About Us:
Develop Individualized Strategies to Manage Your College Career
AHEADD (Achieving in Higher Education with Autism/Developmental Disabilities) is a private,
community organization that provides support for students in higher education with:
Originally developed in cooperation with Equal Opportunity Services of Carnegie Mellon University.
AHEADD is specifically designed to address students' inherent social, communication, and organizational
issues, and helps students develop individualized strategies to manage their college careers independently.
Unlike many other programs for students with Autism Spectrum Disorders in higher education, the
AHEADD Model can be applied within any campus environment and tailored to meet the unique needs of
each student.
AHEADD offers trainings for families, employers, and high school and university staff. Please contact
admin@aheadd.org to inquire.
The AHEADD Story
Carolyn Komich Hare founded AHEADD in 2002, when she piloted the program in response to a parent's
inquiry regarding the availability of specialized support for her daughter, Val, a student with Asperger's
Syndrome who would be returning to Carnegie Mellon University following a year's leave.
Val's parents were looking for an environment in which she could live with supervision and
encouragement to attend her classes, go grocery shopping, do her laundry and attend to other activities of
daily living.
While supported living environments existed in the form of group homes, they were considered an
unsuitable option for an individual attending a highly-competitive university and looking toward a life of
independence.
As circumstances would have it, Carolyn and her husband, Jason, had an extra room on the third floor of
their house. The option for Val to rent a room in the Hare's home would provide this student with the
supervision and support that this family was seeking - and serve as an opportunity for Carolyn to explore
whether individualized support similar to resource programs utilized in many public school systems
could help a struggling student with Asperger's Syndrome achieve success in college.
Carolyn and Val had daily discussions regarding:
Two years later, Val became a graduate of Carnegie Mellon with a self-defined major in Electronic Media
and Animation. These two years proved to be incredibly challenging, but equally rewarding, as Val
clomped her way to the third floor apartment (or parlor as she liked to call it) at all hours of the day and
night, ultimately achieving her degree and contributing to the evolution of the core concepts of AHEADD
into what we now know as the AHEADD Model.
Develop Individualized Strategies to Manage Your College Career
AHEADD (Achieving in Higher Education with Autism/Developmental Disabilities) is a private,
community organization that provides support for students in higher education with:
- Learning Disabilities
- High-Functioning Autism (HFA)
- Asperger's Syndrome (AS)
- Non-Verbal Learning Disorder (NVLD)
- Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
Originally developed in cooperation with Equal Opportunity Services of Carnegie Mellon University.
AHEADD is specifically designed to address students' inherent social, communication, and organizational
issues, and helps students develop individualized strategies to manage their college careers independently.
Unlike many other programs for students with Autism Spectrum Disorders in higher education, the
AHEADD Model can be applied within any campus environment and tailored to meet the unique needs of
each student.
AHEADD offers trainings for families, employers, and high school and university staff. Please contact
admin@aheadd.org to inquire.
The AHEADD Story
Carolyn Komich Hare founded AHEADD in 2002, when she piloted the program in response to a parent's
inquiry regarding the availability of specialized support for her daughter, Val, a student with Asperger's
Syndrome who would be returning to Carnegie Mellon University following a year's leave.
Val's parents were looking for an environment in which she could live with supervision and
encouragement to attend her classes, go grocery shopping, do her laundry and attend to other activities of
daily living.
While supported living environments existed in the form of group homes, they were considered an
unsuitable option for an individual attending a highly-competitive university and looking toward a life of
independence.
As circumstances would have it, Carolyn and her husband, Jason, had an extra room on the third floor of
their house. The option for Val to rent a room in the Hare's home would provide this student with the
supervision and support that this family was seeking - and serve as an opportunity for Carolyn to explore
whether individualized support similar to resource programs utilized in many public school systems
could help a struggling student with Asperger's Syndrome achieve success in college.
Carolyn and Val had daily discussions regarding:
- classroom attendance
- homework assignments
- social skills
- keeping her living space tidy
- living activities such as healthy eating and hygiene
Two years later, Val became a graduate of Carnegie Mellon with a self-defined major in Electronic Media
and Animation. These two years proved to be incredibly challenging, but equally rewarding, as Val
clomped her way to the third floor apartment (or parlor as she liked to call it) at all hours of the day and
night, ultimately achieving her degree and contributing to the evolution of the core concepts of AHEADD
into what we now know as the AHEADD Model.
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