Changing College Students' Conceptions of Autism: A Mixed-Methods Analysis

Background:

College students with ASD may face lack of understanding from their campus communities. While a recent closed-ended survey of campus knowledge of ASD revealed more correct than incorrect responses, participants often indicated that there is only one effective intervention for autism, that autism is caused by vaccines, and that people with autism can’t live independently (Tipton & Blacher, 2013). Although closed-ended surveys allow comparison across studies, they may scaffold appropriate responses. Qualitative coding of definitions of autism provided by middle-school children revealed largely accurate but sparse responses that often lacked reference to the core symptoms of autism, particularly restricted interests and repetitive behaviors (Campbell et al., 2011). Semi-structured interviews revealed that adults often view people with ASD as learning disabled and incapable of living independently (Huws & Jones, 2010). Using a mixed-methods approach, we examined knowledge of autism among college students, as well as potential benefits of an online training about autism.

Objectives:

1)    Examine open-ended definitions of autism by college students.

2)    Evaluate effects of an online training on conceptions of autism.

Methods:

Participants were recruited for an online training about ASD primarily from a psychology subject pool. Participants (N= 171) completed a pre-test (consisting of open-ended and multiple choice questions), the training, and a post-test. Open-ended responses were coded into non-mutually exclusive categories by independent coders after they achieved reliability (greater than 80% agreement on at least 20% of the sample). Not all coding categories are reported.

Results:

Baseline Knowledge of ASD:

What is ASD? 110 responses were coded “communication issues”, 105 “social issues”, 77 “disorder”, 57 “restricted/repetitive interests”, 51 “childish”, 38 “diversity”, 38 “cognitive issues”, 28 “brain issues” and 21 “sensory issues.”

What are two challenges adults with autism face? 99 responses were coded “social”, 87 “independence”, 34 “communication”, 21 “discrimination”, 19 “other/don’t know”, and 15 “cognitive".

What does the future hold for people with ASD? 47 responses were coded “other/don’t know”, 35 “treatments”, 27 “opportunities”, 19 “cure”, 4 “employment”, and 1 “college”.

Changing Conceptions of ASD:

What does the future hold for people with ASD? After the training, responses coded “college” (35) and “employment” (43) increased.

What are three techniques for teaching people with ASD? Before the training, 48 responses were coded “visual”, 41 “structured”, and 21 “individualized” After the training, 92 responses were coded “visual”, 57 “individualized”, and 55 “structured.”

Closed-ended responses suggest that the training increased understanding of DSM-5 criteria, gender and ethnic differences in diagnosis, links between giftedness and autistic traits in the general population, interest in friendship among people with ASD, and variability in desire for a cure for autism (ps < .001).

Conclusions:

These results suggest that college students have greater understanding of the core difficulties associated with autism than middle-school students. However, both populations conflate autism with cognitive delays and are more aware of social symptoms than restricted/repetitive interests. The online training altered conceptions of autism. As Tipton and Blacher noted (2013), more widespread knowledge about diversity in ASD may facilitate the transition into college for students with ASD.