“Change Isn't Exactly Easy”: Autistic University Students' Lived Learning Experiences During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This publication is included in the Autistic Autism Scholarship Project. three authors of this publication are identified as autistic in the project.

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Ballantine, J., Rocheleau, J., Macarios, J., Ross, G., & Artemeva, N. (2023). “Change Isn't Exactly Easy”: Autistic University Students' Lived Learning Experiences During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Autism in Adulthood, 5(3), 325-334. https://doi.org/10.1089/aut.2022.0032

Publication date: 24 Feb 2023 Added to AutiHub: 27 Oct 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
Publisher source (DOI) Full text OpenAlex source

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Authors

Publication authors
5
Publication authors identified as autistic
3 / 5 (60.0%)
  1. Jacquie Ballantine
  2. Jess Rocheleau *
  3. Jasmin Macarios *
  4. George Ross *
  5. Natasha Artemeva

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic-related isolation measures caused significant unexpected changes in learning experiences for all university students, including autistic students. So far, there has been a lack of information on autistic university students' lived learning experiences caused by the changes in the teaching delivery formats from face-to-face to online during this time. Our study addressed this gap by investigating eight autistic students' reported learning experiences during the rapid changes caused by the pandemic and discussing student-advocated learning supports. Methods: The participants in this qualitative study were eight formally or self-diagnosed, English-speaking, autistic undergraduate and graduate university students from a mid-sized Canadian university. Participants took part in semi-structured interviews that focused on their learning experiences and preferences before and during the pandemic, including what supports they found helpful. To analyze and interpret the data, autistic and nonautistic researchers used reflexive thematic analysis and a consultative participatory approach. Results: Our findings suggest that individual (i.e., organizational skills; mental health), interactional (i.e., prior experiences interacting with instructors and teaching assistants), and environmental (i.e., sensory environments, class sizes, virtual learning environments) factors, which were interrelated, determined the nature and quality of these autistic students' learning experiences and their academic preferences during the pandemic. We also found that each autistic student reported unique learning experiences and needed individualized supports for their learning. Conclusions: Several interrelated factors (individual, interactional, and environmental) affected the nature and quality of autistic university students' experiences during the pandemic. Each student had unique experiences and needed individualized supports.

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: 27 Oct 2026 09:28.

Cited references
37
With a DOI
27
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
10
6 / 37 (16.2%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
6 / 37 (16.2%)
References with detected author names
31 / 37 (83.8%)
Without detected author names
6
Without a structured title
6
Without a stable identifier
10
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
91
From DOI or external metadata
91
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
8
47 / 91 (51.6%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 44 / 91 (48.4%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
11 / 91 (12.1%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 11 / 47 (23.4%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 10 / 86 (11.6%).
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