Autism-Related Characteristics in College STEM Students: Prevalence, Performance, and Mediation

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Each year, roughly 49,000 individuals diagnosed with autism complete high school. Approximately 16,000 of them subsequently pursue higher education, with about 1 in 3 autistic college students seeking a degree in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) fields. Historically, however, people on the autism spectrum have had poor postsecondary and employment outcomes. Yet the very traits that can cause students with autism-related characteristics to struggle in college classrooms may also serve as a springboard from which this population can make distinctive contributions to STEM fields and workplaces. This project will highlight the potential of autistic college students, increase awareness of the prevalence of autism in college classrooms, and provide tools to shape both institutional policy and instructional practices in ways that facilitate success for students with autism-related characteristics. Although students on the autism spectrum may be particularly well-suited for success in STEM fields due to their ability to observe, identify, construct, and apply logical systems of reasoning, college students with autism are often reluctant to disclose their diagnosis or seek formal disability accommodations. As a result, these students are typically an "invisible" minority on campus. To address these issues, this project will seek to (1) determine the prevalence of autism-related characteristics among college students entering STEM fields; (2) assess the effect of autism-related characteristics on student performance in gateway STEM courses; and (3) evaluate the effect of formal disability accommodations on the classroom performance of STEM students with autism-related characteristics. The study, thus, examines the possibility that an already existing but underutilized intervention could serve as a low-cost, high-yield mechanism to help autistic students leverage their unique characteristics to complete their STEM degrees, enter the workforce, and contribute to the national economy.