Inaugural Conference on Post-Secondary Programs for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders
Welcome to the Inaugural Conference on Post-Secondary Programs for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders webpage. This webpage provides resources from the conference that took place on May 22nd-23rd, 2012 in Harrisburg, PA. The conference brought together post-secondary institutions from across the Commonwealth that have developed or have an interest in developing post-secondary support and transition programs for students living with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and was funded by Autism Services, Education, Resource and Training (ASERT) Collaborative. ASERT is funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, Bureau of Autism Service. As the number of individuals with ASD continues to grow and age into adulthood, they will need supports to integrate into their communities as successfully as possible. The conference highlighted strategies, successes, and the challenges of implementing these support programs.
The goals of the conference were:
- Cross-university collaboration that results in more programs for adolescents and adults with ASD offered on post-secondary campuses.
- Development of internships, co-ops and job coaching opportunities.
- Colleges/universities working with local businesses to develop relationships and employment opportunities.
- Increased access to traditional post-secondary programs.
- Increased availability of, and access to, non-traditional post-secondary programs.
Representatives from Drexel University, Saint Joseph’s University, Penn State Hershey, Eastern University, and Mercyhurst University presented on their own post-secondary ASD specific programs.
Learn about the presenters and watch their presentations.
Presenters - Brief Biography 
PowerPoint Presentations
The PowerPoint handouts from each presentation can be found here.
Videos
The video clips of each presentation can be found here.
Conference Summary Report
This document summarizes the proceedings of the conference.
Evaluation Results
Attendees were asked to rate the conference and describe the barriers faced in developing a program for students with ASD.
Resources
Other Materials from Conference
Contact Information
- Feedback or comments? Does your post-secondary program have an autism support program? Email us at autism@mail.med.upenn.edu