Transition Into Adulthood Essay

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Autism: A Transition into Adulthood Sarah Plummer Grand Valley State University Autism: A Transition into Adulthood For all teens, the transition into adulthood is generally seen as a challenging and scary process. For teens diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) as well as their caregivers, this transition is often more complicated. The period of transition for individuals with ASD into adulthood is intensely more challenging due to their “unique characteristics, the lack of services that address the special needs of such individuals in adulthood, and the expectations of society for a typical path to adulthood in the face of atypical problems” (Geller and Greenberg, 2009, pg. 93). Without the necessary resources to transition, teens with ASD find themselves unprepared for life at work, in college, or community living. Through this paper, the reader will obtain knowledge in regards to what ASD is, the barriers it yields concerning the transition into adulthood, and the effects it has on the individual as well …show more content…

93). After an individual turns the age of 18, they become their own legal guardian. This becomes a very frustrating time for the parents of this child, due to the loss of authority and management of care that is faced. In order for these parents to resume guardianship of children with ASD, parents must go through the court system to deem their child incompetent of making their own decisions. Although there is no know causes of ASD, mothers often feel like something they did while pregnant may have causes their child to be born with this disorder. This often produces the feelings of guilt and shame on the parents, especially upon the

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