Abstract
The transition into college life can be emotionally challenging for any student and is especially so for students with developmental disabilities, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (NIMH, 2018). This study used semi-structured interviews to explore lived experiences, expectations, and needs of college students with high-functioning autism to understand what contributed to their successful academic transition to college. Examining the lived experiences of college students with autism who made the academic transition to postsecondary education enables the identification of similarities among college students with autism and their coping mechanisms. Smith et al. (2009) contend that individuals can offer a unique perspective on their engagement with phenomena; therefore, for researchers, individuals can become the unit of study (Shinebourne, 2011). The purpose of this phenomenological study was to answer the following research question: What factors promoted a successful postsecondary academic transition experience for college students with autism? This study provided college students with autism an opportunity to shine a light on academic transition issues they may have been impacted by during their freshman year, and to share how they coped. This study was necessary to improve the understanding of issues that have explicitly influenced college students with autism throughout their period of academic transition which enhances their probability of persevering and persisting in college communities. Results of this study, gained through analysis of six participants’ lived experiences of the phenomena of academic transition, provided an understanding that participant definitions of academic success are not monolithic; they vary. Three major themes emerged to help explain the successful academic transition experience of college students with ASD: (a) Academic Support Network, (b) utilizing the Office of Disability Services is Instrumental to Academic Transition and Success, and (3) Use of Technology Tools Facilitates Academic Transition.