Later this month, Darren McKay starts his first job, working in a furniture assembly factory. He has also just been interviewed for an apprenticeship in motor mechanics, which he believes he has a good chance of getting on.

Not bad options for a 16-year-old, especially one with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

Darren has been diagnosed as having Aspberger's Syndrome, which typically affects the ability to engage in social interaction.

But Darren is one of the lucky ones: he has been part of the Transitions into Adulthood Project, run by the National Autistic Society (NAS) and Glasgow City Council's education department, which aims to help young people with ASD prepare for life after school.

Darren said: "If the furniture assembly doesn't work out I can go into motor mechanics. I would have been happy to apply for a few colleges and hope for the best but Transitions has helped me get these places."

Many of his peers with autism, who have not had this positive intervention, face a much bleaker outlook when they leave school.

Glasgow is the only Local Education Authority in Scotland working with the autism charity in supporting these teenagers in this shift into adulthood.

Carol Evans, National Director for the NAS in Scotland and Northern Ireland, believes many of the mental health problems suffered by adults with ASD could be avoided if there had been a positive intervention at this crucial phase of their lives.

One in three adults with autism has mental health problems, she points out. "But you can pretty well guarantee that with an earlier intervention it wouldn't have got to that stage. They leave school and they drop into a bottomless pit. There is a general downward spiral, from anxiety to depression and then mental health issues."

"A little bit of effort could solve a lot of long term problems. A year before children with ASD are due to leave school, the education authorities are supposed to sit down with all the agencies and devise a future needs plan, but it just doesn't happen."

Evans adds that Scotland trails the rest of the United Kingdom in its level of commitment to young people with ASD: in England, Ivan Lewis, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Department of Health, recently announced extra money and resources would be put into autism services, while in Wales, the Assembly has been proactive in supporting people with autism.

"In Scotland, we should be working in accordance with the Education (Additional Support for Learning) Act 2004," Evans says. "We have talked to all 32 education authorities across Scotland but their budgetary priorities are elsewhere, and it just doesn't happen."

She added: "The demand is there, but the funding isn't. I don't think there's a single local authority in Scotland that wouldn't snap up the Transitions project if they had the money."

These financial decisions are not only letting down young people with autism, they are a false economy, she claims: "A little bit of financial support earlier on would save a lot of money in the long run, as it becomes much more crisis-orientated."

People with autism can quickly lose focus she says. "In school they can get reasonable support to remain in a routine. Once they lose routine they lose so much."

Charlene Tait, a lecturer in autism studies at Strathclyde University, agrees that support at this stage is crucial for many young people with ASD. She says: "For the majority of young people on the autism spectrum, the autism itself is the major barrier to their moving on to further education from school.

"It impacts on processing, learning and planning as well as on social interaction and communication. These young people are unlikely to be able to access college without very specific support that takes account of their autism."

Cardonald College offers life skills courses, which are popular with young people with autism and other special needs. The students are taught to become proficient in living, travelling and working independently.

Learning life skills to reach full potential
Glasgow's Transitions Project has been based in Govan High School Autism Unit for two years. In that time the unit has had a 100 per cent record, with all eight of the young people who have left going on to college or work.

This year, as well as life skills, the young people from the Govan Unit are going on to study computing and social sciences at national certificate level, often with a view to taking their studies into higher education.

The project addresses key areas of difficulty that can be a barrier to further learning and employment for young people with ASD. Amongst other things, the curriculum consists of practising independent travelling, college visits, help in filling in application forms and pre-vocational courses.

Judy McInnes, the project officer says: "For anyone with autism, change is really difficult so preparation is the key. The structure of college and college life in general can be so unpredictable when compared with what pupils have been used to for the previous five years.

She adds: "I think the softer skills such as socialisation, confidence and teamwork are really difficult to teach."

A major area the unit focuses on is taking journeys on public transport, something the majority of students take for granted. McInnes explains: "Students must be able to travel independently, which is difficult for a person with autism because it can be so unpredictable.

"I heard of one student who had been practising a train journey to college. One day the train terminated at an earlier stop. Instead of getting on the replacement bus or phoning the college they took a taxi home in a blind panic. You need to have back-up plans and prepare them for the unpredictability of public transport."

This adjustment can be difficult for others besides the young people themselves, she adds. "Children reach a point where the school can't offer them any more academically, but it's a safety net. The parents can be as apprehensive as the young people about the future."