Ranon Nachman, B., Isaacson, K., Cox, B., & Tobin McDermott, C. (2024). “I always ended up getting close to other people who are autistic”: Autistic college students' friendship development. *Journal of Higher Education*, 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2025.2497184

Ranon Nachman et al. (2024) Autistic college students' friendship development

Bailey, K. M., Frost, K. M., Casagrande, K., & Ingersoll, B. (2020). The relationship between
social experience and subjective well-being in autistic college students: A mixed methods
study. Autism, 24(5), 1081–1092. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361319892457


Bailey et al. (2020) Social experience and subjective well-being

Crompton, C. J., Hallett, S., Ropar, D., Flynn, E., & Fletcher-Watson, S. (2020). ‘I never realised everybody felt as happy as I do when I am around autistic people’: A thematic analysis of autistic adults’ relationships with autistic and neurotypical friends and family. Autism, 24(6), 1438–1448. https://doi.org/10.1177/136236132090897  

Crompton et al. (2020) Autistic adults' relationships 

Goddard, H., Cook, A. (2022). “I spent most of freshers in my room” – A qualitative study of the social experiences of university students on the autistic spectrum. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 52, 2701-2716. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-021-05125-2


Goddard & Cook (2022) Social experiences of autistic university students 

References for Autism & College: Social Experiences node 

Grand Valley State University

Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is characterized by differences in social communicative functioning and repetitive interests, behaviors, and routines.

It is called a developmental disorder because symptoms usually appear during the developmental period. The disorder is lifelong, and can be diagnosed at any age.

Research on the causes of autism is ongoing and current research shows a genetic component.

Autism Spectrum Disorder 

The overlap of autism and LGBTQ+ identity is an intersectional issue. 

- Recent studies have shown that there is a higher prevalence of ASD among people who are gender diverse 
- There may be an association between gender dysphoria and autism
- Some research suggests that gender variance is not associated specifically with ASD, but with neurodevelopmental disorders more broadly 
- More research is needed in order to gain a nuanced understanding of the intersection between ASD and LGBTQ+ identity

Autism & LGBTQ+ Identity 

Interventions for autism have historically not included input from autistic people and have not met the needs of autistic communities. 

Interventions like Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) have not included autistic people in the design or implementation of interventions and have long been critiqued for being harmful to autistic people. 

Recently, neurodiversity-affirming interventions (NAIS) have started to arise. These interventions challenge researchers and clinicians to include autistic people's input in all stages of the intervention process.  

Neurodiversity-affirming interventions should focus on the strengths of the individuals and focus on attaining independence, rather that achieving normalcy. 

Future research and practice should align with the experiences, priorities, and goals of the autistic population. 

Neurodiversity-affirming interventions for autism 

References for Autism Spectrum Disorder 

As post-secondary environments start to adopt neurodiversity-affirming frameworks, more and more students on the autism spectrum are starting to enroll in university. However, these students may not have the support services that they need to succeed and may face many mental health issues. 

Current research shows that autistic students are often isolated and face loneliness, along with victimization. The current study (White et al., 2011) shows that the rate of students currently in the college environment with undiagnosed ASD is anywhere from 0.7%-1.9%. This shows that there are many students entering college who are autistic and are undiagnosed.

In the college environment, ASD is highly correlated with co-occurring mental health issues, including high social anxiety, depression, and aggression. 

This is an important piece of research that highlights the need for more attention to autism in the college environment. 

Autism & College 

Camouflaging (also known as masking) is a practice where an autistic person attempts to hide their autistic traits in an attempt to appear more neurotypical and fit in with neurotypical communities. Camouflaging has been associated with negative mental health outcomes in autistic populations, including autistic burnout and suicidality. There have been few systematic reviews investigating this concept up to this point, and the present study provides a much needed analysis of camouflaging in autistic adults.

This systematic review showed that camouflaging autistic traits was more common among females than males. Reasons for camouflaging included making friends, being accepted, safety, and resilience. The research showed that women engage in camouflaging to serve a functional purpose whilst men engage in camouflaging to be more comfortable in social situations. 

Consistent with previous literature, camouflaging was found to have impacts on anxiety and stress and was found to be associated with suicidality. More research is needed on camouflaging to understand it and it's impacts on autistic people, but the current study is a good starting point for understanding camouflaging. 

Camouflaging/masking in autistic adults

There are a variety of health disparities that members of the autistic community face. These health disparities may make it more difficult to access quality services that meet the needs of autistic populations. Autistic adults have higher rates of chronic health conditions and psychiatric conditions (Wier, 2022), yet they report worse quality healthcare experiences than non-autistic adults.  Research shows that autistic people commonly view that their providers have limited knowledge on autism and working with autistic people (McLean et al. 2024). Many organizational components of the healthcare environment, such as length of appointments and access to consistent and comprehensive care, affected the health outcomes of autistic people and were barriers to accessing quality care (McLean et al., 2024). In addition to that, members of disadvantaged populations, such as those from BIPOC communities, LGBTQ+ communities, and those of low socioeconomic status, are at greater risk for experiencing healthcare disparities (Bishop-Fitzpatrick & Hind, 2017; Hall et al., 2020; Wallich et al., 2023). 


Some interventions to improve the healthcare outcomes of autistic people that researchers have suggested include lengthening appointment times, providing training for providers, and adding online options for appointment management (McLean et al., 2024). In addition, interventions can be put in place to make the healthcare environment more accessible and affirming to autistic people, including adding sensory rooms and providing funding for accessible transportation.

Health disparities among autistic adults

The transition to adulthood for autistic people is a complicated and often challenging process. This period involves changes in education, employment, social relationships, and healthcare. This involves moving from school-based systems and services to adult care, which can be quite challenging for many autistic people. 

Transition to adulthood 

Autism interventions are strategies, therapies, or programs designed to improve the quality of life of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). They can be behavioral, educational, medical, or therapeutic, and are typically individualized and evidence-based. Examples of interventions include Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA), speech and language therapy, and occupational therapy.

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