Background

Autistic people are known to experience more mental health issues than non-autistic people, and the same is true among university students. These difficulties can have long-term consequences, such as dropping out of university and unemployment. Understanding the challenges autistic students face can help institutions to better support this group, while allowing celebration of the opportunities higher education offers.

Methods

12 autistic university students took part in semi-structured interviews about their mental health, the impact of university on their mental health, and their experiences of support while in higher education. Interviews were subject to thematic analysis.

Results

Three key themes were identified from autistic student accounts: Relationships, Independence, and Support. While each of these encompassed positive and negative elements, Relationships were described as tying everything together – when these were supportive, things went well, but when they were characterized by stigmatizing attitudes, students experienced much greater difficulties at university.

Conclusions

Autistic students can and do thrive at university, as shown by many of our participants. However, all faced significant challenges with their mental health at times, and experienced varying levels of support. Improving autism knowledge among staff, with emphasis on enabling better relationships, would make a significant difference to the autistic student experience.

中文翻译：

---

“我对自己的生活有了更多的控制权”：对自闭症大学生的挑战、机遇和支持需求的定性探索

背景

众所周知，自闭症患者比非自闭症患者经历更多的心理健康问题，大学生也是如此。这些困难可能会产生长期后果，例如辍学和失业。了解自闭症学生面临的挑战可以帮助机构更好地支持这一群体，同时也可以庆祝高等教育提供的机会。

方法

12 名自闭症大学生参加了半结构式访谈，内容涉及他们的心理健康、大学对他们心理健康的影响以及他们在高等教育期间获得支持的经历。访谈要进行主题分析。

结果

从自闭症学生的叙述中确定了三个关键主题：关系、独立和支持。虽然其中每一个都包含积极和消极的因素，但关系被描述为将一切联系在一起——当这些因素具有支持性时，事情进展顺利，但当它们以污名化的态度为特征时，学生在大学里会遇到更大的困难。

结论

正如我们的许多参与者所证明的那样，自闭症学生可以而且确实在大学里茁壮成长。然而，所有人有时都面临着心理健康方面的重大挑战，并获得了不同程度的支持。提高员工对自闭症的认识，强调建立更好的关系，将对自闭症学生的体验产生重大影响。