'It's a symbolic violence': Autistic people's experiences of discrimination at universities in Australia.
Diana Weiting Tan, Marion Rabuka, Tori Haar and 1 others
PMID 38148639WHAT IT FOUND
Autistic university students described being told they didn't look autistic enough to need support.
They faced bureaucratic barriers to accommodations and were often questioned about their competence, especially in helping professions. Many felt the burden of advocacy fell entirely on them.
Key findings
01Participants reported being dismissed as 'high functioning' or not looking autistic enough to warrant support, leading to a fear of not being believed.
02Students in helping professions like nursing and education were discouraged from their career paths upon disclosing their autism, with one being told they wouldn't make a good teacher.
03Accessing support was described as a 'massive bureaucracy' with 'lots of hoops to jump through', causing significant emotional and financial burden.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
Participants were predominantly of European descent and non-Indigenous, limiting the generalizability of findings to all autistic populations. Self-selection bias may have occurred, as those with negative experiences might have been more motivated to participate. The study did not include perspectives from university staff, so it reflects only the student side of the interaction. No cisgender males participated, meaning gender-related experiences of discrimination may be underrepresented.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest. The study was funded by a scheme that allowed only one investigator, though it involved community collaboration.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret these findings as evidence that university disability services are universally inaccessible or that all staff are discriminatory. The study reports the subjective experiences of a specific group of 21 autistic adults, primarily of European descent, and does not measure the actual effectiveness or prevalence of these issues across all Australian universities.