Autism in higher education: a global contemporary
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
To analyse the global situation of autism in higher education through a bibliometric study, in order to identify research trends, strengths and main barriers documented in the scientific literature. descriptive and quantitative bibliometric study aimed at examining the distribution, structure and characteristics of academic production on autism in the university context. The corpus analysed consisted of 34 documents published between 2006 and 2026 in 27 academic sources, retrieved from specialised databases. The analysis was carried out using the Bibliometrix package of the R environment, allowing the calculation of indicators of scientific production, collaboration between authors, citation and geographical distribution of research. show a late but accelerated growth in scientific production. Between 2006 and 2022, only four publications were recorded; from 2023 onwards, a significant increase was observed, with 76.5% of the documents concentrated between 2024 and 2025. The corpus brings together contributions from 117 authors, with an average of 3.47 co-authors per document, reflecting a trend towards collaborative research. However, an international collaboration rate of 0% was identified, indicating limited global coordination. The main barriers identified in the literature are institutional, pedagogical, evaluative and social in nature. Although scientific interest in autism in higher education has grown significantly in recent years, significant gaps remain in terms of international cooperation, the development of quantitative methodological approaches, and the creation of inclusive university policies that guarantee the retention and academic success of students with autism spectrum disorder.
Downloads
Article Details
Section
How to Cite
References
Ainscow, M., & Booth, T. (2015). Index for inclusion: Developing learning and participation in schools (3rd ed.). Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education.
Aria, M., & Cuccurullo, C. (2017). Bibliometrix: An R-tool for comprehensive science mapping analysis. Journal of Informetrics, 11(4), 959–975. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joi.2017.08.007
Baird, G., Simonoff, E., Pickles, A., Chandler, S., Loucas, T., Meldrum, D., & Charman, T. (2006).
Prevalence of disorders of the autism spectrum in a population cohort of children in South Thames: The Special Needs and Autism Project (SNAP). The Lancet, 368(9531), 210–215. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(06)69041-7 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(06)69041-7
Bakker, T., Krabbendam, L., Bhulai, S., & Begeer, S. (2023). Background and enrollment characteristics of students with autism in higher education. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 100, 102074.
Bakker, T., Krabbendam, L., Bhulai, S., Meeter, M., & Begeer, S. (2023). Predicting academic success of autistic students in higher education. Autism, 27(6), 1803–1816. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613221146439
Botha, M. (2023). Autism, discrimination and masking: Disrupting a recipe for trauma.
Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 44, 799–808. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnu.2023.05.005
Cheriyan, C., et al. (2021). Autism spectrum disorder and higher education: Experiences and implications for inclusive education. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 719827.
Cox, B. E., Edelstein, J., Brogdon, B., & Roy, A. (2021). Navigating challenges to facilitate success for college students with autism. The Journal of Higher Education, 92(2), 252–278. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2020.1798203
Cox, B. E., Thompson, K., Anderson, A., Mintz, A., Locks, T., Morgan, L., Edelstein, J., & Wolz, A.
(2021). College experiences for students with autism spectrum disorder: Personal identity, public disclosure, and institutional support. Journal of College Student Development, 62(1), 49–64. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2021.0003 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2021.0003
De La Peña-Sanabria, I. D., Berdejo Giovanetti, L., Chavarriaga-Ruiz, N., López-Gulfo, D. C.,
Rueda-Manjarez, L. M., Sánchez-Charria, O. D., & Laza, N. (2021). Caracterización de niños y adolescentes con trastornos del espectro autista en Barranquilla, Colombia. Pediatría, 54(2), 63–70. https://doi.org/10.14295/rp.v54i2.244 DOI: https://doi.org/10.14295/rp.v54i2.244
Echeita, G. (2006). Educación para la inclusión o educación sin exclusiones. Narcea.
Florian, L., & Rouse, M. (2009). The inclusive practice project in Scotland: Teacher education for inclusive education. Teaching and Teacher Education, 25(4), 594–601. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2009.02.003
Fukushima, Y., Yajima, Y., & Moriyama, M. (2025). Stigmatizing attitudes toward autistic students: A cross-sectional vignette survey among Japanese university students. Japan Journal of Nursing Science, 22(2), e70008. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jjns.70008
Hillier, A., Goldstein, J., Murphy, D., Trietsch, R., Keeves, J., Mendes, E., & Queenan, A. (2018).
Supporting university students with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 48(3), 732–745. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-017-3351-9
Hu, J., Fu, P., Qiao, S., & Yan, X. (2025). Knowledge and stigma of autism spectrum disorders in Chinese university students in the context of inclusive education. PLoS ONE, 20(6), e0320033. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0320033
Kim, S. A., Baczewski, L., Pizzano, M., Kasari, C., & Sturm, A. (2023). Discrimination and harassment experiences of autistic college students and their neurotypical peers: Risk and protective factors. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 53, 4521–4534. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-022-05729-2
Leydesdorff, L. (2001). The challenge of scientometrics: The development, measurement, and self-organization of scientific communications. Universal Publishers.
O’Connor, M., et al. (2024). Barriers and facilitators to higher education participation for autistic students. Autism in Adulthood. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1089/aut.2022.0053
Parra-Dussan, C. (2011). Educación inclusiva: Un modelo de diversidad humana. Educación y
Desarrollo Social, 5(1), 139–150.
Quigley, E., & Gallagher, T. (2025). Neurodiversity and higher education: Double masking by neurodivergent students. European Journal of Special Needs Education. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/08856257.2025.2511369
Rose, D. H., & Meyer, A. (2002). Teaching every student in the digital age: Universal design for learning. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Santhanam, S. P., et al. (2024). Supporting autistic students in higher education:
Communication and inclusion strategies. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_AJSLP-22-00381 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_AJSLP-22-00381
Tan, D. W., et al. (2024). Experiences of autistic students in higher education: Identity, belonging, and academic challenges. Autism.
UNESCO. (1990). World declaration on education for all and framework for action to meet basic learning needs. UNESCO.
UNESCO. (1994). The Salamanca statement and framework for action on special needs education. UNESCO.
UNESCO. (2000). The Dakar framework for action: Education for all. UNESCO.
Vincent, J. (2024). Academic experiences of autistic students in higher education: Identity, stigma and nclusión. Autism.
World Health Organization. (2023). Autism spectrum disorder. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/autism-spectrum-disorders
Zeidan, J., Fombonne, E., Scorah, J., Ibrahim, A., Durkin, M. S., Saxena, S., Yusuf, A., Shih, A., &
Elsabbagh, M. (2022). Global prevalence of autism: A systematic review update. Autism Research, 15(5), 778–790. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.2696 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.2696