Abstract
An on-line survey of 102 (51 females; undergraduate and graduate) university students with ASD across Australia and New Zealand examined student characteristics and satisfaction with academic and non-academic supports. A broad range of disciplines were studied, and the participants’ reported strengths included a passion for learning, strong technology skills, and creative thoughts. The participants’ greatest concerns were academic requirements and mental health, including high rates of self-harm and suicidal ideation. Despite support satisfaction ratings being high, support usage was low, possibly indicating a mismatch of supports and needs, lack of awareness of available supports, and/or poor advocacy skills.
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No grant funding was used to fund this research. We acknowledge and very much value the excellent contribution of all participating disability officers and respondents to our survey.
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AA developed the study aims and research questions, prepared the survey questions, liaised with participating universities, extracted and analysed the data, prepared the tables, and drafted the manuscript as part of her doctoral dissertation. MC and JS participated in the development of the study aims and research questions, the analysis of the data, and provided feedback on the survey and manuscript. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.
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Anderson, A.H., Carter, M. & Stephenson, J. An On-Line Survey of University Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Australia and New Zealand: Characteristics, Support Satisfaction, and Advocacy. J Autism Dev Disord 50, 440–454 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-04259-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-04259-8