But there is also a subset of people with ASD who cannot verbalize their condition.  Because their experience remains locked within themselves, I have not represented them well.

Autism exists along a continuum.  Some people develop amazing talents – in science, engineering, music – that contribute significantly to society.  Conversely, some individuals are so affected that they will never be able to function independently in society, much less attend our college. 

For a quick overview, take a look at this video, "Top Five Facts About Autism, " created in 2015.

The students with ASD that you will see in your classrooms range from very low to very high functioning. Just like the nondisabled population, some of them will succeed in college and some of them won't. But that is not ours to determine.  Ours is to give all of our students the opportunity to access an education. And we can best do this by first educating ourselves.

So let’s begin, shall we?