Applying Data Science Practices to Identify Characteristics of Postsecondary Autism Support Programs From Their Websites

West, M., Tincani, M., Hantula, D., Hong, S. R., Vucetic, S., & Dragut, E. (2025). Applying Data Science Practices to Identify Characteristics of Postsecondary Autism Support Programs From Their Websites. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-025-07065-7

Publication date: 13 Oct 2025 Added to AutiHub: 29 Sep 2026 Type: Article Article language: English

This publication is integrated into AutiHub through:

Authors

Publication authors
6
Publication authors identified as autistic
0 / 6 (0.0%)

Abstract

Abstract Purpose An increasing number of autistic students in the United States are seeking post-secondary education. In response, some post-secondary institutions have established Autism Support Programs (ASP) to address the comprehensive needs of this population. There is little up-to-date, comprehensive information about which institutions host these programs, what types of services they offer, and what is required to access them. Methods Expanding on previous research, we introduce a new method, which utilizes established data science techniques, to identify ASPs at post-secondary institutions in the U.S. Our technique also allows us to identify the characteristics of the ASPs, including admissions requirements, cost, structure, and supports offered. Results Results highlight our method is more efficient and more robust than previous methods from the literature. For example, we identify 49 schools hosting ASPs that were not identified in past literature searches. We report on the characteristics of identified ASPs such as application process, most common supports and program cost. Conclusion The bi-directional change in the number of ASPs shows that this is an evolving field, requiring automated tools to enable regular updates to data. Although it is promising that a relative handful of U.S. schools have established these programs, a large majority of post-secondary institutions have not, and for those that host them, barriers to access exist, including the necessity of an ASD diagnosis, coupled with up-front and ongoing costs.

Bibliography cited by this reference

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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 08:13.

Cited references
62
With a DOI
49
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
12
2 / 62 (3.2%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
12 / 62 (19.4%)
References with detected author names
55 / 62 (88.7%)
Without detected author names
7
Without a structured title
11
Without a stable identifier
11
References with raw author names still to review
6
References with external metadata lookup issues
0
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
228
From DOI or external metadata
228
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
11
42 / 228 (18.4%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 186 / 228 (81.6%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
3 / 228 (1.3%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 3 / 42 (7.1%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 2 / 215 (0.9%).
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