Mental Health Issues in Post-Secondary Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Experiences in Accessing Services

Daou

Obeid

et al. 2020

J Autism Dev Disord

Little remains known about the degree to which autistic university students are stigmatized relative to students with other diagnoses. We conducted an online survey with students in New York City (n = 633) and Beirut (n = 274). Students with diagnoses that were perceived as dangerous (e.g., psychopathy) were more stigmatized than students with diagnoses that were perceived as less dangerous (e.g., autism). Disruptive autistic behaviors (described via vignettes) evoked more stigma than withdrawn behaviors. Perceived dangerousness predicted autism stigma. Greater acceptance of inequality, less openness, and lower cognitive empathy co-occurred with heightened stigma towards most conditions. Diagnostic labels were typically less stigmatized than behaviors. Findings suggest that interventions are needed to decrease stigma towards varied diagnoses in collegiate communities.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 64%

What Contributes to Stigma Towards Autistic University Students and Students with Other Diagnoses?

Daou

Obeid

et al. 2020

J Autism Dev Disord

“…Emerging research suggests that stigma towards autism is associated with reduced mental health among autistic adults (Botha & Frost, 2018) and decreased help seeking among autistic college students, a disproportionate number of whom face co-morbid mental health issues (Jackson et al, 2018;McMorris et al, 2018). To better support the growing population of autistic college students, a rapidly expanding body of research has begun to examine stigma and associated attitudes towards autism in college students (e.g., Gardiner & Iarocci, 2013;Nevill & White, 2011;Sasson & Morrison, 2017;Tipton & Blacher, 2014;White, Hillier, Frye, Makrez, & 2016).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors underlying cross-cultural differences in stigma toward autism among college students in Lebanon and the United States

Daou

Sánchez‐Ruiz

et al. 2019

Autism

Although stigma negatively impacts autistic people globally, the degree of stigma varies across cultures. Prior research suggests that stigma may be higher in cultures with more collectivistic orientations. This study aimed to identify cultural values and other individual differences that contribute to cross-cultural differences in autism stigma (assessed with a social distance scale) between college students in Lebanon ( n = 556) and those in the United States ( n = 520). Replicating prior work, stigma was lower in women than men and in the United States relative to Lebanon. Heightened autism knowledge, quality of contact with autistic people, openness to experience, and reduced acceptance of inequality predicted lower stigma. Collectivism was not associated with heightened stigma. Findings highlight the need to address structural inequalities, combat harmful misconceptions, and foster positive contact to combat stigma.

“…Future research should also examine if perfectionistic tendencies about academics contribute to mental health difficulties observed among many autistic university students (S. L. Jackson et al, 2018; McMorris et al, 2019). In addition, the writing task used in this study required spontaneous creation of text about a topic of interest, which may differ from the demands of college-level academic writing.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparing the writing skills of autistic and nonautistic university students: A collaboration with autistic university students

Hotez

Zajic

et al. 2020

Autism

The writing skills of autistic university students have received very little empirical attention. Previous research has suggested that autistic people may struggle with writing, in part, due to challenges with Theory of Mind. However, other research indicates that Theory of Mind difficulties are far from universal in autism, varying across developmental and social contexts. Through a participatory research approach, autistic university students contributed to the current study examining the writing strengths and challenges of autistic ( n = 25) and nonautistic ( n = 25) university students. Autistic participants demonstrated more advanced writing skills, more perfectionistic attitudes about writing, and heightened nonverbal intelligence relative to nonautistic students. Autistic students did not exhibit reduced Theory of Mind skills. Although heightened nonverbal intelligence and being autistic were both initially predictive of writing quality, autism was no longer associated with writing quality after accounting for nonverbal intelligence. Findings suggest that autistic university students may often have enhanced cognitive and writing skills but may face challenges overcoming perfectionism. This research highlights the value of participatory collaborations with autistic students for identifying strengths that can help autistic students succeed in college. Lay abstract We do not know very much about the writing skills of autistic university students. Studies with autistic children and teenagers show that some autistic young people have difficulties writing. Other autistic people are talented writers. In fact, some autistic people would rather write than speak. Good writers often imagine other people’s points of view when writing. Autistic people sometimes have difficulties understanding others’ points of view. Yet, autistic people often work much harder to understand others’ points of view than not-autistic people do. We collaborated with autistic university student researchers to see if autistic university students are better or worse at writing than nonautistic students. Autistic university students in our study were better writers than nonautistic students. Autistic students in our study had higher nonverbal intelligence than nonautistic students. Autistic students also put themselves under more pressure to write perfectly than nonautistic students did. Autistic students did not show any difficulties understanding other minds. This study shows that some autistic university students have stronger writing skills and higher intelligence than nonautistic university students. Yet, autistic students may be too hard on themselves about their writing. Fun activities that help students explore their ideas without pressure (like theater games) may help autistic students be less hard on their writing. Teachers can help autistic students express themselves through writing by encouraging them to write about their interests, by giving them enough time to write, and by letting them write using computers if they want to. This study shows that collaborations with autistic people can help us understand strengths that can help autistic people succeed.