Multifaceted Exploration of Disability Support Offices in Higher Education Institutions

Abstract

Many autistic students enrolled in colleges/universities, who are academically qualified for admission, experience difficulties adjusting to their college life. Disability support offices (DSOs) of higher education institutions (HEIs) assume the responsibility of providing supports to autistic students, but many DSOs lack the resources to cater to the varied needs of these students. To gain a nuanced understanding, this set of three studies explores contextual factors around DSOs that may influence autistic students’ experiences with DSOs and their perspectives about available DSO support. In Study 1, DSO websites of 12 US HEIs were examined using multimodal discourse analysis, and the study revealed that DSO websites share genre features with advertisements. DSO websites advertised the services they provide in efforts to ‘brand’ their institution. This commodification of DSO supports raises concerns because accommodations given to students with disabilities should be understood as their legal rights rather than sellable products. In Study 2, a nationwide sample of 153 DSO staff members completed a battery of online surveys to determine significant predictors of their attitudes and knowledge about autism. The quality of previous contact was shown to be associated with social distance, openness, and knowledge about autism, and several institutional variables significantly predicted staff members’ attitudes and knowledge about autism. Lastly, in Study 3, 27 autistic undergraduate students were interviewed about their experiences with DSOs, and their responses were qualitatively analyzed using a generic inductive approach. Students reported on their general perceptions of DSOs, decisions about not receiving DSO supports, and their perception of ways that DSOs could support them better. Together, the findings of the three studies inform the work of DSOs in developing appropriate systems that support autistic students to successfully navigate college. Developing service provision systems that comprehensively address these issues reported by autistic students should be a collective institutional responsibility to increase autism awareness and acceptance on college campuses and make online and physical space accessible for autistic students.