Perkins School for the Blind Transition Center

New Curriculum and Pilot Program Affirms Adults with Autism Want to be Loved

I Aspire to Be Me, LLC (I AM) is a service provider committed to dispelling the myth that adults with autism do not seek meaningful intimate relationships. It’s important for society to recognize this population can and does desire intimacy, just like everyone else. Unfortunately, they often lack...

Different, Not Worse

What would you say are qualities that make someone a good friend? What are the qualities that make someone a great date? What qualities should a professional look for in a new colleague? When I draw up a list of the qualities my peers and I look for in others, here are some answers: a sense of...

Walking a Tightrope of Conflicting Expectations

In my two professional roles—as an adjunct professor of English composition at a local community college and as a vocational trainer and curriculum developer for adults with autism—I encounter adults at all levels of job readiness. Many of the students in my English composition classes are...

Assistive Technology Need Not Be So Technical

When most people think of the word “technology,” they imagine iPads, tablet PCs, or internet-ready glasses. Technology, though, just means machinery or equipment developed for practical purposes. This different understanding of the word “technology” can shift a practitioner’s focus from...

The Alien World of Work for Adults with Autism

After college, one is confronted with the confounding world of job searching. Unlike anything one has experienced before, a job search is filled with resumes, cover letters, and interviews, salary negotiations, networking, and writing that looks nothing like the work just finished to earn a degree....