Qualification for upper secondary education in individuals with autism without intellectual disability: Total population study, Stockholm, Sweden.
Isidora Stark, Peiwen Liao, Cecilia Magnusson and 4 others
PMID 33246359WHAT IT FOUND
Students with autism without intellectual disability were significantly less likely to qualify for upper secondary education than their peers.
Comorbid ADHD, female sex, and lower family income further reduced the likelihood of meeting graduation criteria.
Key findings
01At age 16, 57% of autistic students without intellectual disability qualified for upper secondary education, compared to 86% of non-autistic peers.
02Comorbid ADHD significantly lowered qualification rates, with 52% qualifying at age 16 compared to 62% for those without ADHD.
03Autistic females had a higher rate of non-qualification than autistic males at both age 16 and age 20.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study lacked individual IQ data, so it could not determine if cognitive ability alone or other autism-related factors drove the academic gaps. Information on specific school environments, teacher attitudes, or the type and level of support received by students was unavailable. The study could not assess whether inequalities in grading practices between autistic and non-autistic students influenced the results. Data on autism severity, specific behavioral traits, or experiences like bullying were not available for analysis.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest. The research was funded by Forte (The Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare).
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that intellectual disability is the primary driver of poor academic outcomes in this population. The study specifically examined individuals with autism *without* intellectual disability, showing that even with normal-range cognition, significant barriers to graduation persist, likely influenced by other autism-related factors, comorbid ADHD, and socioeconomic conditions.