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Students and academic stuff attitudes towards students with autism spectrum disorder (Master thesis)

Παπαδανιήλ, Αριστείδης/ Papadaniil, Aristeidis

Although a growing number of young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) enroll in higher education, many of them often drop out early. A significant number of students with ASD highlight the lack of support from the university services. The purpose of this study is to explore the attitudes of students and academic staff towards students with ASD in higher education and to ex-plore possible correlations with demographic and other variables (e.g. gender, age, income etc.). The survey involved 264 participants (207 students, 57 members of academic staff), who completed the Societal Attitudes Towards Autism (SATA), Multidimensional Attitudes Scale (MAS) and Openness Scale questionnaires. Gender, income and school influenced attitudes, according to scores on some questionnaires. Female gender, median monthly family income and polytechnic school are associated with more positive attitudes. Furthermore, members of the academic staff seem to adopt more posi-tive behavioral intentions compared to students. Previous contact with a person with ASD does not seem to result in more positive attitudes. Most participants express both the willingness to support students with ASD and the need for awareness about the disorder. Research focusing on students with ASD in higher education is very limited, especially in Greece. Thus, this study creates an appropriate framework for the design and application of personalized support programs for students with ASD, as it highlights both the need and the fertile ground for their implementation.