Koops Inga, Duckett Paul, Gerace Adam
College of Psychology, School of Health Medical and Applied Sciences, CQ University, Rockhampton, Australia.
Autism Adulthood. 2025 Aug 11;7(4):403-420. doi: 10.1089/aut.2024.0078. eCollection 2025 Aug.
Participation rates for autistic young adults in higher education are increasing. However, academic outcomes and retention are lower than for neurotypical peers, and mental health and well-being concerns exist for these young people. Universities and colleges must provide inclusive supports that consider the needs of autistic young people and reflect neurodiverse affirming approaches. Our systematic review examined empirical studies of support initiatives for autistic young adults in higher education. We considered initiatives' impact in enhancing psychological well-being, academic achievement and retention, and the extent to which programs were coproduced and informed by an understanding of autistic culture and individual experiences.
Our review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis standards of systematic review. Studies conducted between 2013 and 2023 that investigated programs for autistic young adults in university and examined psychological well-being, academic achievement, or retention were eligible for inclusion. Sixteen studies met the inclusion criteria. We critically appraised those studies using the Joanna Briggs Institute tool and assessed the support initiatives for quality following the Australasian Society for Autism Research criteria.
The most prevalent support programs for autistic young adults in higher education were mentoring initiatives. Multimodal interventions adopted a psychosocial focus, with primary aims of developing social, organizational, and empathic listening skills. Participants in mentoring programs demonstrated increases in well-being and academic outcomes, including participants' feelings of connection, belonging, and academic self-efficacy. Multimodal interventions showed reductions in areas such as anxiety and loneliness, and improvements in self-esteem.
The support programs we identified in this review demonstrated positive effects for autistic young people's well-being, academic achievement, and retention. Mentoring interventions were beneficial and focused on individual strengths, interests, and challenges of autistic individuals. Our recommendation for future research and support initiatives is to tailor programs to the individual needs of autistic university students, using codesign principles and focusing on environmental and systemic changes to enhance their full participation in higher education.
高等教育中自闭症青年的参与率正在上升。然而，他们的学业成绩和留校率低于神经典型同龄人，这些年轻人还存在心理健康和幸福感方面的问题。大学和学院必须提供包容性支持，考虑自闭症青年的需求，并体现神经多样性肯定方法。我们的系统评价考察了高等教育中针对自闭症青年的支持举措的实证研究。我们考虑了这些举措在增强心理健康、学业成绩和留校率方面的影响，以及项目在多大程度上是共同产生的，并基于对自闭症文化和个人经历的理解。
我们的评价遵循系统评价的《系统评价和Meta分析优先报告项目》标准。2013年至2023年期间进行的研究，若调查了大学中针对自闭症青年的项目并考察了心理健康、学业成绩或留校率，则有资格纳入。16项研究符合纳入标准。我们使用乔安娜·布里格斯研究所工具对这些研究进行了严格评价，并根据澳大利亚自闭症研究协会标准评估了支持举措的质量。
高等教育中针对自闭症青年最普遍的支持项目是指导举措。多模式干预采用心理社会视角，主要目标是培养社交、组织和共情倾听技能。指导项目的参与者在幸福感和学业成绩方面有所提高，包括参与者的联系感、归属感和学业自我效能感。多模式干预显示在焦虑和孤独等方面有所减少，自尊有所提高。
我们在本评价中确定的支持项目对自闭症青年的幸福感、学业成绩和留校率产生了积极影响。指导干预是有益的，且关注自闭症个体的个人优势、兴趣和挑战。我们对未来研究和支持举措的建议是，使用共同设计原则，根据自闭症大学生的个体需求定制项目，并关注环境和系统变化，以提高他们在高等教育中的充分参与度。
