The common problems adults with mild forms of autism face in higher education

Aug 30
05:33

2013

Hanan Almasoud

Hanan Almasoud

  • Share this article on Facebook
  • Share this article on Twitter
  • Share this article on Linkedin

Educating adults with Autism spectrum condition as an international issue

mediaimage

The common difficulties faced by adults with autism relate to their communication,The common problems adults with mild forms of autism face in higher education Articles emotional regulation and socialization abilities and to their academic progress. The needs of each individual in these areas are different, as no one size fit all (Robertson, 2007). In terms of communication problems, adults with mild forms of ASC have developed verbal communication. However, they will experience difficulties regarding the expressive and receptive language of non-verbal communication (e.g. body language and facial expressions). They may also show inappropriate use of verbal communication and lack conversation skills (VanBergeijk et al., 2008 and Schnepf,2008). Anxiety and stress are also common among adults with ASC (Taylor and Knott, 2007). This is caused by poor emotional regulation ability, which can significantly affect the adults’ quality of life and inclusion in mainstream settings (school, university). According to the literature, about 70%–80% of individuals with ASC will remain socially impaired in adulthood. They will lack peer relationships and social networks, and will have a limited social life due to their poor social skills (Trudeau, 2008; Minaya, 2007; Beardon et al., 2009 and Geller, 2005) strongly recommends that parents, family members and teachers redouble their efforts to help individuals with ASC acquire as many social skills as possible. He states that ‘growing up without’ such skills could negatively affect the quality of social life and damage one’s physical and psychological health.

University students are often required to give presentations, participate in group projects and communicate effectively with teachers and other students. All these activities require reasonable communication and social skills for academic progress and achievement. Individuals with ASC may require some academic accommodations, such as extra time for tests, assistance with note taking, assistance in group activities and frequent reminders of due dates (Gershman, 2008; Perner, 2002 andVanBergeijk et al., 2008) also suggest the following academic accommodations:

 

1.      Offering a copy of the lecture in advance

2.      Allowing the use of a laptop for note taking or nominating a peer to assist

3.      Offering written instructions

4.      Offering training in organizational skills and time management.

 

According to Wilcox (2008) and Taylor (2005), some students have significant social impairment. Therefore, group assessments have to be replaced with individual assessments. Adult students with ASC typically have normal or above normal IQs. For bright and gifted students, it may be necessary to adjust the curriculum (York and Longden 2008). In terms of environmental accommodations, staff at institutions of higher education must consider students’ need for a structured and predictable environment (Beardon et al., 2009; MacLeod and Green, 2009). An autism-friendly environment is an environment that meets the sensory needs of students who are hypo and/or hypersensitive to stimuli (Yoder, 2008).

 

It is worth mentioning that research findings indicate the dropout rate among students with ASC attending institutions of higher education is often the result of unattainable social demands, emotional issues and communication difficulties rather than academic difficulties (Monsebraaten, 2012).