Working Group Update: Supporting College Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders

November 1, 2012
By Autism Society

The Autism Society and the West Virginia Autism Training Center (WV ATC) at Marshall University joined at the 2012 Autism Society Conference and Exhibition to conduct a day-long, pre-conference workshop focused on the support of college students diagnosed with ASD. Representatives from Nova Southeastern University and Virginia Commonwealth University were in attendance.

Dr. Barbara Becker-Cottrill, Marc Ellison, Rebecca Hansen, and Jackie Clark from the WV ATC discussed the creation and development of Marshall University’s support program, which now serves 45 students. Research highlighting the challenges faced by traditional disability services in higher education to support this population was shared with the group, along with strategies and techniques known to be most effective. Dr. Kristy Ellison, a community-based clinical psychologist, shared her findings on the reasons students diagnosed with Asperger’s Disorder use campus-based mental health services. Bruce Walker, JD., General Counsel for the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission answered legal questions for the group via Skype.

Staff of the WV ATC hope this pre-conference workshop can continue annually so that this service model, or a similar model, may be implemented at other institutions of higher learning, giving students diagnosed with ASD a broader choice of college options as a result.