What's out there after school?

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My son has finished school and was hoping to start a training course for people with asperger's. Due to the cutbacks here in Ireland the course has been suspended.
So we are now wondering what is out there for him.
What do your school leavers do?

i was lucky in that i have natural talent in things technical, yet apart from technical college day release the path was barred to me; tenuously and with great luck I spent nearly a decade honing my skills at the companies expense, since then i have been self empoyed three decades because I cannot work among others. yet a so-called professional trickcyclist refuses to acknowledge I am aspi, even tho three years of correspondence with another aspi confirms my aspiness. aspis are often diametricaly opposed to the autist situation ie we crave company, conversation, being included but it has to be with people we feel 'right' with .. that is indeed asking for too much in my opinion.

working with animals is a great thing, horses in particular. i'm not sure and indeed cannot answer your question as my own survival has been so tricky, I think God has looked after me.

be very wary of the so-called 'professionals'.

Thanks for your reply. The biggest thing my son needs is to socialise with people. He wasn't cut out for school and found it extremely stressful.
It's great that you are doing something you like.

blimey, school stressful ! ! .... i basically gave up talking the last year or so .. and I'm someone who delights in art, poetry ..words. and that was in a crappy little 'goldfish bowl' village, very backward, very insular. my parents were garbage as parents, little or zero encouragement, dorks really. yet i look back and think with a little encouragement etc

i still harbour (unfortunately) great anger and actually a desire to cause physical harm to those that marginalised me and did everything possible to denigrate me to something not human. damn them.

yet i always have had a rich mental landscape and can construct my own world quite easily.

lets get away from my problems past ... can he read and write? whats his number work like?

does he get dis-orientated, both in places and what to do next?

is he very 'thin skinned', overwhelmed by the presence of others?

does he read for pleasure, what interests him? can he occupy himself??

hope i can help.

Not to be glib, but if he's anyway interested in engineering or computer science, he'll be amongst his kind...

For more arts-related courses, socialising may be a problem... or then again.. 'random quirky people' seem to be the In thing these days...

I'd suggest studying in the city. I won't lie, it will still be full of insular country folk migrating en classe, but there will also be international students and other odd balls who won't be so cliquey (at first anyway). Also, there's more stuff to do on your own.

How bad is his AS? Because if it's mild enough, he'll probably be able to pick things up quite quickly- not perfectly, but enough. Alcohol helps with the socialising too, especially for people with AS and there'll be a lot of that going round (sorry to scare you)

I think the following information would help us advise you:

1) Are you just looking for a way to fill in the missing socialization training course, or something more? If the later, then ...
2) What type of education has he completed?
3) What are his skills, his gifts? Is he a good detail person, a good writer, horrible at both of those but solid with math, and so on? Consider this question both academically and in the way of hobbies or soft skills.
4) What are his biggest challenges outside of social skills (being that social skill issues are a given on this board)?
5) What are his obsessions; what is he drawn to?

Basically, you take over the role of general transition counselor, and help connect him with the right services or opportunities for the life direction that seems most suitable. If the only problem is social skills, you may have to construct practice situations on your own, or with the other parents that would have used the service. There are also lots of tips on other boards here at Wrong Planet, like interview and resume tips on the Work and Finding a Job board.