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son 25 may be on spectrum

mitz

My 25 year old son was diagnosed with Crohn's disease when he was 18. This lead him to have a severe depressive episode. The mental health team eventually said that they thought he may have mild autism. He refused a diagnosis and got quite annoyed about it, so it was taken no futher. His new GP also thinks he may have it although his old GP was not convinced. Anyway he's just finished his university degree with a basic pass and can't get a job yet. He can't claim jobseekers as he saved up all the allowances he had when he was ill and has over the savings limit. He doesn't get any allowances now. He still blames my husband and I for him getting the Crohns disease, which is thankfully in remission and will not discuss ASD. On top of everything my husband has just been diagnosed with heart failure. I lost my mother with heart failure this year so this was an added blow for everyone. My son could put his savings towards my mother's bungalow which is now owned by my sister and I. If we helped him to own the property he could then probably claim jobseekers. But he prefers to live with us. We don't mind supporting him but we are now on pensions. I think if he could get a job things would look up, but they are difficult at the moment. I just wondered if anyone had any suggestions. Thanks.

Parents

  • It is more a case of looking at the course content.

    The classic misunderstanding is doing mathematics because of an aptitude for numbers. Most of academic mathematics is conceptual and theoretical, working in abstract concepts rather than numbers. The abstraction is often so remote from an interest in numbers as to be soul destroying. If there was a degree in arithmetic that might suit someone on the spectrum - or else accountancy.

    In computing, it might seem that an aptitude for certain types of programming or computer games point to the value of a computing degree. However the degree content is much more varied - database structures, database management systems, operating systems, security, telematics, knowledge based systems, data mining, system design, project management, applications to different user groups etc. etc. Some of these aspects might interest someone on the spectrum, but to complete the degree he/she would have to do ALL the aspects, not just the ones they liked doing.

    Also one of the bugbears of computing degrees is working in teaching rooms full of computer terminals, sometimes shared between two students, but certainly where the students are close to their neighbours. Many terminals all doing slightly different things is distracting/overloading as well as the proximity to other students. These teaching rooms do tend to be poorly ventillated and hot. It may be harder to get a preferred seat. Also the work done may be rather prescriptive and people on the spectrum may be frustrated by having to follow through the entire process, and record their decision steps.

    Its not so much that there are degrees better suited, but that you need to look particularly carefully at what degree content someone on the spectrum wouldn't be keen on doing, and also look at the teaching environment.

    Other tricky areas are group work, especially where the marks are given jointly, giving presentations in front of other students, certain types of assignment layout where a person on the spectrum may not be happy doing it the prescribed way, types of problem solving and working out, where part of the assessmnent is the way you explain it - many people on the spectrum just like to give the answers and not discuss the process.

    I'm generalising, but these are the sorts of things that often crop up. Group work is often a stumbling block because students will try to avoid having the AS student in their group - it is usually a recipe for disaster, but exceptionally some AS students do actually work well in a group. So it isn't a rule....just you need to anticipate where a son (or a daughter) doing a course would encounter difficulty.

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  • It is more a case of looking at the course content.

    The classic misunderstanding is doing mathematics because of an aptitude for numbers. Most of academic mathematics is conceptual and theoretical, working in abstract concepts rather than numbers. The abstraction is often so remote from an interest in numbers as to be soul destroying. If there was a degree in arithmetic that might suit someone on the spectrum - or else accountancy.

    In computing, it might seem that an aptitude for certain types of programming or computer games point to the value of a computing degree. However the degree content is much more varied - database structures, database management systems, operating systems, security, telematics, knowledge based systems, data mining, system design, project management, applications to different user groups etc. etc. Some of these aspects might interest someone on the spectrum, but to complete the degree he/she would have to do ALL the aspects, not just the ones they liked doing.

    Also one of the bugbears of computing degrees is working in teaching rooms full of computer terminals, sometimes shared between two students, but certainly where the students are close to their neighbours. Many terminals all doing slightly different things is distracting/overloading as well as the proximity to other students. These teaching rooms do tend to be poorly ventillated and hot. It may be harder to get a preferred seat. Also the work done may be rather prescriptive and people on the spectrum may be frustrated by having to follow through the entire process, and record their decision steps.

    Its not so much that there are degrees better suited, but that you need to look particularly carefully at what degree content someone on the spectrum wouldn't be keen on doing, and also look at the teaching environment.

    Other tricky areas are group work, especially where the marks are given jointly, giving presentations in front of other students, certain types of assignment layout where a person on the spectrum may not be happy doing it the prescribed way, types of problem solving and working out, where part of the assessmnent is the way you explain it - many people on the spectrum just like to give the answers and not discuss the process.

    I'm generalising, but these are the sorts of things that often crop up. Group work is often a stumbling block because students will try to avoid having the AS student in their group - it is usually a recipe for disaster, but exceptionally some AS students do actually work well in a group. So it isn't a rule....just you need to anticipate where a son (or a daughter) doing a course would encounter difficulty.

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