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ERIC Number: EJ1114863
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016
Pages: 7
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0009-1383
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Student Life on the Autism Spectrum: Helping to Build a More Inclusive Campus
Williams, Lee Burdette
Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, v48 n4 p48-54 2016
A diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder is, in many ways, both the terminus and the beginning of a journey for families and educators. It is such an individual and enigmatic diagnosis that appropriate accommodations are exceedingly difficult to standardize. It is, however, a campus population that is growing each year (Pinder-Amaker, 2014, p. 125), and colleges underestimate its presence to their own detriment. Much in the way that accommodating people who use wheelchairs has made campuses safer and more accessible for everyone, working to improve the experience of students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) benefits the entire campus community. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) strengthens campuses, and in thinking about students with ASD, it is useful to delve a bit deeper into the broader world of response to disabilities, especially UDL. UDL is a set of principles, developed in the 1990s, that acknowledge the different learning styles of students in the classroom and encourages teachers to create flexible approaches to learning that can accommodate many students' learning styles. Educators know that when they create classrooms and learning experiences that accommodate students with documented learning and physical disabilities, they improve the learning of all by also addressing hidden and undiagnosed disabilities (Pisha and Coyne, 2001). This article challenges campuses to provide support and training for their staff and faculty to acquaint them with the issues and opportunities presented by students on the Autism Spectrum. Including this population in the same professional training and development sessions that are typically planned to provide better understanding of international students, veterans, students of color--anyone whose experience may be impacted by "difference"-- is the place to start.
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A