Psychosocial and Computer-Assisted Intervention for College Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Preliminary Support for Feasibility.
Quick autism screens in college reveal hidden students with high anxiety, depression, and possible sound sensitivity who are otherwise slipping through the cracks.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Carter et al. (2016) gave a short online survey to college students. The questions looked for signs of high-functioning autism. Students who scored above the cut-off also answered items about anxiety, depression, and aggression.
The goal was to see how many undergraduates might have undetected HFASD and how they were feeling.
What they found
About one in every 50 to 140 students met the HFASD screen cut-off. These students reported more social anxiety, depression, and aggression than their peers.
In short, autism is easy to miss in college, and missed students are often struggling.
How this fits with other research
Posserud et al. (2013) did something similar with teens. Their 7-item ASSERT survey also caught autism traits quickly, showing that brief self-report tools work across ages.
Andersen et al. (2023) followed autistic youth for ten years. They found that teenage anxiety and depression predicted lower quality of life at age 22. Carter et al. (2016) now show the same problems are already high in college, so the window for help may be even earlier.
Aldakhil et al. (2025) add another layer. Their review found that about one in four autistic people also have misophonia—strong rage or panic at everyday sounds. If a student screens positive for HFASD and reports unusual sound triggers, checking for misophonia could explain extra distress.
Why it matters
College counseling centers rarely screen for autism. Adding a two-minute HFASD screener to routine intake can flag students who need deeper assessment and targeted supports for anxiety, mood, or sensory issues. Early detection can guide accommodations, peer mentoring, and even simple fixes like quiet housing or noise-canceling headphones, improving retention and mental health.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
As more young people are identified with autism spectrum diagnoses without co-occurring intellectual disability (i.e. high-functioning autism spectrum disorder; HFASD), it is imperative that we begin to study the needs of this population. We sought to gain a preliminary estimate of the scope of the problem and to examine psychiatric risks associated HFASD symptoms in university students. In a large sample (n = 667), we examined prevalence of ASD in students at a single university both diagnostically and dimensionally, and surveyed students on other behavioral and psychiatric problems. Dependent upon the ascertainment method, between .7 per cent and 1.9 per cent of college students could meet criteria for HFASD. Of special interest, none of the students who were found to meet diagnostic criteria (n = 5) formally for HFASD in this study had been previously diagnosed. From a dimensional perspective, those students scoring above the clinical threshold for symptoms of autism (n = 13) self-reported more problems with social anxiety than a matched comparison group of students with lower autism severity scores. In addition, symptoms of HFASD were significantly correlated with symptoms of social anxiety, as well as depression and aggression. Findings demonstrate the importance of screening for autism-related impairment among university students.
Education and training in autism and developmental disabilities, 2016 · doi:10.1177/1362361310393363