If you want to develop an effective autism training, ask autistic students to help you

Abstract

Autistic university students face stigma. Online trainings have been used to improve explicit autism stigma (social distance) and knowledge among university students in different countries. However, autistic university students have not typically been involved in developing such trainings. We developed two autism trainings: a participatory training (developed in collaboration with autistic university students) and a non-participatory training. We evaluated these trainings with undergraduate students in the United States and Lebanon. A pilot study revealed improvements in implicit biases (measured with an Implicit Association Test) and knowledge following both trainings, but no clear benefit of the participatory training in particular. Feedback revealed that participants found the Implicit Association Test tedious, suggesting that it might have dampened effects by boring participants. To increase engagement, we removed the Implicit Association Test and conducted a cross-university training comparison which revealed evidence that the participatory training was more effective than the non-participatory training at improving autism knowledge, explicit stigma, and attitudes toward inclusion. Autistic co-authors coded participant feedback and identified three key themes to guide future training development and adaptation: an (inter)personal element, accessibility, and clarity of information. These studies provide empirical support for the oft-cited, but rarely directed tested, benefits of involving autistic people in research about autism. Lay abstract Autistic university students are often left out because people do not understand autism. We wanted to help people understand autism. Most autism trainings are not made by autistic people. Autistic people know what it is like to be autistic. So autistic people may be the best teachers when it comes to teaching about autism. Autistic students and non-autistic professors made an autism training. The students made videos for the training. They also helped make questions to see what people learned from the trainings. Professors who are not autistic made a training on their own. Students in New York City tried out the trainings. After they answered questions, they did either the training the autistic students helped make or the training made by only professors. Then, they answered questions again. We learned from the students how to make our trainings better. Then, students from two universities in the United States and one university in Lebanon did our trainings and questions. Both trainings made hidden feelings about autism better. The training autistic students helped make taught students more than the training professors made on their own. The autistic-led training also helped students accept autism more. These studies show that autistic students can make autism research and trainings better. At the end of this article, autistic students share their ideas for how to make autism trainings even better in the future.

A systematic review on autistic people's experiences of stigma and coping strategies

“…An emerging body of literature has shown that interventions combining education and contact can improve the knowledge and attitudes of non‐autistic individuals towards autistic individuals, but findings are inconsistent regarding their effectiveness in changing behavioral intentions (Dachez & Ndobo, 2018; Morris et al, 2020; Ranson & Byrne, 2014; Staniland & Byrne, 2013). Online training programmes have also shown potential to increase understanding and acceptance of autistic people, although recent studies have reported conflicting results on whether such training is more effective at reducing explicit biases or implicit biases (Gillespie‐Lynch et al, 2021; Jones, DeBrabander, & Sasson, 2021). Continued efforts in evaluating and improving such interventions are encouraged so that onus is not placed solely on the autistic community to advocate for them, although it is crucial that these interventions also involve the input of autistic voices.…”

Do Autistic People’s Support Needs and Non-Autistic People’s Support for the Neurodiversity Movement Contribute to Heightened Autism Stigma in South Korea vs. the US?

“…These findings suggest that at least some principles of the neurodiversity movement are not well-aligned with current social norms in South Korea. Therefore, creative work is needed to adapt existing autism trainings, which often emphasize the principles of the neurodiversity movement (e.g., Gillespie-Lynch et al, 2021a ; Jones et al, 2021 ), for South Korean contexts.…”

“…Autism knowledge was measured using PAK-M, an instrument adapted from the Autism Awareness Survey (Stone, 1987 ) through collaboration with autistic students (Gillespie-Lynch et al, 2021a ). Participants responded to 29 statements (e.g., “Autistic people show affection”) scored on a 5-point Likert scale, and higher mean scores represented more accurate autism knowledge.…”

“…Participants responded to 29 statements (e.g., “Autistic people show affection”) scored on a 5-point Likert scale, and higher mean scores represented more accurate autism knowledge. The PAK-M was reported to have acceptable internal consistencies in the US, Lebanon, and South Korea (Gillespie-Lynch et al, 2021a ; Kim et al, 2021 ). The alpha coefficient of the PAK-M in the current study was 0.82 (0.62 for the US and 0.87 for South Korea).…”

Ethics and Ethical Problem Solving

“…For example, some individuals with ASD who received behavioral interventions may not agree with treatment targets (e.g., stereotypy reduction; Kapp et al, 2019) or how the treatment was developed, often without input from the person receiving treatment (Gillespie-Lynch et al, 2021). We interpret these criticisms as reflecting upon instances of poor administration and construction of behavioral interventions, both of which do not align with Wolf's definition of social validity.…”