Supporting Autistic Student Success Initiative (SASSI)

Supporting Autistic Students Success Initiative (SASSI)

Welcome to SASSI

About Supporting Autistic Students Success Initiative (SASSI)

Autistic students may want and benefit from specialized supports to be successful in their college career and beyond. In a collaborative and interprofessional way, SASSI provides information to faculty and staff and offers a support- and strengths-based program for autistic students at St. Cloud State University. SASSI is funded by a Minnesota State Innovation Grant.

SASSI Offers

Weekly meetings and/or individualized meetings for autistic and other neurodivergent students to support belonging and navigation of university life, addressing social-communication competence, executive functions, self-advocacy, independence, and more.
Educating faculty, staff, and students about the strengths and unique learning and sensory needs of autistic students through workshops, consultations, and special events.
Evaluation and research to assess the success and sustainability of the 2021-2022 SASSI programs.
An advisory board focused on community engagement and ongoing partnerships with other St. Cloud State University programs and departments.
Current and future collaborations with other campus departments.

Have a Question?

Send us an email at csd@stcloudstate.edu.

Dive into SASSI

Collaborations

Current and Future Collaborations

Student Accessibility Services
CSD SLH Clinic: Speech-language pathologists address executive functioning skills, social-communication competence, reading comprehension, and auditory processing.
SCSU Career Center – Employment exploration and preparedness.
Advising Center
Student Success Coaches
Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)
Residential Life
Office of Equity and Accessibility
Huskies First Four – Summer orientation program to ease the transition to college life.
Creating sensory-friendly events and spaces.

Person- or Identity-First Language

At SASSI, we intentionally use both person-first (e.g., a student with autism) and identity-first (e.g., an autistic student) language to acknowledge the diverse perspectives and preferences related to one's relationship with autism.

We recognize that there are diverse perspectives and preferences about the language used to address or refer to individuals with autism—person-first versus identity-first. If you would like to explore these personal choices further, here are links you may be interested in: Autistic Self Advocacy Network Identity-First Language and National Aging and Disability Transportation Center Person-First and Identity-First Language Choices .

Latest News in Neurodiversity

Employability Skills for Autistic Students and Graduates

SASSI wants to make you aware of a free online employment course for autistic university/college students that is hosted on Udemy! Users will be asked to make a Udemy account when visiting Employability Skills for Autistic Students and Graduates to access it.

It consists of a range of short narrated videos with downloadable resources to support learning and will take between 2-4 hours to complete. Topics include:

Knowing yourself and your autism
Planning your career path
Sharing your diagnosis
Reasonable adjustments
The interview process

It has been developed using a participatory model in collaboration with autistic experts Carl Cameron (Matthew’s Hub) and Helen Attwood (Living Autism); careers consultants Keren Coney (Liverpool John Moore University) and Edmund Lewis (LSE) from UK universities; and researchers including myself and Dr. Brett Heasman.

While it has a UK flavor to it, much of the advice and many of the resources transcend national boundaries and would be relevant to any autistic person seeking to develop their employment skills. Please do share it with students/graduates and networks via email, Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn. If you would like to know more, visit the website.

Neurodiversity Is Diversity

AAC&U — I teach at Landmark College, a private liberal arts institution located in Putney, Vermont, which is designed exclusively for students who learn differently, including those with learning disabilities (such as dyslexia), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and autism. My neurodivergent students often share stories of stigma that made them feel like they did not belong in school.

More News

MINNovation Interview: Supporting Autistic Student Success with Dr. Teri Estrem

SASSI's Dr. Theresa Estrem and her work with SASSI is featured on the MINNovation Podcast. Estrem is a professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders where she teaches, provides clinical education to graduate students, and conducts research focused on autism, early childhood, and culturally and linguistically diverse clients.