Abstract—At the stage of emerging adulthood, young adults
on the autism spectrum need specific interventions to help them
realize their potential. The “Avnei Derech” preparatory
program was designed to respond to that need, by means of an
individually tailored plan for each participant. In light of the
innovative nature of the model, the team engages in continuous
review and reformulation of their work, focusing on the goal of
promoting the participants’ developmental tasks. For this
purpose, it is necessary first to understand the general
characteristics of emerging adulthood and of autism, and
especially, of autistic young adults with high-function autism.
Former studies shed light on the characteristics of autism
characteristics, but did not examine their impact on the
developmental tasks of emerging adulthood. In this research, we
focused on the task of exploration during emerging adulthood
and the different aspects of delay in this process associated with
autism. We conducted three case studies, which demonstrate the
general structure of the “Avnei Derech” preparatory program.
The main purpose of the study was to define and conceptualize
the means of exploration required by people with autism in
order to become acquainted with oneself and the environment,
as part of identity formation and the development of
self-advocacy skills.
Index Terms—Autism, identity and self-advocacy,
intervention program, young adulthood.
Shiri Pearlman-Avnion is with the Department of Education, Tel-Hai
Academic College, Israel (e-mail: shiripearlmanavnion@yahoo.com).
Shirley Kenny and Inbal Vortman-Shoham are the Avnei Derech La’
Haim, Israeli Charity, Kachal, Israel (e-mail: info@avneiderech.org.il).
Cite: Shiri Pearlman-Avnion, Shirley Kenny, and Inbal Vortman-Shoham, "A Preparatory Program for Young Adults on the Autism Spectrum: Identity Exploration and Self-advocacy," International Journal of Information and Education Technology vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 159-167, 2017.