Hodges-Fulton Michaela R, Monahan Jessica
Center for Disabilities Studies, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USA.
Autism Adulthood. 2025 Aug 11;7(4):421-434. doi: 10.1089/aut.2024.0086. eCollection 2025 Aug.
As autistic students enter postsecondary education, they must decide if and when to disclose their autistic identities. The existing literature on this topic either focuses on students with disabilities more broadly or is not the exclusive focus of the study. Given the need to disclose in order to receive accommodations and the inherent risk involved in disclosing a marginalized identity, it is imperative to understand what factors lead to an autistic college student's willingness to disclose.
After an extensive literature review on disclosure, we created a survey to better understand autistic college students' disclosure thoughts and behaviors. Researchers developed the survey and obtained feedback on item clarity and importance from autistic college students. We distributed the survey through national networks, resulting in a sample of 123. We analyzed the data using descriptive statistics, ordinal logistic regression, and Mann-Whitney tests. We analyzed open-ended data using an inductive thematic approach.
The sample was diverse in gender and sexuality, and the majority had co-occurring mental health conditions. Being autistic was an important part of the student's identity, but they expressed worries about negative perceptions or impacts from disclosure. Most students wished they could disclose without consequences. Willingness to disclose to a professor at the beginning of the semester was predicted by how safe a student felt it would be to disclose at their university and the necessity of accommodations. Cisgender, heterosexual students, and white students were more likely to disclose than LGBTQIA+ students and students of color, respectively. In open-ended responses, students discussed concerns about disclosure and when they feel safe to disclose.
We provide questions for students to consider when contemplating disclosure and recommendations for higher education professionals and future research.
随着自闭症学生进入高等教育阶段，他们必须决定是否以及何时披露自己的自闭症身份。关于这一主题的现有文献要么更广泛地关注残疾学生，要么并非该研究的唯一重点。鉴于为了获得便利而需要披露信息以及披露边缘化身份所固有的风险，了解哪些因素导致自闭症大学生愿意披露信息至关重要。
在对披露信息进行广泛的文献综述之后，我们创建了一项调查，以更好地了解自闭症大学生的披露想法和行为。研究人员设计了该调查，并从自闭症大学生那里获得了关于项目清晰度和重要性的反馈。我们通过全国性网络分发了该调查，最终获得了123个样本。我们使用描述性统计、有序逻辑回归和曼-惠特尼检验对数据进行了分析。我们采用归纳主题法对开放式数据进行了分析。
样本在性别和性取向方面具有多样性，大多数人同时患有心理健康问题。自闭症是学生身份的重要组成部分，但他们表达了对披露信息可能产生的负面看法或影响的担忧。大多数学生希望他们能够毫无后果地披露信息。学期开始时向教授披露信息的意愿，由学生认为在其大学披露信息的安全性以及获得便利的必要性来预测。顺性别、异性恋学生和白人学生分别比 LGBTQIA+ 学生和有色人种学生更有可能披露信息。在开放式回答中，学生们讨论了对披露信息的担忧以及他们感到安全披露信息的时机。
我们提供了学生在考虑披露信息时应考虑的问题，以及对高等教育专业人员和未来研究的建议。
