Characteristics of Two-Year College Students on the Autism Spectrum and Their Support Services Experiences
Table 1
Demographic and disability characteristics of students on the autism spectrum across postsecondary education outcomes. Percentage (95% confidence interval), test for difference versus the 2-year college column.
2-year college
4-year college
Vocational/technical school
No postsecondary education
Male
84.5 (76.7, 92.4)
88.1 (75.8, 100)
84.2 (68.5, 99.9)
85.8 (81.8, 89.7)
Hispanic ethnicity
2.4 (0, 5.2)
4.2 (3.4, 5.0)
5.2 (0, 11.1)
12.1 (4.3, 19.9)
Race
White
85.3 (79.6, 90.9)
73.9 (63.0, 84.8)
69.3 (57.0, 81.5)
54.8 (45.9, 63.7)
Black
8.3 (4.3, 12.2)
21.9 (11.4, 32.4)
15.8 (4.8, 26.8)
25.9 (22.7, 29.2)
Other race
6.4 (2.0, 10.9)
4.2 (3.0, 4.5)
14.9 (4.9, 24.9)
19.3 (10.3, 28.2)
Either parent attended any postsecondary education
92.7 (87.2, 98.3)
100 (100, 100)
78.5 (58.6, 98.3)
66.5 (60.0, 73.0)
Parent or guardian household income
Up to $25,000
12.1 (4.4, 19.7)
8.8 (2.3, 15.2)
11.0 (5.2, 16.8)
24.8 (19.1, 30.5)
$25,001–$50,000
19.4 (10.1, 28.7)
15.3 (2.6, 27.9)
32.1 (14.1, 49.7)
27.9 (22.3, 33.5)
$50,001–$75,000
47.1 (37.5, 56.8)
28.9 (15.2, 42.7)
28.5 (7.6, 49.3)
35.1 (28.9, 41.4)
More than $75,000
21.4 (14.8, 28.1)
47.0 (28.4, 65.6)
28.5 (11.2, 45.8)
12.1 (7.9, 16.3)
Characteristics of youth during high school
How well youth converses
Has a lot of trouble or not able to converse at all
38.5 (25.7, 51.4)
10.9 (7.3, 14.4)
39.3 (18.1, 60.5)
63.5 (54.7, 72.2)
Little trouble
52.1 (39.5, 64.7)
61.5 (48.7, 74.3)
35.4 (17.6, 53.1)
30.4 (22.4, 38.3)
No trouble
9.4 (4.6, 14.1)
27.7 (13.9, 41.4)
25.4 (4.8, 45.9)
6.2 (2.8, 9.5)
Counts change pretty or very well
64.6 (43.4, 85.7)
97.1 (90.4, 100)
64.2 (49.0, 79.4)
36.8 (30.0, 43.7)
Gets to places outside the home pretty or very well
85.7 (78.6, 92.8)
82.8 (74.2, 91.5)
61.5 (47.3, 75.8)
43.9 (35.0, 52.9)
Parent expected youth to probably or definitely attend postsecondary school
60.9 (48.0, 73.7)
84.8 (80.6, 89.1)
53.5 (30.7, 76.2)
16.5 (10.6, 22.4)
Any extracurricular activities
93.8 (89.8, 97.7)
90.3 (85.3, 95.3)
74.4 (58.6, 90.1)
58.5 (52.0, 65.0)
Participated in IEP or transition planning during high school (student provided some input or took leadership)
65.5 (55.6, 75.4)
82.7 (74.5, 90.9)
50.5 (31.0, 70.1)
33.4 (27.6, 39.2)
Note: source: National Longitudinal Transition Study-2, Waves 1 and 5. Weighted to population levels. Variances adjusted for sampling method. Logistic regression analysis used 2-year college as the referent group; , , and .
