Life Skills Necessary for College

So your special needs child is going to college? Are they ready for it? Most special needs kids are not and there are a few things they should know how to do independently so they can survive college life.

Meet with your child and discuss the following. Allow them to ask questions and participate in figuring out what topics are of concern and what needs to be addressed.


1. Daily Living Skills: Important aspects of daily life on campus may create difficulties. They may include: navigating the campus, managing money, following dorm rules, finding healthy meals that they like on campus (this includes the cafeteria and hours that they are open and figuring out when they can eat between classes), doing laundry, cleaning their room and bathroom (if they are responsible for cleaning it), getting along with others, obtaining help when needed, etc. Students need to know how to handle fire drills at any hour, especially in the middle of the night. Students also need to get to class on time, dress appropriately for the weather, maintain good personal hygiene, sharing a bathroom with others, etc.

Special Note: Some ASD individuals have a limited diet and it might be hard for them to find the foods they like on campus. Some students might have to cook their meals so teaching them how to cook in the dorm, clean up, shop and store items in their dorm room, etc. must also be taught.



2. Safety: Student should know and understand dangerous situations and strategies for staying safe. Discuss a general strategy of what to do in any situation.

Situations might include:

Safety at night (stay near groups of people rather than walking alone, staying near lit areas, and avoiding dark parking lots, garages, alleys, etc.).

Safety in dorms (keeping your dorm room locked, finding out who is at the door before opening it, how to keep your things safe, not giving out personal information to others, etc.).

Safety when riding a bus, train, or subway.

Procedure to follow if there is an emergency (who to contact when an emergency happens, phone numbers of who to call, etc.)



3. Health: Student should know when they are sick and what to do if they are sick. Explain how to use the Student Health Center and visit it. Give student a basic First Aid kit to put in their dorm to use when needed and teach them how to use all the items. Write down the student’s medications, instructions, dosage, and the schedule of when to take them.



4. Academics: Academic issues might include: how to study for exams, how to choose what material to study and how to tell what the professor might include in the exam. Discuss organization strategies for studying (begin to study several days before a test, using note cards or flash cards, etc.). Some professors require group projects so teach them ways to work with others (arranging meetings, working with others that have different ideas, etc.) and being responsible for their own contribution to the group project.

Student should know when they need additional help in a class. Guidelines might need to be taught such as if they make below a C on a test to talk to the instructor. If the student does not understand something in class, they should contact the instructor and arrange to meet them in their office.

Any difficulties in class the student should go to their service provider at Disability Services to help clarify the problem and where they should go to receive help.

Teach student how to take notes from lectures on important information.



5. Time Management: Using their time wisely is extremely difficult for most ASD individuals. Teach student how to use their time more efficiently; how long will it take to do a particular assignment and when they should start working on it so it will be completed on time, when and where is the best place to study, when and where to do leisure activities and for how long, etc.



6. Information Binder: Keep all relevant information in a binder with dividers about the college and the strategies above for easy access when needed.

The binder could be divided into the following subjects:

• Academics- curriculum guidelines, general requirements for their major, schedule of classes, what classes that still need to be taken for their major, etc.

• Health- Health Center information,days and hours open, medication information, prescriptions to refill their medicines, etc.

• Dorm- rules, activities, copy of signed roommate contract, etc.

• Dining- names, locations and hours of dining options, menus, maps, etc.

• Disability Services- contact information, days and hours it is open, copy of services they are receiving and accommodations that are currently being provided, etc.

• Financial- financial aid information, locations of ATM on campus, etc.

• Contacts- college, family, friends, and emergency contacts which includes phone number, cell number, and email address, etc.

• Church- names, locations, phone numbers, maps, times for Mass, activities, groups, etc.