Brief Report: Autism-Specific College Support Programs: Differences Across Geography and Institutional Type.
Brett Ranon Nachman, Catherine Tobin McDermott, Bradley E Cox
PMID 33770324WHAT IT FOUND
Only 2.2% of US colleges host autism-specific support programs.
These programs are rare at 2-year colleges, where 81% of autistic students start, and completely absent from all institutions in New England. Most programs are at public 4-year universities.
Key findings
01Autism-specific support programs exist at only 2.2% of US public and not-for-profit colleges and universities.
02Programs are disproportionately located at 4-year institutions and largely absent from 2-year colleges, despite most autistic students starting at 2-year schools.
03No autism-specific support programs were identified in the entire New England region, while 21 states overall had none.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study relied on website searches, so it may have missed programs that did not have a dedicated, easily searchable webpage or were not explicitly labeled as autism-specific. The census was time-bound (2018-2019), and the authors note that programs change frequently; newer programs identified after the search were not included in the statistical analysis. The study analyzed institutions, not students. It does not report how many students actually participated in these programs or the capacity of each program. The study describes the existence of programs but provides no data on their quality, content, or effectiveness for student outcomes.
Declared interests
The research team comprised a working group associated with College Autism Network, a national organization that advocates for these supports. The study was not funded by a commercial entity, but the authors have a professional interest in the expansion of the programs they are counting.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the presence of these programs as evidence that they improve student outcomes. This paper counts how many institutions offer autism-specific support; it does not measure whether those supports help students graduate or succeed.