Thriving… or Just Surviving? Autistic Journeys in Higher Education

Here we synthesise key recent (2021–2024) research that aims to understand the experience of autistic people, both staff and students, who navigate the Higher Education (HE) environment.

Autistic students and staff continue to experience a lack of flexible, consistent and personalised support within the HE context, and tensions remain between the benefits of disclosure and the discrimination that may result. Significant missed opportunities remain for greater social, emotional and practical supports for autistic members of the HE community.

Distinct barriers to both access and ‘flourishing’ for autistic people within HE remain. Personal narratives continue to describe a range of both positive and negative experiences within HE, yet it remains clear that HE may be inherently hostile in its setup, and that it takes a great deal of effort to fight against this.