with disabilities. before special education students graduate, federal law says they must have a transition plan created by the school district. it is supposed to be a set of measurable goals designed to prepare young people for life. nick s mom hasn t received anything. she and her husband mike called the school superintendent to complain. i have no transition plan. the clock ticking which is why i said i m fearful we are delaying and nicholas needs are not met. excellenexcellent. she makes frantic calls trying to get nick hooked up with an agency to provide him with adult services. we put it off until monday and that s on the list of what to do. the whole system did not make my sense at all. there is no instruction manual.
actually lets the scene play, he watched it straight for four hours. reporter: and nick has another common autistic trait, severe obsessive compulsive disorder. reporter: i saw him walking through a room. and he walked only on the edge of the room. he s developed a very, we call it choreography. it could take him two hours sometimes to cross a room. it s painful to watch. reporter: nick needs individual attention that s hard to provide in a classroom. so his local school district sends aides to work with him one-on-one at home. but like eric, nick s 21st birthday is around the corner. they ll both abruptly lose the services that have helped them come so far. is it cruel to offer something and then have it taken away? but it s even crueler not to offer it in the first place. and i don t know what the answer is. and in 40 some odd weeks from
and he would he began to attack people. he began to lash out. reporter: lenore says they had no choice but to bring him home. it s a lot for the family, but i know a lot of it fell on you. moms do what moms got to do. we do what we have to do. reporter: now, their public school district provides aides to help lenore in the home and sends a teacher to work with nick for two hours every day. ready what is? what is this? you know it, yep. reporter: the teacher helps him communicate using a device that generates speech. pepper. yes, two more. give me two more on this page, okay? you really need more than one person to teach nick. i need a break. yeah, you can take a break. go ahead. when you have someone at his reporter: with this individualized approach, nick s aggression has nearly disappeared. he s started venturing out of the house, taking trips to a local bagel shop, even the grocery store.
depending on who is on the phone, i have made calls to 30 agencies and taking notes. i look back at the notes. i think, my god, it was chaos. there is one particular program lenore has been desperate to get nick enrolled in before he ages out. known as self determination. the government would allocate a certain amount of money for nick and let his family pick and choose on services for him at home. with graduation a few weeks away, lenore finds out he is on the waitlist. he has no program to transition to because the funding is not there and he is on the waiting list. eric s mother is concerned about his transition. she has been looking for adult programs for years. my short list and probably he would come through. mary is finding few options
they have so much to add. can i give you a hug? good-bye. eric, see you, man. you ready? eric gets on the school bus for the very last time. headed toward an uncertain future. while eric s transition was deliberately unceremonious, nick s is more of a celebration. going to graduation. although nick hasn t been in a regular classroom for most of his life, he is participating in the school graduation ceremony at his parents request. his sister supports him as he receives his diploma. a few years ago, a crowd like this would have been overwhelming and stressful for nick. nicholas joseph.