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Brief Report: Autism Awareness: Views from a Campus Community

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Abstract

This paper reports on a college community’s views of the diagnostic characteristics and causes associated with autism spectrum disorders. An anonymous on-line survey of autism knowledge was distributed via campus server university-wide to all undergraduates, graduate students, faculty, and staff. Of the 1,057 surveys completed, 76 % of respondents had more correct answers than neutral and incorrect ones. Respondents who reported that they or someone in their immediate family had autism had significantly more correct responses than other respondents. Demographic variables of respondent sex, age, education, and role at the university independently accounted for significant, though modest, variance in autism knowledge. More accurate and widespread dissemination of information about autism may facilitate a smoother transition for college students who are on the spectrum.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the SEARCH Family Autism Resource Center and the Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Riverside, and funds from the Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation for Autism. We are grateful to the many members of the UC Riverside community for their participation.

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  1. University of California, Riverside, CA, USA

    Leigh Ann Tipton & Jan Blacher

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  1. Leigh Ann Tipton
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  2. Jan Blacher
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Correspondence to Leigh Ann Tipton.

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Tipton, L.A., Blacher, J. Brief Report: Autism Awareness: Views from a Campus Community. J Autism Dev Disord 44, 477–483 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-013-1893-9

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