Are We There Yet? An Emerging Research Agenda for College Students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.

Brady (2021) is not a lab study. It is a position paper that maps what we still need to know about college programs for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The author scanned the field and built a research agenda. The goal is to move campus supports from good intentions to solid evidence.

The paper finds a patchwork of programs but almost no coordinated research. We do not know which supports actually help students finish school, find jobs, or make friends.

In short, the field is still driving without a map.

Hu et al. (2021) and Kim et al. (2021) supply real-world data that fit inside the new agenda. Qin shows counseling centers are flooded with autistic students yet lack ASD-trained staff. Yoon lets autistic students speak: they want offices that know autism and offer quick, tailored help.

Titlestad et al. (2019) adds a shopping list of what students with ASD actually use—note takers, quiet rooms, and one-to-one coaches. Together these three studies give early answers to questions the agenda says we must ask.

Carter (2010) sounded a similar alarm eleven years earlier, calling for IDD services that balance choice and public dollars. Brady (2021) narrows the focus to college settings, showing the conversation has moved from generic adult services to specific campus supports.

If you help students with IDD, you now have a checklist of gaps to watch: Does your campus collect outcome data? Do staff know the diagnoses they serve? Are student voices guiding program tweaks? Use the agenda to argue for small pilot studies—track graduation, employment, and social ties. Each data point you gather fills a blank spot on the map Brady (2021) just drew.