Learning how to fit in

LONG BEACH - Aaron Trost hopes his second run at college will go a little better than the first.

"At first I tried to bite off a little more than I could chew," says the 21-year-old. "I kind of crashed and burned. There were too many distractions and class became less of a priority."

In this way, Trost could be any young adult trying to figure out his goals and aspirations and managing those while living a regular life.

The only difference is that Trost navigates his early adult life with Asperger's Syndrome, described as a "high- functioning" form of autism.

It is described by WebMD as part of a group of conditions that "involve delays in the development of many basic skills, most notably the ability to socialize with others and to communicate."

Trost is one of the early students to attend the College Internship Program in Long Beach, a school designed, according to its literature, to prepare young adults with Asperger's and other learning differences to progress into higher education and jobs "with the social, academic, career and life skills necessary for success."

The Long Beach campus near the Traffic Circle is the sixth opened by the College Internship Program, a for-profit venture founded in 1984 by Dr. Michael McManmon, himself diagnosed with Asperger's. With home offices in Massachusetts, the College Internship Program has campuses in five states and plans to expand nationally.

Like many disorders, Asperger's can be displayed in a wide array of behaviors and tendencies and is often found in conjunction with other learning disabilities, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

The school likes to stress the learning of its students not as a disability but a difference. Those with Asperger's Syndrome can be incredibly bright and focused in certain areas.

Trost is described by Program Director Susan Osborne as a computer graphics and art whiz. His goal is to study and work in that field.

Merritt Wilson and Mike Hunui are also students at the school and share an apartment close to the Traffic Circle.

Wilson can hold court on movies, filmmaking and cooking.

Hunui is adept with computers and can engage Wilson in lively discussions on popular film.

On a recent day, Wilson had just prepared a...