Supporting Autistic Students Success Initiative (SASSI)
Resources for Faculty and Staff
There are many ways to support autistic students! Check out some of our favorite resources to learn about college students with autism, relate your concerns to the underlying reasons, and build skills in supporting them for success in college.
Videos
- Ask an Autistic YouTube Episodes, about autism, explained by a young woman with autism. Twenty-six 10-15 minute episodes including "What is Autism?" "What is stimming?" "What shouldn't I say to autistic people?" "What is passing?" and more!
- Autism 101: Autism Cultural Responsiveness for Improved Interactions: a video by Sara Sanders Gardner via Stairway to STEM.
- Autism Cultural Responsiveness at School, Primary, Secondary, and Post-Secondary Students, a 60-minute video presented by Sara Sanders Gardner, Bellevue College.
- Stairway to STEM: Resources for autistic students who are transitioning from high school to college, particularly in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields.
- College Experiences for Students with ASD: Personal Identity, Public Disclosure, and Institutional Support. A 2017 research article based on personal interviews with a diverse group of autistic students that (a) amplifies these students’ voices, (b) describes tensions between their public and private identities, (c) outlines academic, social, emotional, self-advocacy, and communication challenges many face in college, and (d) proposes both general principles and specific practices that could be leveraged to facilitate college success for autistic students. By Cox, Mintz , Locks, Morgan, Edelstein, & Wolz.
- Inclusive Hiring Decoded: Video sponsored by Microsoft; speaker Sara Sanders Gardner.
Resources and Training
- Neurodiverse/Autism Resources Module: Students with Autism in the College Classroom: Module to assist post-secondary faculty and administration in understanding the characteristics and needs of a person with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). This module aims to provide information on how the disability manifests and how it impacts the student throughout their college careers. In addition, it discusses strategies for providing support to the student.
- Supporting Students with LD and ASD during their Transition to Postsecondary Education: Module developed by the Health Resource Center at the National Youth Resource Center to assist direct service providers and university staff/faculty to understand supports and accommodations that benefit students with LD and ASD in college.
- Autism Career Empowerment (ACE): A website that provides resources and training for college faculty and staff to provide autistic students with effective career counseling for employment success.
