2025/06/18 by Brett Ranon Nachman, Karly B. Isaacson, Bradley E. Cox +1 · 1 voice
Neuroscience · Psychology · Social Sciences · #Autism Spectrum Disorder Research #Disability Education and Employment #Family and Disability Support Research
paper · pdf · doi:10.1080/00221546.2025.2497184
openalex publication_date 2025/06/18 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/21
Finding community is often a pivotal component of the college experience. With autistic students on the rise across higher education, an opportunity exists to discover how this marginalized community uniquely builds relationships, especially given the nuances associated with their communication and ways of finding like-minded individuals. This phenomenological study explores how autistic college students foster social connectedness with the goal of understanding how higher education may better support this unique student population. We conducted interviews with 43 autistic undergraduate college students, as part of a larger nationwide study on autistic college student success. Our findings illuminate three ways autistic college students foster social connectedness: engaging in autistic spaces, practicing autistic authenticity, and bonding over shared interests. We build on the theoretical model of belonging for college students with disabilities by showing the importance of modality, vulnerability, and niche outlets as helping foster connection among autistic college students. We encourage practitioners to build more clubs and affinity spaces for autistic students to connect, which may prompt researchers to explore how particular settings help autistic students in building bonds.