Marina Sarris

Date Published: July 24, 2024

When Sarah Sanders began college, she hoped she would be fine without the special education help she received in high school. Then she found herself struggling in biology class. Fortunately, a classmate served as her guide to the campus disability support services office, taking her there to register for help. “I wasn’t sure how the system worked since it’s so different from high school,” says Sanders, an autistic advisor to the SPARK autism study.

Many students struggle to adjust to the challenges of college: difficult classes, dormitory living, sudden independence, and a new social world. But for people on the autism spectrum, the transition can be more abrupt and dramatic.

For one, the individualized education programs (IEPs) that helped autistic students from preschool through high school disappear in college. Their parents are no longer able, or welcome, to advocate for them. Students’ struggles with communication, organization, and interpreting social situations can multiply exponentially in college, away from the watchful eyes of special educators and families.

“There are no bells to tell you to go to a different class, and no one tells you when to eat, do laundry, work, or sleep,” says Ernst O. VanBergeijk, Ph.D., MSW, who directed programs for students with autism and other developmental conditions at two universities.

About a third of autistic teens who had IEPs go on to college or vocational programs after high school,¹ but they are less likely to graduate than their classmates,² according to research.

Many autistic people can earn a college degree, but they often require a range of supports.³ Do colleges offer the help that they need?

What’s the Difference Between High School and College Supports for Students With Disabilities?

As Sanders noted, the high school and college systems for helping students with autism differ greatly.

From birth until they leave high school, students with disabilities are guaranteed a free and appropriate public education under U.S. education law. Schools have the power to adopt changes that help students learn and succeed, including altering the curriculum and testing.

But the rules change after high school. The focus shifts from ensuring student success to preventing discrimination.

“Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, higher education is a privilege,” says VanBergeijk, an educational consultant. “The colleges only have to make accommodations to level the playing field and so they don’t discriminate against the person. But the student must be otherwise qualified.”

Colleges and universities that accept federal money must provide only “reasonable” accommodations to students with disabilities, and only accommodations that do not fundamentally change the requirements of their programs.

Such accommodations often include extended time on tests, a testing room free of distractions, a screen reader that reads books out loud, the use of a note taker or audio recorder for lectures, and seating accommodations.^4,5 Colleges do not have to provide tutoring.

A College Necessity: Advocating for Yourself

Unlike high schools, colleges require autistic students to ask for what they need. For example, students must contact the disability support services office, provide documentation of their disability, and request accommodations. In many cases, they also must notify their professors of their accommodations, although they do not have to say what their disability is.

Some students are reluctant to tell their colleges that they have a disability, according to one study.⁶ Asking for help—a vital skill for adulthood—can be difficult for those on the spectrum who struggle with social and communication skills.

Sanders, who earned an associate degree, urges other autistic students to register with the disability support services office as soon as they can. Her grades improved dramatically after she received accommodations, such as a screen reader, a quiet exam room, and extra time on tests.

“I can’t stress this enough: please get acquainted with the disability services office,” says Sanders, who is now 29. “Ask for help because everybody there wants to help you succeed.”

The Changing Role of Parents

Parents must also adjust to changes when their teenager goes to college. When the IEP disappears, so does their role as their child’s advocate. College representatives probably will not talk to them without their child’s permission. When students run into academic trouble, parents will not be the first to know.

To help prepare their children, parents could gradually give them more responsibility in high school. For example, they shouldn’t always rescue them when they miss due dates or leave materials they need for school at home.⁵

And IEP teams should consider phasing out modifications—such as doing less homework than others—that will not be offered in college, says Aleza Greene, Ph.D., director of the University of Arkansas Autism Support Program. “Also, parents should not encourage their child’s teachers to let them turn in everything at the end of the semester, because that doesn’t happen at the university level,” Greene says.

Needed: An “Interpreter of the Social World” for Autistic Students

Colleges are used to providing accommodations to students with learning or physical disabilities, but students with autism often have needs that extend beyond the classroom, VanBergeijk says.

“If you send a person to college who is deaf or hard of hearing, you provide an interpreter of the hearing world, but our people on the spectrum need an interpreter of the social world,” he explains. “The biggest issue is not academics. It’s navigating the social environment and having the independent living skills necessary to be away at college.”

Students may be accused of stalking because they don’t know how to show their interest in a potential date appropriately. They may irritate professors by interrupting and correcting them. Or they may become upset if someone sits in what they consider to be their seat, VanBergeijk says.

Students may need social or sensory accommodations for dorm living, such as a single room or different lighting. Whether colleges can provide that is “hit or miss,” VanBergeijk says. Colleges may interpret the Americans with Disabilities Act differently, and their attempts to comply may be affected by their size, budget, and mission, he says.

Sanders arranged to live in the “quiet dorm” on campus, which helped her avoid sensory overload from blaring music or late-night parties. “All colleges with dorms should have either a quiet hallway or a quiet building if possible because that’s really, really helpful,” she says.

The Community College Option

Sanders graduated from a community college, a popular option for those on the spectrum. More than 80 percent of college students with autism have attended a two-year college at some point.⁷

Public community colleges, which often boast lower tuition and open admissions, may provide a “smoother transition to the academic and social challenges that can arise in a university setting,” according to one research group.⁷ They may also offer tutoring and advising programs that four-year universities do not have, for example.

Students who focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (called STEM) are more likely than peers in non-STEM fields to stay in community college and are twice as likely to transfer to a four-year university.⁷

Finding Comprehensive Autism Support Programs at College

Some autism experts have recommended that colleges and universities go beyond the required accommodations by offering social skills groups, counseling, vocational training, and life coaching to autistic students who are seeking a degree.³

About six dozen colleges in 29 states have programs that do at least some of those things, according to a 2022 study.⁸ These programs may include academic coaching, mentoring, vocational help, social skills interventions, or social events—needs that disabilities services offices usually do not address.

Some of these autism support programs are free to students, but most charge an extra fee, beyond tuition. The average fee was $3,500 per semester, according to a study published in 2020.⁹ Scholarships and state vocational rehabilitation agencies may subsidize costs for some students.

Marshall University, home of the West Virginia Autism Training Center, was among the first to offer an autism support program more than 20 years ago. The program begins helping students adjust to the campus before their first class starts, explains Mindy Thornton, who directs campus-based services for the center. Incoming first-year students can attend a five-week summer term that allows them to take one class, live in a dorm, and learn the rhythms of campus life.

Marshall’s program offers mental health counseling and social supports. Each student is paired with a graduate student who acts as a mentor. Students also receive an app that helps them keep track of assignments and due dates, class schedules, and even chores like laundry, Thornton says.

As they get closer to graduation, students receive help with job readiness, resumes, and interviewing. Preparing for work in their chosen field is important, Thornton says. “We wouldn’t want all the time and effort to be spent on getting a degree and then not putting it to good use.”

College Options for People Across a Wide Spectrum

College is available to students across the autism spectrum, including those who do not receive a traditional high school diploma.

Students with intellectual disabilities can receive federal financial aid to attend a comprehensive transition and postsecondary (CTP) program at more than 150 two- and four-year colleges in 42 states, according to ThinkCollege.net. The programs provide academic, vocational, and independent living skills.

ThinkCollege.net also lists scores of other educational and vocational programs for students with intellectual disabilities. These non-CTP programs are not eligible for federal financial aid, but they may be funded by school districts and vocational rehabilitation agencies for students with IEPs.

One Student’s Plan for College and Beyond

Community college figures into the plans that 20-year-old Travis King has for his future. King, an autistic participant in the SPARK study, is attending a transitional program through his school district that focuses on independent living skills for students ages 18 to 22.

“We get to go to restaurants, and learn how to order our food, and pay with our money,” King says. “I pay with either exact change, or my debit card, and always wait for the receipt. We also get to go shopping, and to learn how to find things, by doing a scavenger hunt.”

King plans to enroll in community college next year to earn a certificate in business and learn everything he needs to know to launch his career. “I am going to be an entrepreneur and open my own hot dog stand.”

With the money he earns selling hot dogs, he hopes to travel from his home in rural Washington state to his favorite city, New York, to see its subway, the Statue of Liberty, and recycling center. “I love New York.”

See a related SPARK article, “How to Find the Right College for Autistic Students.”

Interested in joining SPARK? Here’s what you should know.

Photo provided by Threasa King.

References

1. Roux A.M. et al. National autism indicators report: Transition into young adulthood. Life Course Outcomes Research Program, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2015) Report
2. Newman L. et al. The post-high school outcomes of young adults with disabilities up to 8 years after high school. Menlo Park, CA: SRI International (2011) Report
3. VanBergeijk E. et al. J. Autism Dev. Disord. 38, 1359-1370 (2008) PubMed
4. Hamblet E.C. National Association of School Psychologists’ communique handout. 42. Article (2014)
5. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights. Transition of students with disabilities to postsecondary education: A guide for high school educators. (2011)
6. Elias R. and S.W. White J. Autism Dev. Disord. 48, 732-746 (2018) PubMed
7. Wei X. et al. J. Autism Dev. Disord. 44, 1159-1167 (2014) PubMed
8. Nachman B.R. et al. J. Autism Dev. Disord. 52, 863-870 (2022) PubMed
9. Viezel K.D. et alFiFocus Autism Other Dev. Disabil. 35, 234-245 (2020) Abstract