Soon High School will finish…. Then What?

Term four is nearly here, and for families of autistic Year 12s, the countdown to formals comes with a quieter worry, what happens in January, when there's nowhere to be?

School, for all its chaos, provides structure. A timetable. People noticing when things go sideways. Then graduation hits and it vanishes. Researchers call it the "services cliff", support drops away just as needs are changing.

Nearly all autistic students (97%) need a level of support at school, and then it stops. Autistic Australians face an unemployment rate of 18%, almost six times that of people without disability. Take away the routine, and anxiety and depression are quick to fill the empty days.

So, what helps? Self-determination, where young people learn to set their own goals and back themselves, building confidence. Knowing what genuinely matters to them gives those goals staying power. And learning to live alongside uncertainty makes life after school less terrifying.

For some there are job interviews: a stress test for everything autistic people are told to hide. The aim isn't a better mask, it's showing up as your best authentic self. That can be practised, rehearsing answers out loud, visiting the location beforehand, and planning for the nerves, also the "I'm not going" wall that hits the morning of. Every run-through gets easier.

And parents? You're in this too. Programs that support parents alongside their young person eases parents' stress. It works best as a team, skills and support for you, and a safe place for your teen to have a go at the hard stuff, building their own strategies until they need less of it. Look for support with a track record of success, ideally with room for both of you.

Expect a wobble around February. It's not failure; it's adjustment. Nobody should do it alone.