Support Systems for College Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder

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Anderson, A., Cox, B. E., Edelstein, J., & Andring, A. W. (2019). Support Systems for College Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder. College Student Affairs Journal, 37(1), 14-27. https://doi.org/10.1353/csj.2019.0001

Publication date: 1 Jan 2019 Added to AutiHub: 8 Aug 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
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Authors

Publication authors
4
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 4 (25.0%)
  1. Amelia Anderson
  2. Bradley E. Cox *
  3. Jeffrey Edelstein
  4. Abigail Wolz Andring

Abstract

This study was an exploration into how college students with autism spectrum disorder identify and use support systems during the transition to higher education. In particular, this study explored how these students described their experiences within an online environment among their peers. The study used unobtrusive qualitative methods to collect and analyze data on online forum discussion posts from college students with autism spectrum disorder. Results indicated that students found their support systems in various ways. Many report using services provided by their Office of Disability Services, but students must be aware that these services exist first, and often must have a diagnosis to receive such supports. This study makes suggestions for higher education institutions to identify and promote their support services, both those that are accessible through Offices of Disability Services, and those that are available without diagnosis or disclosure.

Bibliography cited by this reference

Cited references are imported from external metadata sources when they are available. The list may be partial.

Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 2 Oct 2026 01:40.

Cited references
35
With a DOI
30
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
0
3 / 35 (8.6%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
1 / 35 (2.9%)
References with detected author names
34 / 35 (97.1%)
Without detected author names
1
Without a structured title
0
Without a stable identifier
0
References with raw author names still to review
0
References with external metadata lookup issues
1
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
89
From DOI or external metadata
89
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
0
27 / 89 (30.3%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 62 / 89 (69.7%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
3 / 89 (3.4%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 3 / 27 (11.1%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 3 / 89 (3.4%).
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