College as a Developmental Context for Emerging Adulthood in Autism: A Systematic Review of What We Know and Where We Go from Here.

The review is narrative rather than a meta-analysis, so it does not provide pooled effect sizes. Most included studies relied on self-report, and autistic individuals may have limited insight into their own social skills. Intervention studies often lacked control groups or were underpowered, making it difficult to determine if improvements were due to the intervention or natural development. The interventions reviewed were multi-component, so it is unclear which specific parts (e.g., mentorship vs. skills training) were effective. Only published, peer-reviewed studies were included, which may introduce publication bias.

Do not assume that existing social skills interventions are proven to improve college graduation rates. The review highlights that most interventions are multi-component and lack rigorous control groups, meaning the specific contribution of any single therapeutic technique to student retention cannot be separated from other factors like mentorship or general support.