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College Access, Success and Equity for Students on the Autism Spectrum

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Abstract

College may be considered a gateway to success, yet access to college is limited for young adults with autism. Given the research recommendations to elicit student experiences and to communicate among universities to improve college access, success, and equity, the present study examined the questions: What factors are perceived as pathways to success or barriers to success by college students on the autism spectrum? What university provided accommodations and/or support services do they prefer? Participants from four universities completed surveys and semi-structured interviews. Findings from the multi-university study suggest the need to provide transition planning and systematic non-academic social and emotional supports from the start of the college experience as well as specific training for faculty, staff, and peers.

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Funding

No financial support was given for this research.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Education, Rowan University, 201 Mullica Hill Road, Glassboro, NJ, 08028, USA

    Amy L. Accardo, S. Jay Kuder & Estyr M. Bomgardner

  2. School of Education, Southern Connecticut State University, 501 Crescent Street, New Haven, CT, 06515, USA

    Kimberly Bean

  3. School of Health and Human Services, Southern Connecticut State University, 501 Crescent Street, New Haven, CT, 06515, USA

    Barbara Cook

  4. Colorado Mesa University, 1100 North Ave, Grand Junction, CO, 81501, USA

    Ann Gillies

  5. Eastern Illinois University, 600 Lincoln Ave, Charleston, IL, 61920, USA

    Rebecca Edgington

Authors
  1. Amy L. Accardo
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  2. Kimberly Bean
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  3. Barbara Cook
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  4. Ann Gillies
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  5. Rebecca Edgington
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  6. S. Jay Kuder
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  7. Estyr M. Bomgardner
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Contributions

ALA and SJK conceived of the study. ALA and SJK carried out the study at the first university, KB and BC carried out the study at a second university, AG carried out the study at a third university and RE carried out the study at a fourth university. ALA led the manuscript preparation with all authors contributing. KB and BC led the coding of data. EMB participated in data entry and analysis. All authors read and approved of the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Amy L. Accardo.

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We use the terms “on the autism spectrum” and “autistic” interchangeably to show acceptance of both professional use of person-first language and the preference of members of the neurodiversity community for identity-first language.

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Accardo, A.L., Bean, K., Cook, B. et al. College Access, Success and Equity for Students on the Autism Spectrum. J Autism Dev Disord 49, 4877–4890 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-04205-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-04205-8

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