Running head: GET TO KNOW ASD 1

Get to know Autism Spectrum Disorder

Meredith Oakley

Western Carolina University

GET TO KNOW ASD 2

Get to know Autism Spectrum Disorder

INTRODUCTION

The number of students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) that attend our

universities has continued to increase over the past several years (Christensen et al., 2016).

34.7% of students with ASD in 2012 attended a college or university post high school graduation

(Matthews, Ly, & Goldberg, 2014; Shattuck et al., 2012). There is an abundant amount of

research on how to assist these students with their academic careers and explaining the struggles

they face in social settings. There is a lack of research on how to assist them while they live in a

residence hall on a college campus and how to assist them complete daily life tasks. There is

also a deficit of information on how student affairs professionals and administrators can assist

students with ASD while they live on campus. This paper is going to share common struggles

students with ASD encounter and make a call to action for more research to be conducted and

more actions to be taken to help students with ASD live on campus in residence halls and

develop life skills.

LITERATURE REVIEW

As students with ASD begin to transition to college, they are generally told to anticipate

changes in their lifestyle. They are expected to not only perform in the academic sector, but also

learn to navigate the social culture of college. Things that come naturally to a neurotypical

student, like social cues and making friends, may be the hardest part of transitioning to college

for a student with ASD (Ringler, Rutherford, & Quinn, 2015). Students in a higher education

setting must have the ability to self-advocate, adapt to environments they are not familiar with,

take care of themselves physically each day, take on more responsibility for their actions, and

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know how to initiate social interactions. Students switch from a structured environment at home

and in high school to no structure in college except during their class times. They have most

likely had Individualized Education Plans in their elementary, middle, and high school career,

but now must learn to self-advocate in order to gain assistance and be granted their

accommodations. In addition to all the changes listed above, there are no parental support

systems physically present assisting them with day-to-day tasks (Dente & Coles, 2012).

Learning to manage time and the workload of schoolwork, using a syllabus, navigating

roommate encounters, and responding to stress are all areas students with ASD may not have

been exposed to prior to entering college (Ringler et al., 2015).

Communicating and interacting in social environments can be very intimidating for a

student with ASD. It is common for them not to understand social cues, facial expressions, body

language, and the basics of how to have a conversation (Cullen, 2015). This deficit can lead to

problems in the classroom, communication during group projects, or cause barriers to asking and

answering questions during class (Dente & Coles, 2012). Due to the communication barriers,

students may not feel comfortable asking questions to an instructor, even in private. A student

may also talk too much if they are very competent in the area the class or group is discussing.

Unfortunately, support for social needs are generally not included as part of their

accommodations provided from a disability services office (Cullen, 2015). Documentation is

needed to provide essential accommodations that can include extra time on tests, note-takers,

and tutors (Hurewitz & Berger, 2008, p. 113). Some universities have introduced a new type of

support program for students with ASD such as those at Marshall University or Saint Joseph

University. These programs are available at an additional cost to tuition (Cullen, 2015).

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Colleges have traditionally provided for physical handicaps and sensory disabilities

(Hurewitz & Berger, 2008) and now also provide for students with intellectual and learning

disabilities. The available options of programs specifically for students with ASD are becoming

more popular, but still limited and the demand for them is still growing. Brad McGarry, the

Director of Mercyhurst Universitys Autism/Aspergers Initiative (AIM), stated their program

turns down twice as many students as they can accept each year (OMurchu, 2015). Their

university has been working with other institutions in hopes to grow similar programs. Several

other universities with this type of program are The Rochester Institute of Technology, Rutgers

University, University of Tennessee (Chattanooga,) University of West Florida, Western

Kentucky, Eastern University, UCLA, the University of Connecticut and Marshall University in

West Virginia (O'Murchu, 2015, para. 19).

These programs generally double the price of tuition, but include additional services to

assist students in one-on-one settings or with specialized coaching to support them in growing

into an independent adult. These programs have curriculum designed specifically to assist

students with ASD navigate adulthood, live on their own, be independent, accomplish basic life

skills, and handle social interactions (Ringler et al., 2015). These programs offer different

curriculum each year in order to build on the skills the students are learning. For example,

during one academic year, The University of Tennessee at Chattanoogas MOSAIC program

curriculum includes nine chapters teaching on transitioning to college, academic life, social life,

campus life, responsibilities, stress management, and relationships (Rigler et al., 2015).

These programs guide students when living in a residence hall on campus, but do not

solely focus on that. In addition to programs for students, there are limited guides for student

affairs professionals on how to assist students with ASD live on campus and adapt to campus

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life. The rising number of students with ASD attending college (Shattuck et al., 2012) presents

the idea that student affairs professionals around the United States need to be conscious of

programming, assisting, and creating healthy environments for students with ASD.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS & SYNTHESIS

Student affairs professionals need to anticipate the increase of students coming to

campuses with special accommodations and needs. North Carolinas TEACCH program

director, Dr. Laura Klinger, explains how the increase in students with ASD will parallel with the

growing demand for these types of services for adults (Center for Disease Control, 2016).

There is an identifiable gap between what we know about the characteristics of ASD, and

how to best serve a student struggling with ASD while on campus. However, one book produced

by the Autism Asperger Publishing Company called Students with Asperger Syndrome: A Guide

for College Personnel is a helpful piece of material, produced specifically to assist student affairs

professionals support students with ASD to their best ability. Specifically for professionals in

housing, it covers topics of residence hall issues like fire drills, conflict resolution, laundry, and

bathing. It also covers other major tasks including selecting and requesting a room, how to live

with roommates, how to share their space and belongings, and bullying in the halls (Wolf,

Brown, & Bork, 2009). Student affairs professionals need more material like this text. They

also need more training opportunities on how to handle difficult situations with the ASD

population. More workshops and writings could be produced about successful partnerships

between departments of residential living and disability services. Higher Education and Student

Affairs programs should also be diving more deeply into this topic in our diversity discussions

and classes.

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As awareness is increased, the interest of this topic will most likely continue to grow.

More schools should take the time to train their staff and faculty on best practices for working

with these students and in what environments these students thrive in or flee from. The

population of ASD students could also be served better if there were more programs to meet their

needs around the country. A challenge with the ASD population is that no two students with

ASD are alike. To know one student with Aspergers syndrome is not to know all students with

Aspergers syndrome (Dente & Coles, 2012, p. 29). Just because a student functions differently

and needs accommodations, does not change the fact they are a student who needs our support as

they become adults. We should challenge them and support them but in ways specific to their

needs.

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References

Center for Disease Control. (2016). 2016 Community Report from the Autism and Developmental

Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network. Retrieved from

http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/documents/community_report_autism.pdf.

Christensen, D. L., Baio, J., Braun, K. V., Bilder, D., Charles, J., Constantino, J. N., . . . Yeargin-

Allsopp, M. (2016, April 01). Prevalence and characteristics of Autism Spectrum

Disorder among children aged 8 Years Autism and Developmental Disabilities

Monitoring Network, 11 Sites, United States, 2012. MMWR. Surveillance Summaries

MMWR Surveill. Summ., 65(3), 1-23. doi:10.15585/mmwr.ss6503a1

Cullen, J. A. (2015). The needs of college students with Autism Spectrum Disorders and

Asperger's Syndrome. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 28(1), 89-101.

Dente, C. L., & Coles, K. P. (2012, January). Ecological approaches to transition planning for

students with Autism and Asperger's Syndrome. Children and Schools, 34(1), 27-36.

doi:10.1093/cs/cdr002

Hurewitz, F., & Berger, P. E. (2008). Preparing students with Autism for college, and preparing

colleges for students with Autism. Speaker's Journal, 8(11), 109-117. Retrieved

November 6, 2016.

Matthews, N. L., Ly, A. R., & Goldberg, W. A. (2014). College students perceptions of peers

with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 45(1),

90-99. doi:10.1007/s10803-014-2195-6

O'Murchu, I. F. (2015, March 12). From 'lost' to possibilities: Colleges helping students with

Autism. TODAY. Retrieved November 06, 2016, from

http://www.today.com/health/more-colleges-helping-students-autism-t20661

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Ringler, M., Rutherford, A., & Quinn, E. (2015). Independence, social, and study strategies for

young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Philadelphia, PA: Jessica Kingsley.

Shattuck, P. T., Narendorf, S. C., Cooper, B., Sterzing, P. R., Wagner, M., & Taylor, J. L. (2012,

May 14). Postsecondary education and employment among youth with an Autism

Spectrum Disorder. American Academy of Pediatrics, 129(6), 1042-1049.

doi:10.1542/peds.2011-2864

Wolf, L. E., Brown, J. T., Bork, G. R., Volkmar, F. R., & Klin, A. (2009). Students with

Asperger syndrome: A guide for college personnel. Shawnee Mission, Kan., KS: Autism

Asperger Pub.