College Success for Students on the Autism Spectrum: A Neurodiversity Perspective by S. Jay Kuder, Amy Accardo, and John Woodruff (review)

Abstract

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Reviewed by:

• College Success for Students on the Autism Spectrum: A Neurodiversity Perspective by S. Jay Kuder, Amy Accardo, and John Woodruff
• Michael J. Kutnak

College Success for Students on the Autism Spectrum: A Neurodiversity Perspective S. Jay Kuder, Amy Accardo, and John Woodruff Sterling, VA: Stylus, 2021, 197 pages, $35 (softcover)

College Success for Students on the Autism Spectrum: A Neurodiversity Perspective (2021) by S. Jay Kuder, Amy Accardo, and John Woodruff offers higher education professionals a guide for supporting the success of autistic students. Autism is a developmental disability where individuals show significant deficits in social interaction and/or restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior (Kuder et al., 2021). "Neurodiversity refers to the diversity of human brains and to recognizing brain differences as natural human variation" (p. 5). Here, the label neurodiversity "encompasses individuals who are labeled with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, and Tourette syndrome, as well as those individuals who have a hearing, vision, or psychiatric disability" (p. 5). Using personal stories, research, and highlights of current programs, the authors provide various considerations for improving the way student affairs professionals and faculty members serve autistic and other neurodiverse students in higher education. The authors "encourage a neurodiversity paradigm that shifts the focus from 'fixing' autistic students, so they better fit the college mold to universal university planning that expects and welcomes diversity, including neurodiversity" (p. 172). Throughout the book, Kuder and colleagues "use the terms on the autism spectrum and autistic interchangeably … to show acceptance of both professional use of person-first language and the preference of autistic self-advocates for identify-first language" (p. 3). I (Kutnak) will do the same for this review.

The authors make plain what is known to those working in the field: Resources across campus must work together in collaboration with disability services to provide more individualized services for students on the autism spectrum. The authors argue that faculty members and functional units across academic and student affairs cannot operate in silos; they must communicate openly and often with each other in support of this population. As a former Interim Director of Student Accessibility Services and now as a current faculty member, the authors point out how I, and other student affairs faculty members and practitioners, can better serve the needs of autistic students by designing courses and advising sessions intentionally to address challenges faced by this population. The authors "urge faculty and staff to consider areas in which the college or university can adapt with a wider focus on how to truly integrate neurodivergent students into college communities" (p. 172). For faculty and staff members with little training or experience working with autistic populations, this book serves as a good primer.

Kuder and colleagues explain in Chapter 1 that in shifting to a neurodiversity paradigm, faculty and staff members view all neurological diversity "as natural" (p. 6) and can incorporate that viewpoint into planning for curricular and cocurricular programming. All metrics indicate that increasing numbers of autistic and neurodiverse students attend college every year (Kuder et al., 2021). By shifting how faculty and staff view non-neurotypical students, institutional [End Page 117] agents will be better prepared to serve this growing population of students. Like the removal of physical barriers that hinder individuals with physical disabilities, the neurodiversity movement seeks to remove barriers (both physical and procedural) that hinder individuals who are non-neurotypical. The neurodiversity movement does not seek to change the individual learner or make them "normal." Rather, the movement seeks to change the environments and contexts in which that individual operates (Kuder et al., 2021).

Throughout Chapter 2, the authors detail the challenges and characteristics of autism that impact the college experience. The authors note that autistic college students show needs in academic areas, such as reading comprehension and written expression. In nonacademic areas, students on the autism spectrum show needs related to change management, social skills, mental health, and management of sensory information and overload. Parental involvement, self-determination, and goal implementation are all factors promoting success, while mental health concerns, poor study habits, and a lack of appropriate social skills present obstacles.

According to Chapter 3, student disability services, advising, academic...