Increasingly, young adults with autism spectrum disorder are attending 4-year universities. The transition to adulthood can be challenging for these students, and university life poses its own set of demands. The present article takes a mixed-methods approach by including two studies utilizing complementary methodologies. Through in-depth interviews with students with autism spectrum disorder (n = 13) and college professors (n = 18), the purpose of the first study was to evaluate the experiences and needs of college students with autism spectrum disorder and identify the knowledge that faculty members possessed about working with these students. Through survey methodology with a larger sample of faculty members (n = 132), the purpose of the second study was to obtain more information about faculty knowledge of autism spectrum disorder, and to learn whether their pedagogical practices accommodated students with autism spectrum disorder. Findings revealed that autism is often an “invisible” disability on campuses, and there are many things that professors need to know with regard to working with these students in particular. Implications for practice are discussed.
AndersonCButtC (2017) Young adults on the autism spectrum at college: successes and stumbling blocks. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders47(10): 3029–2039.
2.
AttwoodT (2007) The Complete Guide to Asperger’s Syndrome. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
3.
AunolaKStattinHNurmiJE (2000) Adolescents’ achievement strategies, school adjustment, and externalizing and internalizing problem behaviors. Journal of Youth and Adolescence29(3): 289–306.
4.
BlacherJBakerBLEisenhowerAS (2009) Student–teacher relationship stability across early school years for children with intellectual disability or typical development. American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities114(5): 322–339.
5.
BlacherJHowellELauderdale-LittinSet al. (2014) Autism spectrum disorder and the student teacher relationship: a comparison study with peers with intellectual disability and typical development. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders8(3): 324–333.
6.
CaiRYRichdaleAL (2016) Educational experiences and needs of higher education students with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders46(1): 31–41.
7.
ChiangHMCheungYKHicksonLet al. (2012) Predictive factors of participation in postsecondary education for high school leavers with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders42(5): 685–696.
8.
ChristensenDLBilderDAZahorodnyWet al. (2016) Prevalence and characteristics of autism spectrum disorder among 4-year-old children in the autism and developmental disabilities monitoring network. Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics37(1): 1–8.
9.
DeBarysheBDPattersonGRCapaldiDM (1993) A performance model for academic achievement in early adolescent boys. Developmental Psychology29(5): 795–804.
10.
DonaJEdminsterJH (2001) An examination of community college faculty members’ knowledge of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 at the fifteen community colleges in Mississippi. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability14(2): 91–103.
11.
EisenhowerABushHHBlacherJ (2015) Student-teacher relationships and early school adaptation of children with ASD: a conceptual framework. Journal of Applied School Psychology31(3): 256–296.
12.
EisenhowerASBakerBLBlacherJ (2007) Early student–teacher relationships of children with and without intellectual disability: contributions of behavioral, social, and self-regulatory competence. Journal of School Psychology45(4): 363–383.
13.
EliasRWhiteSW (2017) Autism goes to college: understanding the needs of a student population on the rise. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders48: 732–746.
14.
FreedmanS (2010) Developing College Skills in Students with Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
15.
GelbarNWShefcykAReichowB (2015) A comprehensive survey of current and former college students with autism spectrum disorders. Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine88(1): 45–68.
16.
GellerLLGreenbergM (2010) Managing the transition process from high school to college and beyond: challenges for individuals, families, and society. Social Work in Mental Health8(1): 92–116.
17.
Gillespie-LynchKBrooksPJSomekiFet al. (2015) Changing college students’ conceptions of autism: an online training to increase knowledge and decrease stigma. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders45(8): 2553–2566.
18.
GobboKShmulskyS (2014) Faculty experience with college students with autism spectrum disorders: a qualitative study of challenges and solutions. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities29(1): 13–22.
19.
HowlinPCharmanT (2011) Autism spectrum disorders: interventions and outcome. In: HowlinPACharmanTGhaziuddinM (eds) The SAGE Handbook of Developmental Disorders. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE, pp.307–328.
20.
JacksonSLHartLBrownJRet al. (2017) Brief report: self-reported academic, social, and mental health experiences of post-secondary students with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders48: 643–650.
21.
KappSKGillespie-LynchKShermanLEet al. (2013) Deficit, difference, or both? Autism and neurodiversity. Developmental Psychology49(1): 59–71.
22.
KuhGD (2008) Excerpt from high-impact educational practices: what they are, who has access to them, and why they matter. Report, Association of American Colleges and Universities, Washington, DC.
23.
LombardMSnyder-DuchJBrackenCC (2002) Content analysis in mass communication: assessment and reporting of intercoder reliability. Human Communication Research28(4): 587–604.
24.
LopattoD (2010) Undergraduate research as a high-impact student experience. Peer Review12(2): 27.
25.
MacLeodAGreenS (2009) Beyond the books: case study of a collaborative and holistic support model for university students with Asperger’s syndrome. Studies in Higher Education34(6): 631–646.
26.
MiltonDE (2012) On the ontological status of autism: the “double empathy problem.”Disability & Society27(6): 883–887.
27.
NevillREWhiteSW (2011) College students’ openness toward autism spectrum disorders: improving peer acceptance. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders41(12): 1619–1628.
28.
NewmanLWagnerMKnokeyAMet al. (2011) The post-high school outcomes of young adults with disabilities up to 8 years after high school: a report from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2). NCSER 2011-3005. Washington, DC: National Center for Special Education Research.
29.
RobertsKD (2010) Topic areas to consider when planning transition from high school into postsecondary education for students with autism spectrum disorders. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities25(3): 158–162.
30.
ShattuckPTNarendorfSCCooperBet al. (2012) Postsecondary education and employment among youth with an autism spectrum disorder. Pediatrics129(6): 1042–1049.
31.
SmithCP (2007) Support services for students with Asperger syndrome in higher education. College Student Journal41(3): 515–521.
32.
TiptonLABlacherJ (2014) Brief report, autism awareness: views from a campus community. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders44(2): 477–483.
33.
Van HeesVMoysonTRoeyersH (2015) Higher education experiences of students with autism spectrum disorder: challenges, benefits and support needs. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders45(6): 1673–1688.
34.
VanBergeijkEKlinAVolkmarF (2008) Supporting more able students on the autism spectrum: college and beyond. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders38(7): 1359.
35.
WenzelCRowleyC (2010) Teaching social skills and academic strategies to college students with Asperger’s syndrome. Teaching Exceptional Children42(5): 44–50.
36.
WesselRDJonesJAMarkleLet al. (2009) Retention and graduation of students with disabilities: facilitating student success. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability21(3): 116–125.
37.
WhiteSWEliasRCapriola-HallNNet al. (2017) Development of a college transition and support program for students with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders47(10): 3072–3078.
38.
WhiteSWEliasRSalinasCEet al. (2016) Students with autism spectrum disorder in college: results from a preliminary mixed methods needs analysis. Research in Developmental Disabilities56: 29–40.
39.
WhiteSWOllendickTHBrayBC (2011) College students on the autism spectrum: prevalence and associated problems. Autism15(6): 683–701.
40.
WolfLEBrownJTBorkGRK (2009) Students with Asperger Syndrome: A Guide for College Personnel. Shawnee Mission, KS: Autism Asperger Publishing.
41.
ZeedykSMTiptonLABlacherJ (2016) Educational supports for high functioning youth with ASD: the postsecondary pathway to college. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities31(1): 37–48.
42.
ZyngierD (2008) (Re)conceptualising student engagement: doing education not doing time. Teaching and Teacher Education24(7): 1765–1776.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
