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Autism Symptoms, Executive Functioning and Academic Progress in Higher Education Students
Renée Dijkhuis1,2, Leo de Sonneville1,2, Tim Ziermans1,3,4
1Department of Clinical Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
|January 16, 2020
Summary
Executive functioning (EF) difficulties predict academic setbacks for college students with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Improving daily self-reported and performance-based EF may enhance academic success and reduce dropout rates in this population.
Area of Science:
- Neurodevelopmental Disorders
- Cognitive Psychology
- Higher Education Studies
Background:
- Students with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) experience high rates of premature dropout in higher education.
- Executive functioning (EF) is crucial for academic success but is often impaired in individuals with ASDs.
- Understanding predictors of academic progress is vital for supporting students with ASDs in university settings.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the predictive value of self-reported daily executive functioning (EF) and performance-based EF on academic progress in young adults with ASD.
- To determine if EF measures can improve the prediction of academic success beyond autism symptom severity.
- To identify EF as a potential target for early interventions aimed at improving academic outcomes for higher education students with ASD.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of 54 young adults diagnosed with ASDs (mean age 22.5 years, 72% male) participated in the study.
- Academic progress was assessed, alongside self-reported daily executive functioning and performance-based measures of mental flexibility and working memory.
- Regression analyses were employed to examine the variance in academic progress explained by autism symptom severity and different EF measures.
Main Results:
- Autism symptom severity alone accounted for 12% of the variance in academic progress.
- Adding self-reported daily EF to the model increased the explained variance to 36%.
- Incorporating performance-based EF measures (mental flexibility, working memory) raised the explained variance to 25%.
Conclusions:
- Executive functioning (EF) is a significant predictor of academic progress for higher education students with ASD.
- Both self-reported daily EF and performance-based EF are valuable indicators of academic success.
- EF represents a promising candidate marker for academic progress and a potential target for early intervention strategies in students with ASDs.
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