Learning from the experts: Evaluating a participatory autism and universal design training for university educators.
A 60-minute online class co-taught by autistic scholars lifts professors’ autism acceptance and universal-design use for at least a month.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Diemer et al. (2023) asked autistic and non-autistic scholars to build a one-hour online class together.
They gave the class to university professors. Pre-test, post-test, and one-month check measured how the teachers viewed autism and universal design.
What they found
After the hour, professors understood autism better and valued it more.
Most of the gain stayed a month later.
How this fits with other research
Kim et al. (2024) looked at 26 quick autism stigma lessons and called most of them weak. The new study answers that call by adding autistic co-teachers and longer follow-up.
Someki et al. (2018) ran a 30-minute online lesson for college students and also cut stigma. The 2023 work moves the same idea up to the people who teach those students.
van 't Hof et al. (2021) gave Dutch doctors live online autism training. Knowledge rose, yet referrals did not. The professor study adds universal-design tips that teachers can use right away, showing online staff training can change both views and classroom plans.
Why it matters
You can copy this cheap, one-hour model for your own college clients or staff in-services. Invite autistic adults as co-trainers, record the session, and keep the slides. One month later, quiz again to be sure the new mindset sticks.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Autistic university students have many strengths. They also go through difficulties that professors may not understand. Professors may not understand what college life is like for autistic students. They might judge autistic students. A team of autistic and non-autistic researchers made a training to help professors understand autistic students better. This training also gave professors ideas to help them teach all of their students. Ninety-eight professors did an online survey before the autism training. They shared how they felt about autism and teaching. Before our training, professors who knew more about autism appreciated autism more. Professors who thought people should be equal and women also appreciated autism more. Then, 89 of the professors did our training and another survey after the training. This helped us see what they learned from the training. They did one more survey a month later. This helped us see what they remembered. Our training helped professors understand and value autism. It also helped them understand how they can teach all students better. The professors remembered a lot of what we taught them. This study shows that a training that autistic people helped make can help professors understand their autistic students better.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2023 · doi:10.1177/13623613221097207