By ALLISSA KLINE
akline@bizjournals.com | 716-541-1612

A national organization that supports young adults with Asperger's syndrome and other learning difficulties has selected Western New York as the site of its first satellite program.

The College Support Program is set to begin in August. An offshoot of the College Internship Program, CSP aims to help students gain independence as they transition to college. The program will offer support in areas such as academics, social interaction and independent-living skills as students attend college.

Program Director Mary Lawler, who worked in special education at North Tonawanda city schools, expects five to 10 students from around the Northeast to enroll in coming weeks. The program, which is not affiliated with a particular area college, requires students to take at least two college courses.

Lawler said individuals with Asperger's, an autism spectrum disorder, and other learning issues may experience difficulties while attending college. But that doesn't mean they can't succeed.

"It's very important to provide them with the support they need ... because then they become people who are self-supporting," she said, "and that gives them a quality of life that all people want to have."

CSP is a new venture for CIP, a 26-year-old organization that provides comprehensive social, academic, career and life-skills instruction to young adults with Asperger's, attention deficit disorder and other learning difficulties. The organization operates four centers around the country - in Massachusetts, Florida, Indiana and California - and plans to open more satellite centers in places such as Los Angeles, Seattle and Baltimore, according to CIP founder Michael McManmon.

The Buffalo site will be "an example of what we're going to be doing around the country, with satellite centers that can get up and running fairly quickly," McManmon said. The organization as a whole currently serves 120 students, he said.

Tuition for CSP ranges from $16,900 to $48,600 per calendar year, depending on the necessary level of support. Fees do not include college tuition, room and board or other college-related costs.

Students who enroll in CSP will either live at home or in apartments central to several campuses, Lawler said. The number of staff to be hired will be determined later this summer when student counts are finalized and an office location likely will be established near the Buffalo-Amherst border, she said.