Autism and The Transition to Adulthood Discussion

Do you believe Jeff, Craig, and Maria will be able to advocate for themselves in employment, leisure, and community situations in the future?Do they need ongoing advocacy support?Please respond to student discussion. DO NOT include in question.According to the information pertaining to Jeff, it was in his best interest to live at home during his freshmen year of college to give him the cushion of losing some of the daily supports that he would have in the secondary school setting. This will give him that time to adjust and attain more real world skills in advocating for himself. It also states that he will be living with two roommates with 10 hours of support per week, which allows for the development of his leisure and community abilities as well. This minimal support could be faded out as his college years progress, leading him to moving out on his own and living without roommates or support.Craig will need assistance of some kind for a while longer, maybe for the majority of his independent living situations. His behavior and self harm activities need to continue to be monitored to ensure that nothing bad happens to him that could be prevented. He will do well developing his leisure activities while living around other people that he is unfamiliar with as well.Maria seems to have found a great living situation which will continue to support her needs. She will be living with people who care to meet her needs and help her feel comfortable which will greatly contribute to her leisure activities development. Maria will be able to access advocacy if she needs it, but at this time it seems as though she will be getting the proper amount of assistance to meet her needs. Maria wants to own a home of her own in her life and this a very realistic goal that ties directly into her ability to self-advocate in all settings, which will continue to get better as well.Wehman, P., Smith, M. D., & Schall, C. (2012). Autism and the transition to adulthood success beyond the classroom. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Pub.(LIZ)Jeff is attending college and living in a supervised place away from home. He has support services each week to work with him on planning meals, money management, and household chores. Jeff is enjoying living on his own. With continued support services, he will be able to advocate for himself as an adult.Craig is living away from home in a residential house with two roommates who have disabilities. He has continuous support from staff on site. Household activities, money management, and shopping are all services provided to residents (training or have them done). Craig continues to need support with making decisions and will most likely need to have an advocate to ensure his rights are addressed.Maria seems the most prepared for advocating for herself. Her transition team (including her mother) encouraged her to think about future housing. Maria lives in a house with another woman who supports her when needed (reduced rent). She is definitely the most independent of the three adults. I believe Maria’s mother is a big reason for her success (interest profile).(BEA)I believe they will be able to advocate for themselves at a certain point. They will need to be trained on what to do in certain situations like jobs and independent living but they can learn to advocate for themselves. I believe they will still need someone to take care of them with their finances and help them to manage their money and bank accounts, for that, they will need support I believe for the rest of their lives. They will all need some type of assistance with his social skills and also with their jobs but I believe they will all learn to advocate for themselves at some point mostly with finances, Maria more than Jeff and Craig since she struggles more with numbers than the boys (Wehman, 2009). They will always need advocacy since they are vulnerable in many situations therefore, its best for them to have the support they need just in case.ReferenceWehman, P., Datlow Smith, M., & Schall, C. (2009). Autism and the transition to adulthood: Success beyond the classroom. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing