Experiences of Autistic Students in Postsecondary Education: A Review of Reviews

Ames, M. E., Sihoe, C. E., Coombs, E. C., Foreman, S., Punt, K., Singh, V., Stack, T., & McMorris, C. A. (2025). Experiences of Autistic Students in Postsecondary Education: A Review of Reviews. Autism in Adulthood, 7(4), 367-385. https://doi.org/10.1089/aut.2024.0131

Publication date: 19 Jun 2025 Added to AutiHub: 9 Aug 2026 Type: Article Article language: English

This publication is integrated into AutiHub through:

Authors

Publication authors
8
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 8 (12.5%)

Abstract

Background: The number of autistic students enrolling in postsecondary education is rising, accompanied by an increase in research and subsequent reviews (i.e., meta-analyses, systematic and scoping reviews) describing the experiences of autistic postsecondary students. We summarize the current state of the literature by describing the characteristics (e.g., publication year, language use), evaluating the quality, and mapping the domains and findings of reviews examining autistic postsecondary students to inform future directions of this research. Methods: Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines for systematic reviews and meta-analyses were followed. Reviews were included if they were (1) published between January 2000 and December 2023; (2) focused on postsecondary students who had a diagnosis of autism or self-identify as autistic; and (3) focused on experiences of autistic students in postsecondary settings. Consistent with other reviews of reviews, articles were coded for quality, including publication bias. Thematic analysis was used to extract themes from reviews. Results: Out of 1575 articles, 26 published reviews were included. Over half the reviews were published within the past 5 years (i.e., 2019 onward; k = 14; 54%) and were systematic or scoping reviews (k = 20; 77%), while half were conducted by researchers from the United States. The quality of systematic or scoping reviews (k = 20) was mostly acceptable; however, only three assessed publication bias and eight appraised study quality. Six themes were constructed from coded information identifying gaps, main findings, and review strengths as follows: (1) the need for methodological rigor; (2) the need for evidence-based, individualized supports; (3) the need to consider autistic students as a heterogenous population with diverse academic experiences; (4) the need to understand nonacademic factors impacting academic experiences; (5) research addressing or highlighting relevant gaps; and (6) research guided by lived experience and frameworks. Conclusions: We summarize key findings from the current literature and make relevant recommendations to move the research on autism in postsecondary forward.

Bibliography cited by this reference

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

Bibliography inclusion overview

These indicators describe the cited bibliography imported for this publication. Cited-reference metrics use the cited-reference total as denominator. Cited-author metrics state whether they use all cited-author occurrences or only occurrences linked to authors already integrated in the AutiHub database. They use cached links between cited authors and authors integrated in the AutiHub database. Last computed: 16 Aug 2026 11:31.

Cited references
61
Total cited references integrated for this publication.
Cited references with an identified autistic author
6 / 61 (9.8%)
Cited author occurrences identified as autistic
16 / 211 (7.6%)
Among occurrences linked to AutiHub author records: 16 / 78 (20.5%). Distinct cited authors identified as autistic: 13 / 187 (7.0%).
Cited author occurrences linked to AutiHub author records
78 / 211 (37.0%)
Distinct linked cited authors: 65 / 187 (34.8%)
Linked cited-author occurrences not identified as autistic
62 / 78 (79.5%)
Among linked cited-author occurrences only. Across all cited-author occurrences: 62 / 211 (29.4%). Distinct linked cited authors not identified as autistic: 52 / 65 (80.0%).
1 cited bibliography entry could not be fully enriched from DOI metadata.
Crossref: not found (1)
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