and life
skills.
- Charting the Lifecourse: This 20-page guide is extremely thorough in walking families
through questions they should be asking themselves while planning for transition. The
guide splits up questions into six main topics: daily life and employment, community
living, safety and security, healthy living, social and spirituality, and citizenship and
advocacy.
- Community-based Skills Assessment (CSA): This resource helps families work through
a series of observation and question-based assessments to gather information for young
adults on the autism spectrum to gauge their readiness to be more independent.
Working through this resource can help families make a plan based on how the
assessment’s results guide them.
- MODDC Supported Decision Making: This website includes 11 PDF resources ranging
from guardianship to maximizing employment. This is a great resource to learn about
different forms of legal decision making.
