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Accommodations for College Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder at a Designated Hispanic Serving Institution
This study examined the demographic characteristics and accommodations of college students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as compared to students with other/invisible disabilities from a designated Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). Despite a growing body of literature on students with ASD in higher education (Cullen, 2015; Grogen, 2015), less is known about HSIs; how post-secondary demographic characteristics and received accommodations of students with ASD differ from other students with disabilities.
Objectives:
The study aimed to compare the demographic differences between students with ASD and other disability groups at an HSI. Secondary aims sought to examine differences in the amounts/types of accommodations provided to individuals with ASD and other disability groups.
Methods:
Data from 827 students with disabilities were obtained from a four-year state HSI’s Office of Institutional Research. Along with descriptive analyses for demographic information, a balloon plot was generated to explore race/ethnicity differences in the primary disability categories. Poisson regression was utilized to examine whether the individuals with ASD were provided greater numbers of accommodations compared to those with other disabilities (all) and with invisible disabilities (invisible). A Chi-square test of independence was conducted for each type of accommodation to explore a significant relationship between the type of accommodation and the type of disability (ASD v. all; ASD v. invisible) As a follow-up logistic regression models were fit to investigate whether students with ASD were provided certain accommodations significantly more compared to other groups.
Results:
Demographic differences between ASD and all disability groups revealed that those with ASD were significantly more likely to be younger, a male, live off campus for the first semester, live on campus for the last semester, and were less likelyto be financial aid eligible or a transfer student. The proportion of ASD was larger among Whites (9.0%, n= 29) than Hispanics (5.5%, n= 13). Individuals with ASD received significantly higher amounts of accommodations than those with all and invisible disabilities. The expected log count increase for the ASD group was .17 (all; 95%CI, .10 to .25, p<.001) and .15 (invisible; 95% CI, .07 to .22, p<.001). Students with ASD were more likely to receive disability-related counseling (all, 95%CI, .47 to .1.77, p<.001; invisible, 95%CI, .29 to 1.59, p<.001), extra time (all, 95%CI, .68 to 2.88, p<.001; invisible, 95%CI, 1.11 to 3.78, p<.001), notetaking (invisible, 95%CI, -0.004 to 1.52, p = .05), and room-alone (all, 95%CI, .14 to .1.16, p<.05) accommodations compared to other disability groups.
Conclusions:
The study university was an HSI with 49% students qualifying for financial aid and 59% being first-generation college. Students with ASD were significantly more likely to be white, middle class, and have parents who attended college, compared to other disability groups. Students with ASD received significantly higher amounts of and different accommodations than those with other, invisible disabilities. These results raise questions about general issues of equity, and imply a need for transition supports and coordinated recruitment efforts to attract individuals of color with ASD.