In 2006 I composed of Patty's and my choice to homeschool our son Trevor to help provide a learning environment much more conducive together with his autism.

Trevor began seventh grade using a customized schooling plan. Patty focused on arts and language and that I concentrated on math and science. In addition, he attended a homeschool-assisted school which supplied English and mathematics classes and attended a science course in the middle school he would have normally attended. The curriculum plan was created by Patty and me along with Trevor's school counselor. It was a hybrid of schooling and classic education which we believed gave Trevor the best likelihood of success. Trevor's adviser was totally awesome in working together with us and placing Trevor's well-being first. The mixed schooling worked very nicely in seventh grade, but we also noticed that Trevor wasn't getting sufficient peer socialization. In eighth grade we chose to start the process of mainstreaming back him into the public-school system. Patty continued attention on arts and language and math and science issues were now being supplied by Trevor's middle school. I love to joke I was fired as a homeschool teacher and that my wife and boy did the firing. In reality the mainstreaming has been the right answer because it enabled him to get desired socialization through spending more time at school while at the same time giving him some additional 1:1 focus through homeschooling. In ninth grade we felt Trevor was ready to be fully mainstreamed to the public-school system. While we packed our homeschool materials, our engagement with Trevor's schooling and socialization expansion was still strong.

Ninth through 12th grade brought some high points but also brought a great deal of struggle. Trevor was bullied and made fun of by many other students who took advantage of his autism. He had trouble telling the difference between kids mocking him versus being a friend. Since he had been behind his peers in his social interaction skills, he'd say and do things that weren't proper. He'd have a few close friends who were real in their friendship, some of which he's still friends with now. 1 bright spot through high school was Trevor's participation in drama club. The play club was his first "clique", and while some from the club took advantage of Trevor's autism, many recognized and looked for him.

Feeling that business growth from high school to a huge university would be too extreme for him, he attended a local junior college for two years while living at home. He'd developed a passion for movies and photography, so he chose to major in film studies with a focus in photography. Both of these years have been foundational for Trevor's growth in that he continued to advance academically while also allowing him to work on socialization and adaptation skills. In his sophomore year that he decided he wanted to transfer to a four-year college majoring in film and media studies. His conclusion on where to go was an outstanding example of decision making through empirical data investigation and pros/cons articulation. He also developed a visibility board with numerous decision criteria including offering of major, familiarity with family, and church offerings. He ultimately decided on Arizona State, comfy through his analysis that this was the best alternative. It was also during that period that Trevor wrote about his experiences growing up with autism in Six-Word Lessons on Growing Autistic.

Back in August 2013 we chose Trevor to the ASU Tempe campus, helped him put up his dorm room, and left him to begin his junior year of college. While it was a bit unnerving being a thousand miles away from him, we had peace in knowing there were a range of household members in the region including Trevor's big sister Briana who was currently a nurse at nearby Scottsdale. His past two decades of college have been those of tremendous growth. this link had to determine a lot of things on his own, make new friends, and be accountable for his own research. Fortunately, he plugged to a church band that has been walking distance from ASU. He fit in like a glove and the church group was a high point of the time at ASU. He got to experience living and dealing with roommates, the majority of which he believed were too immature for him. We got many difficulty calls when he dropped his pocket, had computer difficulties, or has been having trouble coping with a few scenarios.

His post-college life has been filled with a lot of anxiety. Now he had been out of school and it was time to encourage himself. He was employed by us for 17 months where we got to help him build decent work habits. We instituted a monthly inspection procedure called "dones" where at the beginning of the month he'd lay out what he would have done by the end of the month, that we would then review at the start of the next month. It was an outstanding procedure in that all three people were aligned regarding what he had to do, and he was held accountable for getting things done. His advertising and marketing assignments have been flourishing, such as being inter view ed by two local TV news stations.


Today Trevor is 26. He resides on his own at a condo we bought for him and two additional tenants on the autism spectrum. recommended you read pays rent, he oversees his own money, he's self sufficient as any 26-year-old. a fantastic read 's still got some challenges he'll continue to have for the rest of his life. He'll always want someone else to help coach him throughout situations. company website was a lot of difficult work on all our components, but Patty and I are excited about his potential and are grateful that we were in a position to assist Trevor.