Self-Advocacy Training for Autistic College Students at a Public University

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Self-Advocacy

Cases in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have dramatically risen over the past 30 years, with the current rate of 1 in every 44 (Maenner et al., 2021) children born with the condition. Much emphasis rests on the need for various interventions, practices, and therapies during childhood to improve quality of life and success across a variety of settings. Nonetheless, as they age, all children advance through the education system and eventually leave the school system. Consequently, it should not be surprising that these children must grow up and face realities after high school. For some, this may include residential placements, living at home with family members, or working part or full time. For others, this comes in the form of postsecondary education. However, many individuals with autism might not be prepared to handle the requirements future education entails. As stated in articles by Chiang et al. (2012) and Blackorby and Wagner (1996), persons with disabilities, regardless of type, do not have successful transitions after high school compared to individuals without disabilities-even with having access to many resources in school and the community. Barriers, therefore, exist that prevent successful outcomes for students with autism attending college and obtaining a postsecondary degree. Thus, there is a need to identify strategies that can be effective in assisting autistic adults in postsecondary education to succeed, both academically and socially.

This study will utilize a concurrent multiple baseline design across participants with an embedded ABCDE design (or more specifically, an ABACADAE design). These components will be the four scenarios teaching self-advocacy skills based primarily on recognition of one's wants and needs and personal decision making. The four included scenarios will be a) requesting appropriate accommodations from disability services; b) requesting additional supports or services (daily living, social, etc.) from disability services; c) presenting accommodations to a professor; and d) meeting with disability services in the event a professor is not accommodating student needs. There will also be a pre-test/post-test comparison between scores on the self-advocacy questionnaire with data displayed in the form of a bar graph that will explore all four areas of self-advocacy: recognition of wants and needs, scheduling meetings, locating services, and personal decision making.

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