Research Concerning the Needs of College Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Another Minority Identity: A Preliminary Literature Review

• Jackson Chandler, Elementary Teacher Education, University of Delaware

• Sarah Curtiss, School of Education, University of Delaware

Research concerning the needs of people with Autism Spectrum Disorder [ASD] largely revolves around the experience of children within the K-12 education system, with a notable lack of research being centered on the experience of college students with ASD. Furthermore, the experience of college students with ASD, as well as another minority identity, such as being black or trans, is focused on even less. This is congruent with trends in other fields of research that often fails to consider the intersectionality of a minority identity in their fields, leading to a research gap on the experiences of these under-represented minorities. After a search through Google Scholar using boolean operators and a variety of keywords relevant to research on Black or Transgender college students with ASD, as well as a search for data on college programs meant for students with ASD or Intellectual Disability, 14 articles were identified relevant to the experience of these students. Data was difficult to find, as research, as mentioned, was largely centered on the experiences of students in the k-12 education system, and made from the perspectives of either the parents of the students or the staff members of schools university or otherwise. Seeking to understand the perspective of these students rather than the perspective of their parents, this search uncovered themes of unique needs, administrative bias, and community, and provides recommendations on future research.