Experiences of Autistic Students in Postsecondary Education: A Review of Reviews.

Abstract

Background: The number of autistic students enrolling in postsecondary education is rising, accompanied by an increase in research and subsequent reviews (i.e., meta-analyses, systematic and scoping reviews) describing the experiences of autistic postsecondary students. We summarize the current state of the literature by describing the characteristics (e.g., publication year, language use), evaluating the quality, and mapping the domains and findings of reviews examining autistic postsecondary students to inform future directions of this research.

Methods: Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines for systematic reviews and meta-analyses were followed. Reviews were included if they were (1) published between January 2000 and December 2023; (2) focused on postsecondary students who had a diagnosis of autism or self-identify as autistic; and (3) focused on experiences of autistic students in postsecondary settings. Consistent with other reviews of reviews, articles were coded for quality, including publication bias. Thematic analysis was used to extract themes from reviews.

Results: Out of 1575 articles, 26 published reviews were included. Over half the reviews were published within the past 5 years (i.e., 2019 onward; k = 14; 54%) and were systematic or scoping reviews (k = 20; 77%), while half were conducted by researchers from the United States. The quality of systematic or scoping reviews (k = 20) was mostly acceptable; however, only three assessed publication bias and eight appraised study quality. Six themes were constructed from coded information identifying gaps, main findings, and review strengths as follows: (1) the need for methodological rigor; (2) the need for evidence-based, individualized supports; (3) the need to consider autistic students as a heterogenous population with diverse academic experiences; (4) the need to understand nonacademic factors impacting academic experiences; (5) research addressing or highlighting relevant gaps; and (6) research guided by lived experience and frameworks.

Conclusions: We summarize key findings from the current literature and make relevant recommendations to move the research on autism in postsecondary forward.