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Young Adults on the Autism Spectrum at College: Successes and Stumbling Blocks

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Abstract

There is limited information on outcomes for young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), including achievement at college. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 18 families reporting a degree-seeking college experience for their young adult with ASD. Interview transcripts were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. Four themes surrounding success and failure at college emerged. Preparation Beyond Academics involved challenges associated with ASD, such as social, executive functioning, and mental health issues, and to what extent these had been addressed prior to leaving high school. Student/College Fit related to whether a student’s capabilities were matched to college location, size, and culture, while Campus Supports and Family Supports concerned assistance provided by colleges and families, respectively. Implications for future practice are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to express our gratitude to the families who made this research possible by sharing their experiences with us. We would also like to thank Towson University, the A. J. Drexel Autism Institute, and the Organization for Autism Research (OAR) for their generous funding of this project. In addition, we would like to thank Alexis Lupfer for her contribution to data analysis during an earlier phase of the project, and Cheryl Cohen, Zosia Zaks, and Dr. Jennifer Hillman for their insightful comments on the final draft of this paper.

Author Contributions

CA conceptualized the study; conducted all interviews; performed coding and qualitative data analysis; and drafted the final manuscript. CB performed coding and qualitative data analysis and contributed to the manuscript. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Funding

This study was funded by the A. J. Drexel Autism Institute (#U0022482) and the Organization for Autism Research (#5060002).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Interprofessional Health Studies, Towson University, 8000 York Road, Towson, MD, 21252, USA

    Connie Anderson & Catherine Butt

Authors
  1. Connie Anderson
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  2. Catherine Butt
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Correspondence to Connie Anderson.

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The Authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Anderson, C., Butt, C. Young Adults on the Autism Spectrum at College: Successes and Stumbling Blocks. J Autism Dev Disord 47, 3029–3039 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-017-3218-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-017-3218-x

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