Although we must recognize and celebrate autistic individuals around the year, April is Autism Acceptance Month.
Despite many strengths, common challenges experienced by autistic college students include:
1. Autistic stigma – both explicit and implicit stigma
2. Social isolation
One way to address these challenges is by increasing our knowledge and acceptance of autism and people on the autism spectrum.
Common misconceptions and explanations:
1. Autistic people don’t like to socialize. They like to be alone.
People on the autism spectrum socialize differently. While some may prefer to be alone (many non-autistic people do as well), many children and adults on the autism spectrum like to have friends. Some people on the autism spectrum may not know how to make friends in a way that appeals to most non-autistic people, but autistic individuals seek acceptance and understanding like everyone else. Some autistic individuals may find socializing in a non-autistic way highly overwhelming because socializing requires a lot of energy. Sometimes, socialization also means masking – masking our social and communication differences. Many autistic individuals try to mask their true nature in an attempt to fit in socially and be understood by non-autistic peers, and masking may lead to anxiety.
2. Autistic students typically enroll in the STEM majors
At Metropolitan State University of Denver and other universities, there are students who enjoy and enroll in a wide range of majors including the Arts, Sciences, Business, Engineering, Education, and healthcare majors.
3. All autistic people are savants
There are many autistic and non-autistic geniuses in our world! The term “autistic savant” refers to autistic individuals who have an exceptional ability in one or more skills. This term has been popularized in our television shows and movies such as “The Rain Man”. In reality, very few autistic individuals are considered savants. Autistic children and adults, like everyone else, have strengths in some areas and challenges in others. For example, one autistic young woman memorized almost all words in the English dictionary but found her college-level calculus class really challenging.
To read and learn more about how to support students on the autism spectrum better, please visit this link: https://www.msudenver.edu/speech-language-hearing-sciences/outreachprogramsincludingissac/integratedsupportsforstudentswithautismincollegeissac/issacresourcesforfaculty/