HURDLES AND DRIVERS AFFECTING AUTISTIC STUDENTS' HIGHER EDUCATION EXPERIENCE: LESSONS LEARNT FROM THE MULTINATIONAL AUTISM&UNI RESEARCH STUDY
Autism&Uni is an EU funded project which aims to support greater numbers of young adults on the autism spectrum to gain access to HE and to navigate the transition successfully. This paper reports on the research done as part of the project, specifically an in depth literature review and a multinational mapping survey in five European countries. The research focused on identifying the hurdles autistic students encountered as well as the drivers that can help them overcome the challenges they face. Universal Design for Learning is put forward as an approach that can potentially alleviate many of the difficulties encountered by autistic students whilst benefiting the entire student population, with all its diversity.