The Prevalence of Autism Among College Students in the United States

How prevalent is autism in higher education? Research to date has not specifically addressed this seemingly straightforward question. Yet, an answer may be critical to the advancement of research, policy, and practice related to autistic students in higher education. This paper addresses three related but distinct questions about autistic students’ college enrollment within the United States: 1) What percentage of autistic high school students go on to college? 2) What percentage of students registered with their postsecondary institutions’ Disability Services Offices are autistic? 3) What percentage of enrolled undergraduates are autistic? To answer these questions, we examined more than 700 publications, reviewed more than a dozen common survey instruments used at postsecondary institutions, and pulled data from several federal datasets. We assessed each of these sources and synthesized their findings to generate a range of estimates regarding the prevalence of autism in higher education. Considering only those studies for which we held moderate or high confidence regarding the quality and generalizability of their data, the best available evidence suggests 42.9% – 47.0% of high school students with autism continue on to college and 2.8% – 4.0% of college students registered with their schools’ Disability Service Offices are autistic. Ultimately, our calculations suggest there are likely between 84,896 and 213,598 autistic undergraduates currently attending college in the United States. These estimates can be used by researchers, policymakers, and educators to highlight the importance of attending to the interests, needs, experiences, and outcomes for autistic students.