Article: Autism after high school

Melanie Tyner-Wilson is facing one of her toughest battles yet. She wants nothing more than to help her son Jay Tyner-Wilson, who is a person with autism, land his first real job.

Public school provided opportunities for Jay to gain volunteer vocational experience. There, he discovered he enjoyed working with animals—and school offered a repetitive, structured and routine environment. But Jay is 21 years old now and aged out of the school system in May.
“The challenge is now finding a job,” says his mother. “That’s the golden ticket that I’m trying to figure out.”

Jay did not qualify for an official high school diploma, so the path to college or career is a tricky one. Melanie laments that many people with disabilities end up living in poverty unless they have families and other resources that can save and plan for them. With an ever-increasing number of students on the autism spectrum coming through the school pipeline, questions abound as to what they can do to build a life for themselves beyond school.

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