‘I avoid pubs and the student union like the plague’: Students with Asperger Syndrome and their negotiation of university spaces

By Manuel Madriaga. 2010

107 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Research was conducted to gain insight into the lives of students with Asperger Syndrome (AS) during their transitions into higher education. Eight students were recruited from across the United Kingdom to partake in a year-long longitudinal study that incorporated life-history interviews. In their responses, the majority of interviewees identified spaces within their universities as being inaccessible. They found obstacles locating themselves in spaces where other students generally tend to congregate (e.g. student unions, pubs, libraries) due to their sensory impairments. As a result, a number of respondents experienced difficulty engaging socially in university life. This paper explores how students with AS and hypersensitivities negotiated these barriers. While some experienced a sense of ease, others were not as successful. This difference in experience, as argued here, reflects the diversity of individuals who have AS. Reflecting upon this diversity, it is hoped this paper will contribute to raising the profile of young adults with AS and wider questions about disabled student support provision in higher education.

Subfields: Clinical Psychology, Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health, Safety Research

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/9a99fad47aa8222212474e2187997fec010198be

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In Clinical Psychology

1. Angela Taylor
2. F. Knott

In Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

1. Angela Taylor
2. F. Knott

In Safety Research

1. Angela Taylor
2. F. Knott

Citations in the corpus

• Life at university with Asperger syndrome: a comparison of student and staff perspectives (2014, background): “More specifically, students with AS/HFA report that they struggle with issues, such as participation in group work (Madriaga and Goodley 2009) and have difficulty using student ‘spaces’, such as the Union or Fresher’s Fair (Madriaga 2010).”