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theses

This qualitative research study provided an in-depth exploration of a sample of college students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) from two different institutions of higher education in the northeast region of the United States. Five students from a large, public university with a supplemental support program for students with autism spectrum disorders, and four students from a private science, technology, engineering, and math college completed semi-structured interviews containing questions about their experiences managing their ASD related challenges while in college. Research about the experiences of young adults with ASD in higher education has been limited. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of the experiences of students with ASD in higher education from the students’ perspectives. A qualitative study was appropriate as independent and dependent variables were not readily apparent and theories did not exist to explain the behavior of these participants. The strategy of inquiry used was grounded theory as the goal was to derive an abstract framework of a process that was grounded in the views of the participants in the study. Through analysis of the data - patterns, categories, and subcategories emerged consistently across participants. An integrated story developed that accounted for the variables that affected the students’ likelihood of progressing through college and obtaining a degree. A model for progressing through college was created with four subgroups: students who manage ASD related challenges under conditions of on-course, low stress context; on-course, high stress context; off course, non- critical context; and off course, critical context. It became apparent that students who planned in advance and had supports arranged prior to starting college, whether the supports were provided through the university or privately, experienced less overall stress. However, social challenges had less of an impact on academic success than executive functioning challenges, and when a student experienced both social and executive functioning challenges, academic progress was at greatest risk. Ultimately, intervening conditions of motivation to graduate, assessing the need for help, parental involvement, and comorbid conditions had the largest impact on service utilization and outcome. Recommendations for recognizing and better supporting the needs of students with ASD in higher education were discussed.

ETD_6237

Psy.D.

Includes bibliographical references

by Lauren Poleyeff

doi:10.7282/T3G162MZ

ETD doctoral

The author owns the copyright to this work.