willing at all to 10 equals very willing. There is not a significant difference between individuals who know someone with autism (M equals 8.49, SD equals 2.08) and those who do not know someone with autism (M equals 7.86, SD equals 2.09) on their self-reported willingness to accommodate peers with autism, t (87) equals 1.40, p equals .165. When comparing the two variables related to the hypotheses, there is a significant difference between those who know an individual with autism (M equals 2.30, SD equals 0.82) and those who do not (M equals 1.81, SD equals 0.78) on their familiarity with current knowledge on autism measured on a scale of 1 equals not at all familiar to 4 equals very familiar, F (1,89) equals 8.09, p equals .006. In general, measured on a scale of 1 equals not willing at all to 10 equals very willing, there was also a high
The details of the callouts are as follows:
Callout labeled Spacing points to the text, p equals .548, and the text in the callout reads as follows:Treat the equal (and less than) sign like a word, and make sure there are spaces on both sides of the sign.See Chapter 10, page 105
Callout labeled Leading Zero Rule points to the number, .165 and the text in the callout reads as follows:For numbers that cannot be larger than 1 (p value, correlation coefficient), do not include a leading zero ahead of the decimal point.See Chapter 10, page 102
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degree of self-reported willingness to accommodate peers with autism among the respondents, M equals 8.62, SD equals 1.83. Willingness to participate in a peer mentorship program for students with autism, measured on a scale of 1 equals not willing at all to 10 equals very willing, was also high across respondents, M equals 8.24, SD equals 2.09.
Discussion (center aligned and boldfaced)
Although many of the college students reported only being slightly familiar with autism knowledge, an encouraging finding was an overall willingness among students to assist and accommodate peers with autism. This high degree of willingness is a promising outcome as it may pave the way for greater integration of students with autism, consequently increasing their rate of academic success.
Students even conveyed a willingness to become peer mentors for students with autism, if it was offered as a program for college credit, which may be a viable option for some universities as a way to support students with autism, and perhaps other disabilities.
In this study I hypothesized that knowing an individual with autism, such as a family member, a coworker, or a friend, would relate with more willingness to accommodate a peer with autism. I also hypothesized that those more familiar with current knowledge on autism would also report a higher degree of willingness to assist peers with the disorder. In conducting this study I found that among the students in the sample, knowing an individual with autism and/or reporting more familiarity with current knowledge on the disorder did not have a relationship with the individual’s willingness to accommodate a peer with autism.
The details of the callouts are as follows:
Callout labeled Measures of Central Tendency and Variability points to the text, M equals 8.24, and the text in the callout reads as follows:When reporting a measure of central tendency (like a mean or median), a measure of variability (like standard deviation or range) must also be reported.See Chapter 9, page 93
Callout labeled Line Spacing points to the space below the text, other disabilities and the text in the callout reads as follows:There should be no extra line spacing between paragraphs, just regular double-spacing throughout.See Chapter 14, page 146
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These results came as a surprise, particularly in light of the research conducted by Gillespie-Lynch et al. (2015) in which the researchers concluded that an increase in autism knowledge led to a decrease in stigma. Assuming this pattern would also take place in the sample used for this survey, I predicted that stigma and willingness to accommodate a peer with autism would be inversely related; however, knowledge of autism did not have a significant impact on willingness. This may demonstrate that perhaps stigma towards autism does not impact willingness to accommodate, particularly since Gillespie-Lynch et al. (2015) also observed that students were generally “somewhat willing” to engage peers with autism, despite stigma. With a general willingness to assist peers with autism, increased social integration can more effectively take place, which can in turn help improve academic performance for students with autism (Ashbaugh et al., 2017).
Although there was no statistically significant relationship between autism knowledge and a student’s willingness to accommodate a peer with autism, the high degree of willingness measured across respondents provides a potential approach to support students with the disorder. If students are indeed willing to assist, universities nationwide may find it beneficial to invest in programs that offer students with autism peer assistance, whether it is simply note-taking or participating in a mentorship. By increasing the level of integration within a college campus, students with autism can be better equipped to succeed academically and socially, which can also help prepare them for careers in any field.
There are, of course, some limitations to my study. First, there were a limited amount of questions that could be asked, which made it difficult
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Callout labeled Avoiding Plagiarism points to the text, Gillespie-Lynch et al., and the text in the callout reads as follows:Use of citations in text gives credit to others for their ideas where credit is due.See Chapter 5, page 51
Callout labeled First Person Clarity points to the word, I and the text in the callout reads as follows:Writing in the first-person voice brings clarity to the message and clearly communicates who performed the actions; this clarity is preferred.See Chapter 6, page 59
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to thoroughly assess an individual’s knowledge of autism as well as their willingness to accommodate peers. If more questions were permissible, then more detailed assessments could have been administered to measure a more accurate familiarity with autism knowledge, as well as a more precise degree of willingness. Additionally, since this study was a survey design, I was not able to manipulate variables so as to thoroughly analyze the relationship between familiarity with autism and degree of willingness to support peers with autism. With a different study design willingness could be measured through other means aside from self-report, such as through actual participation in similar programs and degree of engagement in such programs. Despite there being no significant relationship between familiarity with autism and willingness to accommodate a peer with autism, the high degree of willingness reported among the college students in this study was a very positive finding. This lays the groundwork for establishing potential programs involving typically developed students
