Life Course Library

Course 2: Preparing for Life After High School

In this course, we’ll be covering information around preparing for life after high school, which includes life skills and self-advocacy. This course teaches the basics around transition services, your rights to accommodations related to disability law, transportation, and housing.

This course was created for Autistic self-advocates, and can be used by caregivers and professionals to guide access to self-advocates who need more supports. It is written at a high school reading level. 

Module 1: Life Skills

  • Learn more about the types of routines for daily living tasks.
  • Understand your current and upcoming needs around which daily living routines to focus on.
  • Explore strategies and tools to learn and practice daily living routines. 
START HERE
cleaning supplies in a basket on a table
  • Learn more about the types of social relationships and how they change as you get older.
  • Understand your social goal needs.
  • Explore strategies and tools to around navigating social situations. 
START HERE
a group of people sitting at a table in a cafe
an aerial view of a neighborhood with houses and trees
  • Learn more about the types of transportation and ways to access the community.
  • Understand your transportation needs and goals.
  • Explore strategies and tools around navigating your local community. 
START HERE

Module 2: Self-Advocacy

Group of people putting their hands together
  • Learn more about the types of support networks across settings.
  • Understand your current support networks and needs for support.
  • Explore strategies and tools to expand your support network.
START HERE
  • Learn more about differences in needs for self-advocacy across settings.
  • Understand your needs and how you may want to express them to others.
  • Explore strategies and tools to learn and practice expressing personal needs.
START HERE
a person is looking at speech bubbles on a white background
  • Learn more about transition services if you receive special education.
  • Understand your current needs around transition planning.
  • Explore strategies and tools to develop transition programming that meets your goals with your team. 
START HERE
a row of colorful binders on a yellow background

Module 3: Milestones in Adolescence

  • Learn more about career exploration and employment.
  • Understand your career interests and needs around preparing for employment.
  • Explore strategies and tools for practicing and developing vocational and job skills.
START HERE
a skyscraper with a blue sky in the background
  • Learn more about the types of postsecondary education programs.
  • Understand your needs around seeking out further education after high school.
  • Explore strategies and tools to learn about postsecondary programs in your area.
START HERE
a large brick building with lots of windows
  • Learn more about the types of housing and independent living.
  • Understand your housing interests and goals.
  • Explore strategies and tools to seek out housing in your community.
START HERE
a row of apartment buildings on a sunny day

About the Authors

Logo for the Autism Grown Up resource center - background of a plant and the logo which has three leaves, each a different shade of green

Autism Grown Up Resource Center

Autism Grown Up is an online non-profit organization. We create and provide resources for Autistic people and all members of an Autistic person’s support network, including family members, teachers, clinicians, therapists, professionals, peers, employers, and other important stakeholders. 

We primarily make low-cost resources for professionals and caregivers. This funding gets re-invested into making more resources like these and free resources for Autistic adults (like the Lifespan Toolbox) and the Life Course Library!

The Life Course Library was written by a neurodiverse team including Autistic writers and informed by feedback from the Autistic community.

Copyright 2024. All rights reserved.

Autism Grown Up is a 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit organization

Tax ID number: 84-3479187

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Grant Information:

This project was supported in part by grant number 2301NCSCDD ($2,168,620.00) from the U.S. Administration for Community Living, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C. 20201. Grantees undertaking projects with government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their findings and conclusions. Points of view or opinions do not, therefore, necessarily represent official ACL policy.