The increase in the number of higher-functioning individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is likely to lead to an increased interest in postsecondary opportunities including degree-granting college and university programs. To provide an understanding of the current evidence-base for supporting individuals with ASD in higher education, this article reports the results of a systematic review of the literature concerning college students with ASD. Overall, 20 articles describing 69 individuals met the inclusion criteria. This small number of articles and participants indicates the scarcity of research on this topic and only two of these studies were experimental in nature. These studies described a video-self modeling intervention and a counseling intervention respectively. Eighteen "case studies" were also present in the literature that described difficulties ranging from anxiety to housing concerns. This review deliniates the limitation of our understanding of effective college programming for individuals with ASD.
COVID-19 has presented a period of unprecedented challenge for schools in the United States. Thousands of school buildings across the country were closed in the spring of 2020 through the end of the school year to slow the spread of the global pandemic. Plans to reopen schools in many states remain uncertain as the virus continues to spread across communities. Current and future challenges are complex, with significant impacts on the global economy,
Little is known about the academic and extra-curricular experiences of academically talented students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This study focused on how these capable students with ASD successfully navigated and completed high school, and specifically, the experiences that enabled them to attend competitive colleges. Using comparative case studies and directed content analysis, data were derived from semi-structured interviews with 40 students who had been identified as academically talented with ASD, and were enrolled in, or recently graduated from, highly competitive colleges in the United States. The majority were identified as having academic talents, participated in challenging honors classes, enrichment opportunities, interest-based extra-curricular activities, residential summer programs, and pursued other advanced educational experiences. Implications for educational and talent development services are included.
Support services for students with disabilities is now a distinct field of practice in higher education, with a significant increase in the number of students receiving services, programs to serve them, and professionals who oversee the programs. The field has professional and program standards, a code of ethics, and a disability service specific professional organization. Correspondingly, an extensive corpus of professional literature has emerged. However, though the research base has great breadth, it lacks significant depth, has poor sample and setting descriptions, and lacks methodological rigor. The result is that there is insufficient evidence spelling out what practices work with which students and in which settings. Guidelines intended to steer future research could have significant impact upon scholars conducting research and, subsequently, higher education. The present article describes the current state of the research base and proposes future directions to guide research.
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