Young Adults with Autism Talk to Teenagers with Autism

Teenagers verses young adults

My son and I recently attended a resource meeting with young adults.

This local group (it’s located in the foothill area of northern Los Angeles County) holds meetings once a month.

These meetings have paid speakers who come to discuss a wide range of topics—from eating issues to genetics to floor time therapies.

What happened?

Being a member of this group, I have attended many meetings.

However, this one meeting suggested we bring our teenagers.

Because the speakers were all young adults on the autism spectrum.

The idea was for the young adults to “talk to” the teenagers.

The speakers were paid to talk to the teenagers. It was really a great set up.

What else highlighted this event?

The speakers were all on the autism spectrum, yet they had all had different life experiences.

One of the speakers was non-verbal. Another spoke only a little, with his sister assisting him. 

It was fascinating to hear that the TWO OF THEM had graduated from college.Together.

More of the speakers

Another speaker had graduated from an organization known as Exceptional Minds. He was currently an employed animator with Exceptional Minds, working three days a week.

Only one of the early twenty-year-olds had their driver’s license. He was twenty two.

I had asked him at what age did he get his license. He said at age twenty one.

What else was interesting about this group?

Their abilities to communicate varied.

One speaker was relatively comfortable speaking in front of the group. I know this young man, and he has spoken in front of groups before. I was not surprised he was comfortable.

The sister was clearly the most uncomfortable speaker. She struggled with communication.

The non-verbal speaker

Unfortunately, the woman who is non-verbal could not attend, however the group was treated to a video done by her and a board member of the group read her presentation.

Videos were used throughout. The young adult who works as an animator showed the group a video of some of his work over the years.

He was also assisted by a powerpoint that he could read so as to keep his speech on track.

I know this speaker’s mom so I’m thinking the presentation was a group project. I thought it was a great idea to help him through this experience.

What I liked

What was great about this event was that this organization allowed these speakers this platform. It is an environment where everyone in the room has some sort of vested interest in autism.

It’s a safe place for a speaker to gain experience like this, or to try it out.

It might have been a challenge for some of them, but I thought they all did great.

And, why did they do this?

Well, it was so that they young adults could talk about themselves in a safe environment and gain skills and experiences in doing so.

But, also they were there to talk to teenagers. They were there to tell teenagers that they can graduate high school, go to college, get a job, and succeed in a program that assists with their needs.

There were there to help a younger generation, younger versions of themselves.

What a valuable tool to have out there for my son!

What did my son think of these speakers?

As a thirteen-year-old, my son can act like a typical teenager—that is his answers to questions are often short. Trying to get him to elaborate is sometimes a project for me.

Still, he did say that he enjoyed it. He sat in the back, by himself, during most of it. He has free space back there to be his typical squirmy self. But, he stayed in the room the whole time and (hopefully) he was listening and watching the whole time.

He was pleased that he personally knows two of the speakers, which I think helped him enjoy the program. He was also able to hang out with his best friend (younger brother of one of the speakers).

Of course, he did want to bring his DS and play games with that buddy, but he did accept my rationale that that’s not why we were there.

We were there for him. I think he got something out of the night.

And, thank you to the autism community for continuing to find ways to help each other. Young Adults with Autism Talk to Teenagers with Autism  

Here is some information on teens with autism:

https://iancommunity.org/cs/simons_simplex_community/autism_in_teens

 

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