Autism Goes to College: Understanding the Needs of a Student Population on the Rise.

The sample was small and not powered to compare all parent groups by diagnosis and school status. Diagnoses were not confirmed, and the gift card incentive may have attracted parents whose child did not meet criteria. The sample was primarily White and fairly affluent, so it may not reflect more diverse families. All information came from parents through an online survey, not from the students themselves or from clinical records. The executive functioning measure was created for the study and its construct validity was not established. Qualitative responses had missing data, so the free-text comparison was not split cleanly by school status.

Do not read these parent-reported needs as proof that speech/language, social, or independent living services improve college success. The study asked parents what they rated as helpful, did not confirm diagnoses, and did not test outcomes.