Date of Award

Spring 6-7-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of arts (BA)

Department

Global Honors

First Advisor

Dr. Miranda Kucera

Abstract

With the global prevalence rate of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) increasing in post-secondary institutions, such as colleges and universities, having accessibility to accommodations becomes important to ensure ASD undergraduate students’ success. Many colleges and universities are required to provide accommodations for students with disabilities, yet often students with ASD find the accommodations given do not meet their individual needs or believe they would not benefit from the accommodations the disability support officers (DSOs) provide. Moreover, studies found that students in their first year of college find college more challenging due to the transition from secondary to post-secondary education. Programs to aid ASD students from secondary to post-secondary education have been provided, but studies find that students often feel the program is missing topics that would benefit them.

Additionally, discrimination and stigma about ASD are still displayed by faculty members or students in universities as students with ASD pursue their educational goals. The discrimination creates an internal and external struggle for ASD students as they try to navigate through the institution, which in turn hurts their chances for academic success. It is also important to consider the cultural contexts for students and colleges when researching accommodations provided. Primary sources for ASD research are conducted in higher socioeconomic areas, which often encompasses Western beliefs about ASD. This can cause accommodations based on unrepresentative research to not support ASD students with different backgrounds.

This paper seeks to analyze how students with ASD experience accommodations and explore how an orientation program that uses Universal Design of Learning could benefit students with ASD by conducting a literature review of previous studies from the United States and the Netherlands. To address issues of discrimination and stigma, integrating Universal Design of Learning (UDL) into faculty training would benefit the students and faculty members. UDL’s main principle is to provide inclusive teaching and assessment for students, regardless of if they are or are not neurodiverse. Studies have found that many faculty members are interested in learning more about UDL, but research is still expanding and exploring the topic.

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