IGNITE is a program of the Autism Society of North Carolina, with founding support from the Evernham Family-Racing for a Reason Foundation. Summer 2015 • Volume 2, Issue 3
IGNITE is a unique ‘peer-to-peer’ community center for young adults with high-functioning autism (HFA) or Asperger’s Syndrome (AS) offering activities, skills training, and educational workshops that foster social, financial, educational, and employment independence for its members. More importantly, IGNITE offers a social environment where members can connect with others and experience a sense of community. For more information: Stacy Hultgren, IGNITE Director 704-897-8982 shultgren@autismsociety-nc.org www.ignite-davidson.org www.autismsociety-nc.org You can donate to IGNITE online or send a check made out to the Autism Society of North Carolina: IGNITE • 209 Delburg St., Suite 134 Davidson, NC 28036
Participating in the Community Means More than Just Fun By Stacy Hultgren, IGNITE Director How exciting it is to graduate from high school alongside all your friends and begin a new life of your own choosing! Some graduates will establish new friends and interests while away at college and meet up with old friends on weekends and breaks at home. Others are developing relationships and skills at their new jobs. They might have boyfriends or girlfriends, or even be getting married. Everyone is a little nervous at graduation time, but excitement is the overriding emotion. All these changes are what they were waiting for! But imagine having high-functioning autism or Asperger’s Syndrome. You might not have had friends in high school – you just had classmates, and now you won’t have daily contact with them. You aren’t going to college, and you haven’t had any positive response to job applications. You don’t work, so you have no money to go anywhere; maybe you don’t even drive a car. Imagine that even small changes in routines make you very anxious rather than excited. Imagine a future of living in the family home, with little hope of independence, and your parents are virtually your only human contacts. Unfortunately, you might remain isolated from the community around you for years, because that is a common outcome for young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder. And contrary to what we might believe, people diagnosed with highfunctioning autism (without an intellectual disability) and Asperger’s Syndrome don’t fare any better than those who are more severely affected by autism. That’s the conclusion of a study published in 2011 that suggests that even individuals with normal intelligence and language abilities struggle to fit into society because of their social and communication problems. (SFARI: http://sfari.org/news-andopinion/news/2011/people-with-milder-forms-of-autism-struggle-as-adults, Deborah Rudacille, September 2011) This study also found that in the United States, young adults with high-functioning continued on page 2