Abstract
The university experience of students with ASD was explored through a qualitative study of 11 former university students and six significant others from Australia and New Zealand. A range of key issues were identified including difficulties encountered when studying, reasons for completion and non-completion, supports used, and coping strategies used by the participants. Many switched to part-time to manage their poor mental health and/or executive function and most had slow rates of progress. Also, some felt they had made poor discipline choices. The participants offered suggestions for future students and for making universities more autism friendly, and the possible need for transition and more structured study supports was identified.
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Acknowledgments
We would like to acknowledge the important contribution of Sarah Carlon to this research. We would also like to thank the autism support groups and associations who helped distribute the invitations to participate and the participants for their invaluable insights. AA developed the study aims and research questions, liaised with participating autism associations and participants, prepared the semi-structured questions, conducted all interviews, prepared and/or checked the written transcripts, extracted and analysed the data, prepared the table, and drafted the manuscript. JS and MC participated in the development of the study aims and research questions, the analysis of the data, and provided feedback on the semi-structured questions and manuscript. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.
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Anderson, A.H., Stephenson, J. & Carter, M. Perspectives of Former Students with ASD from Australia and New Zealand on Their University Experience. J Autism Dev Disord 50, 2886–2901 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-020-04386-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-020-04386-7