Understanding perceptions and experiences of autistic undergraduate students toward disability support offices of their higher education institutions

Background: Autistic undergraduate students are experiencing considerable difficulties on their college campuses. Yet, disability support offices (DSOs), which assume the responsibility of providing support to students with disabilities, often lack the resources to cater to the varied needs of autistic students.

Aim: To understand autistic students' perspectives and experiences with DSOs and the range of support services available from DSOs of higher education institutions in the United States.

Methods: Semi-structured interviews with 27 autistic undergraduate students were conducted to solicit their perceptions about their DSOs. A generic inductive approach was used to qualitatively analyze the participants' responses.

Results: Students expressed both positive and negative experiences with academic and non-academic support, and perceived that DSO staff lacked specific autism knowledge and were often inaccessible. Some students initially decided not to receive DSO accommodations, but many chose to reach out to their DSOs after experiencing academic difficulties. Finally, students' perceptions of ways for DSOs to support them better highlighted the need for institution-wide efforts to make a cultural shift about disability and acceptance and the need for more individualized services.

Conclusions: Appropriate resources for DSOs and institution-wide efforts are needed to make college campuses both physically and emotionally accessible to autistic students.