Teaching Self-Advocacy Skills to Autistic College Students: An Exploration of Specialized Undergraduate Programs

This study examined how faculty who teach in specialized undergraduate programs for autistic college students approach self-advocacy teaching. Test et al.'s (2005) conceptual framework of self-advocacy was used as a lens to investigate this topic. Through ten semi-structured interviews (faculty in specialized college autism programs), ten themes emerged to address three research questions: (a) supporting students in learning; (b) supporting students in career development; (c) supporting students with executive functioning skills; (d) supporting students with transition skills, (e) family and personal connection; (f) disability studies background; (g) career change; (h) supporting students develop self-awareness skills; (i) supporting students in skills development and (j) supporting students using flexible classroom. The discussions highlight the challenges, approaches, and conceptual implementations of the findings within the broader literature on faculty approaches to students' development of self-advocacy skills. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]