see Wehman et al. Therefore, we looked to relevant items from existing validated questionnaires on these issues, such as the Friendship Motivation Questionnaire showing a good test–retest reliability (r = 0.7) and internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.75;Richard and Schneider 2005), UCLA Loneliness Scale with an internal consistency ranging from α = 0.89 to 0.94 (version 3; Russell 1996), and Rasch-type Loneliness Scale (De Jong-Gierveld 1985) with a reliability range of α = 0.81–0.95 (De Jong Gierveld and Van Tilburg 2010). 2018; O’Hagan and Hebron 2017; Mazurek 2014). The questionnaire was hosted via http://www.onlinesurveys.ac.uk. Systematic review of articles describing experience and supports of individuals with autism enrolled in college and university programs. An individualised support network allows the opportunity to also capitalise on strengths at an individual level. This is important because the reported needs and challenges could be related to sex differences rather than the ASD diagnosis. Journal of College Student Development, 58(1), 71–87. Eastern Illinois University is a public, state university with approximately 8,000 students, the vast majority of whom are undergraduates. Vanbergeijk, E., Klin, A., & Volkmar, F. (2008). Living with autism as a university student comes with its challenges and its rewards - as part of our autism series, we chat to uni student … Touching on these issue, executive function training has recently been suggested as a potential target for intervention and support by the parents of university students with autism (Elias and White 2018). This is in line with the previous research suggesting social challenges (Gelbar et al. (2015). There was an array of social challenges reported that included generalised difficulties with social skills, plus stress and anxiety in social situations (Accardo 2017), difficulties making friends (Gelbar et al. Test–retest reliability of self-reports of depression and anxiety among students with high functioning autism spectrum disorders. Orsmond, G. I., Krauss, M. W., & Seltzer, M. M. (2004). With 1 in every 59 children in the United States now being diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, more and more colleges and universities across the country are opening their doors and tailoring their programming to suit the needs of students with autism. Educational supports for high functioning youth with ASD: The postsecondary pathway to college. 2008), as well as linking to some of the social aspects mentioned above (e.g. The development of a Rasch-type loneliness scale. Research in autism spectrum disorders a systematic review of social participation for adults with autism spectrum disorders: Support, social functioning, and quality of life §. For instance, students with autism reported difficulties in building relationships with the supervisors and working in groups. Considering the diverse social opportunities available to students would also be beneficial because many autistic adults show a motivation towards having friends, enjoy social activities (Sarrett 2018; Van Hees et al. The previous studies identify the social aspects of university as particularly challenging for students with autism and it has therefore been proposed that providing appropriate social support is essential (Zeedy et al. procrastination), processing speed, organizational skills (e.g. PubMed Central 2003) but this approach has not yet been applied to higher-education students with autism. Autistic students have reported that structure in academic settings, concrete instructions and smaller assignments helped them to deal with some of the academic challenges (Cai and Richdale 2016; Knott and Taylor 2014). Get tips, tricks and wise words from students and experts at each stage. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2012.02.007. The Autism Centre of Excellence (ACE) has a mission to improve the quality of life for children and adults with autism by supporting learning - from early childhood to education and employment. Supporting the quantitative data, the qualitative insights emphasised similar social challenges which could lead to social isolation and loneliness in some cases (Whitehouse et al. lack of social participation) and increased mental health concerns (e.g. B., & Osborne, J. W. (2005). Additionally, the observers reported reduced desire to develop future social relationships with autistic individuals. Sasson and colleagues (2017) reported that autistic adults who reported high rates of depression and who considered there to be a lack of autism acceptance, were more likely to display ‘camouflaging’ behaviour, which has been reported in another recent study as well (Lai et al. 2016; Chevalier et al. In more clinical terms, the current study provides insights into the support needs of autistic students and newly developed support systems should focus on increasing awareness of ASD among staff and other students, while considering individual differences between students with autism, and trying to capitalise on potential strengths. Principal component analysis (2nd ed.). Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 34(3), 245–256. Example 1 “The academic side of things, for me, is easy. A two-factor structure was chosen because each component explained the highest variance (24%, 10% respectively) and the third and fourth factors were not strong enough to be included as there were not enough items (Costello and Osborne 2005). Cai, R. Y., & Richdale, A. L. (2016). Of course the challenges for students with autism are unlikely to be isolated to social and academic issues and additional challenges may be associated with sensory processing, fine-motor skills, and intolerance to changing routines, to mention a few (Vanbergeijk et al. 2016), and self-advocacy difficulties (Elias and White 2018). In order to further capture some of these challenges, together with the strengths of students with autism, we included 7 open-ended questions where autistic students provided first-hand accounts of their experiences at university (see Table 2). Living with autism at uni: how to deal with anxiety. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 16(4), 231–239. There are some limitations of the current study. Students also emphasized the importance of the diversity and heterogeneity among individuals with autism and they mentioned that they do not want to be perceived or treated differently (n = 5; 19%). Therefore, future research should further explore the impact of sex on the experience of studying at University. Friedman, N. D. B., Erickson, M., & Parish, S. L. (2013). 2016) that underpin a number of the issues raised by autistic students in this study. As a result, the final questionnaire consisted of both quantitative and qualitative items which was important for gaining rich and informative data. The autistic students self-reported a wide array of challenges and needs, indicating significant heterogeneity in their experiences and proficiencies. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 2015; Drake 2014). 2015) and these data is crucial for gaining insights into personal experiences and giving autistic adults a voice within society. However, 5 students (19%) stated that they did not receive any support (even when requested) and 2 students (8%) reported that they did not ask for help or support thinking that it would not be useful (as illustrated in the example below): Example “Nothing, but I have not requested or looked into receiving any additional support as I feel it’s largely unneeded. Prospects, The National Autistic Society's employment consultancy, is launching a new, two-and-a-half year project, which will help final year university students with Asperger syndrome into work. This study was funded by Durham Doctoral Scholarship to E Gurbuz. Moreover, accommodations such as exam allowances (e.g. Overall, the PCA was found suitable to run with 57 items. Gelbar, N. W., Smith, I., & Reichow, B. As part of our autism and university series, our expert shares tips on how to tackle them. We also developed new questionnaire items on social motivation as this appeared as a key issue in previous studies but could not be fully captured with the existing measures. These 10 tips will help you get set for a great time at university. Many students highlighted that they felt their lecturers and other students did not have sufficient insight into their difficulties, or an acceptance of their differences. Friendship, loneliness and depression in adolescents with Asperger’s Syndrome. Lanou, A., Hough, L., & Powell, E. (2012). The mentors encourage the students to develop independent life-skills and self-confidence, helping them to adjust to adult life. Sedgewick, F., Hill, V., Yates, R., Pickering, L., & Pellicano, E. (2016). Psychiatric comorbidity in young adults with a clinical diagnosis of Asperger syndrome. Pedhazur, E. J., & Schmelkin, L. P. (1991). 2017b; Jackson et al. There was no difference between groups in the mean age of the students at the time of participating in the study (t (182) = 1.701, p < 0.091). Therefore, there is a timely need to increase the evidence-base in order to provide the most relevant support networks and capture insights from students in the UK. Experiences of autism acceptance and mental health in autistic adults. 2011) and in the UK rates are reported slightly higher having increased from 1.8% in 2004 to 2.4% of the student population in 2008 (Macleod and Green 2009). 2014). Increasing social integration for college students with autism spectrum disorder. 8 autistic students (31% of the autism group) reported that they found social activities forced, unnecessary, and not very diverse for people with different interests. 2017a; Morrison et al. Correspondence to Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. Nevertheless, the sample size of the autistic group was bigger than the average sample size of the previously published studies conducted with higher education students with autism outside the UK (n = 16; Anderson et al. Lastly, the students will mention identity and disclosure issues associated with having autism and being a university student. Gobbo, K., & Shmulsky, S. (2014). PubMed Central 2015; Knott and Taylor 2014; Cai and Richdale 2016; Tobin et al. These academic challenges may be linked to ASD related issues such as executive function abilities and weak central coherence (Gobbo and Shmulsky 2014; Vanbergeijk et al. These two questions resulted in two sub-themes; academic challenges and academic strengths. 2017). Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38(4), 739–747. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 41(5), 566–574. PubMed Google Scholar. Department of Psychology, Durham University, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK, Emine Gurbuz, Mary Hanley & Deborah M. Riby, Centre for Developmental Disorders, Durham University, Durham, UK, You can also search for this author in As a graduate of the program you will gain the confidence to lead positive change however and wherever that may be. Williams, J. Disabled and non-disabled students’ learning and assessment experiences. Mazurek, M. O. There was evidence of increased socialisation through new friendships, and a reduction in reports of communication difficulties (e.g. Matthews, N. L., Smith, C. J., Kirwan, J., & Malligo, A. Lugnegård, T., Hallerbäck, M. U., & Gillberg, C. (2011). De Jong-Gierveld, J., & White, S. L., & Seltzer, M.. Pages617–631 ( 2019 ) applied to the core deficits associated with ASD ( e.g the country are seeing and.: case study of challenges and more mental health challenges for youth with an spectrum! In, and the inter-rater agreement level of 100 % was obtained poorer skills... 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