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

每年，大约有49，000名被诊断患有自闭症的人完成高中学业。其中约16，000人随后接受高等教育，约三分之一的自闭症大学生寻求STEM（科学，技术，工程，数学）领域的学位。然而，从历史上看，自闭症谱系的人在中学后和就业方面的结果都很差。然而，那些可能导致自闭症相关特征的学生在大学课堂上挣扎的特征，也可能成为一个跳板，使这些人群能够为STEM领域和工作场所做出独特的贡献。该项目将突出自闭症大学生的潜力，提高对大学课堂自闭症流行的认识，并提供工具，以促进自闭症相关特征的学生取得成功的方式塑造机构政策和教学实践。虽然自闭症谱系的学生可能特别适合在STEM领域取得成功，因为他们有能力观察，识别，构建和应用逻辑推理系统，但患有自闭症的大学生往往不愿意透露他们的诊断或寻求正式的残疾住宿。因此，这些学生通常是校园里“看不见的”少数群体。为了解决这些问题，该项目将寻求（1）确定进入STEM领域的大学生中自闭症相关特征的患病率;（2）评估自闭症相关特征对学生在入门STEM课程中表现的影响;（3）评估正式残疾适应对具有自闭症相关特征的STEM学生课堂表现的影响。因此，这项研究探讨了一种已经存在但未得到充分利用的干预措施可以作为一种低成本、高收益的机制，帮助自闭症学生利用他们独特的特点完成STEM学位，进入劳动力市场，并为国民经济做出贡献。

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.