Meeting Needs at The University Level for Students with Autism The Second Aspect Autism in Education Conference The Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre 5–6 May 2016 Hanan Almasoud 1, PhD researcher, University of Exeter Professor Jane Seale 2, Professor of Education, Open University 06/05/20161

Outline  The study background and objectives.  The research methods and stages, the preliminary findings and their interpretations and limitations.  Next steps in data collection and this research’s ultimate contribution. 06/05/20162

Study background  I met Ahmad Almkinsi and his father in August  Ahmad had been excluded from Saudi universities for four years due to the stigma associated with his autism diagnosis. 06/05/2016 Ahmad Almkinsi Ahmad’s father

Study background In addition to the stigma, other factors led to his exclusion:  A lack of transition services.  A lack of inclusion policies and regulations in higher education.  A lack of autism-specific services at Saudi universities (Almasoud, 2013). 06/05/20164

Study background  A place for Ahmad at a Saudi university.  Ahmad had a significant need for coordinated transition planning (Almasoud, 2013).  Ahmad developed meaningful relationships at the college.  He has won awards for his distinct achievements in his course.  Ahmad has been offered a place for a master’s degree. 06/05/20165

Study background  This case study provided insights into the challenges autistic students face accessing higher education and in the provision of support in these settings.  Within the months after Ahmad’s admission a support system for autistic students was established at two public Saudi universities. 06/05/20166

Research aims 06/05/20167

Research aims  Understand how accessibility services for autistic students are organised in the United Kingdom compared to Saudi Arabia. This comparison will identify gaps and give a clearer picture of current higher education practices.  Assess disability-services staff members’ awareness of autism as a condition and of the needs of autistic students.  Explore service providers’ views of the current services and the improvement and enhancement of services.  Develop a person-centred model of provision for university autistic students. 06/05/20168

Research sample: Saudi Arabia  purposive sampling.  Ten universities were chosen. Two have established autism- specific services, while eight offer generic services for disabled students. 06/05/20169

Research sample: United Kingdom  A list of UK universities was obtained from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) for the 2013–2014 academic year.  This list identifies 153 universities which had autistic students that year. The number of autistic students at each university ranged from one to /05/201610

Research design: Comparative study  The UK universities were compared to the Saudi universities.  Two UK universities with autism-specific support were compared to the only two Saudi universities which have autism- specific services.  Eight UK universities (Out of the HESA list) will be compared to the eight Saudi universities which have generic disability services. 06/05/201611

Research phases The research has three phases:  Phase one: documentary analysis to understand how disability services for autistic students are organised in the United Kingdom compared to Saudi Arabia.  Phase two: a survey to measure disability-services staff members’ awareness of autism as a condition and of the needs of autistic students.  Phase three: Interviews to explore service providers’ views of current services and the improvement and enhancement of these services. 06/05/201612

Research phase 1 Phase one: documentary analysis  I analysed documents from two Saudi and two UK universities which have autism-specific provisions and compared their support and services for autistic students.  The analysis entailed selecting relevant parts from various documents,  The analytical units were paragraphs and sentences.  I translated the relevant parts of the Arabic documents into English. 06/05/201613

The study’s limitations  It lacks generalisability due to the nature of the sample and the research design. 06/05/201614

Preliminary findings Themes 1. Developing individual learning plans6. Supportive faculty 2. Academic support7. Continuous training for faculty and staff 3. Assistive technology8. Developing autism research 4. Financial aid9. Awareness campaign 5. Personal support10. Support groups for autistic students 06/05/ themes about basic services for university students with autism emerged:

Preliminary findings  None of the four universities expressed all of the ten themes in their documentation.  Table 1 in the next slide shows the gaps in services at each university. 06/05/201616

06/05/ Saudi university A (male)Saudi university A (female) Saudi university B (male) Saudi university B (female) UK university AUK university B ILP ILP Financial aid Financial aid Academic support Assistive technology Personal support Personal support Supportive faculty Supportive faculty Offering training Offering training Offering training Research Raising awareness Autism support group Total: 7/10 Total: 6/10Total: 4/10Total: 8/10Total: 7/10

Interpretation of findings  I adopted the classification developed by Freedman (2010) to understand the philosophies that underpin the organisation of services for autistic students at these universities. First level: Basic generic level of services as required by law. Second level: Basic generic level of support and some autism specific- services, such as peer tutoring and referrals to other agencies in the community, for additional costs. Third level: All the services in the first two levels and more coordinated and comprehensive support, such as accessible social groups, which are either included in tuition or are fee based. 06/05/201618

Interpretation of findings  The coding of the paragraphs and sentences in the university documents indicated the level of the philosophical approach adopted by each Saudi and UK university.  Saudi university A offers services at the second level of Freedman’s (2010) classification.  Saudi University B is classified in the first level of Freedman’s model.  Both UK universities offer the third level of support according to Freedman’s (2010) classification. 06/05/201619

Interpretation of findings Examples of challenges:  How can universities at level one of Freedman’s classification meet the needs of autistic students? Can they adjust their generic services to meet these students’ needs? Can they meet their legal obligations towards autistic students when they offer only this level of support?  How can universities at level two of Freedman’s classification offer more autism services? How can they offer these serves at low or no cost?  How can universities at level three of Freedman’s classification make good use of the free resources that may exist in the local community to support these students? How can universities reduce the cost of services? 06/05/201620

Interpretation of findings  Table 1 shows another important result from the data analysis.  Social support ranks as the least common service at these four universities, whereas academic support is the most common service. 06/05/201621

06/05/ Saudi university A (male)Saudi university A (female) Saudi university B (male) Saudi university B (female) UK university AUK university B ILP ILP Financial aid Financial aid Academic support Assistive technology Personal support Personal support Supportive faculty Supportive faculty Offering training Offering training Offering training Research Raising awareness Autism support group Total: 7/10 Total: 6/10Total: 4/10Total: 8/10Total: 7/10

Interpretation of findings  According to the autism literature, university students with autism need more social support than academic support. Zeedyk et al (2014: 4) reports that ‘these students are academically on par with or above their peers in terms of grasping college-level curriculum and are primarily seeking social and organisational support.’  However, the findings of the present study show that, in practice, this is not the case. 06/05/201623

What is next?  The next two phases of this research will:  Measure disability-services staff members’ awareness of autism as a condition and of the needs of autistic students (survey).  Explore service providers’ views of current services and their improvement and enhancement (interview). 06/05/201624

What is next? Second phase: The questionnaire  The questionnaire has an introduction.  Five sections and 34 items.  The first section enquires about participants’ personal information. Section two aims to measure staff members’ level of autism awareness. Section three is intended to identify the features that influence staff members’ level of autism awareness. Section four aims to measure the level of awareness of the specific needs of autistic students. Finally, section five is designed to collect contact information from participants who wish to take part in individual interviews. 06/05/201625

What is next? Second phase: The questionnaire  Thirteen different literature sources were used.  I translated the survey into Arabic myself.  I made it into an online questionnaire using SurveyMonkey.  I created two online versions of the survey.  SurveyMonkey can also analyse the quantitative data  The qualitative data will be analysed by NVivo 10.  The survey will be ed to the heads of the disability services centres, who will pass it onto staff members. 06/05/201626

What is next? Third phase: Interviews  The questions for the heads of disability services centres cover the following topics: - Staff members’ training needs. - Frequency of workshops and training sessions. - Inclusion policies. - Assessment and diagnosis services. -Collaboration with other universities.  Changes made to make the university able to include students with disabilities and autism.  Improvements to provide further support for autistic students. 06/05/201627

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Thank you for your kind attention  Contact details:  Authors: Hanan Almasoud 1 Professor Jane Seale 2  Supervisors: Professor Hazel Lawson 1 Dr. Susan Jones 2 06/05/201629

References Almasoud, H, (2013). Accessing higher education in Saudi Arabia: Opportunities and challenges for students with autism spectrum conditions. STORIES: Students’ Ongoing Research In Education Studies. Oxford, 12 March Birmingham: University of Birmingham Freedman, S. (2010). Developing college skills in students with autism and Asperger’s syndrome. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers Zeedyk, S., Tipton, L. A. and Blacher, J. (2014) ‘Educational supports for high functioning youth with ASD: The postsecondary pathway to college’, Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities 06/05/201630