ERIC Number: EJ1411224
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0897-5264
EISSN: EISSN-1543-3382
Available Date: N/A
"It's Like You're a Jockey Riding a Horse and You're in a World of Centaurs": Unmasking Autistic College Students' Identity Development
Brett Ranon Nachman
Journal of College Student Development, v64 n4 p407-422 2023
As more autistic students enroll in postsecondary education, they embark on a journey that leads them to not only process their identities as college students but also as autistic individuals. This social constructivist grounded theory study elevated autistic college students' perspectives as they made sense of their identities while participating in an autism-specific college support program. The study presents a new conceptual framework: the Nachman Autistic College Student Identity Development Model. This model relays three key stages that influence the sense-making of autistic college students: (a) discovering their disabilities, (b) approaching independence, and (c) determining autistic affiliation. Scholars and practitioners can draw from this model and the study's findings to inform how to account more holistically for autistic college students' iterative identity development.
Descriptors: Autism Spectrum Disorders, Students with Disabilities, College Students, Self Concept, Student Attitudes, Self Disclosure (Individuals), Peer Relationship, Student Needs, Accessibility (for Disabled), Parent Participation, Self Advocacy, Symptoms (Individual Disorders), Attitudes toward Disabilities
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
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Author Affiliations: N/A