The number of students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at universities has increased in the last few years. These students face many barriers that make participation and learning difficult (Bakker et al., 2019; Fabri et al., 2020). Specifically, some research states barriers related to interaction with others, adaptation to university environments and handling changes (Jansen et al., 2017). Other studies describe obstacles regarding the perception of information and executive functioning (Elias and White, 2019; Waisman et al., 2022). Also, there have been detected aspects related to the emotional well-being of students with ASD, who tend to feel anxiety and stress during higher education (Fabri et al., 2020). 

Universities have to ensure the right of every person to access and participate in higher education. In the case of Spain, since the creation of the European higher education area (EEES), valuing diversity and promoting quality education are two objectives that universities have assumed. Autism Spectrum disorder symptoms are diverse depending on the person, so, in this way, laws, policies and regulations require students with ASD to be educated in an inclusive environment (Al Jaffal, 2022). In that sense, based on Universal Design for Learning, it is essential to promote the personalization of learning and provide multiple options so that students can choose the most appropriate to them. 

It is clear that faculty staff become a key factor in the inclusion process of students in higher education, nevertheless, sometimes they are considered a barrier. Some research identifies many obstacles to inclusion related to teachers, such as the scarce awareness of autism (Cage and Howes, 2020; Fabri et al., 2020; Oliver Kerrigan, 2021) and developing more inclusive practices to attend these students (Moriña and Carballo, 2018; Sarret, 2018; Sullivan, 2021). Interventions often focus on traditional academic accommodations, such as extended time on exams or noiseless locations for taking them (Cox et al., 2020), which sometimes are not what students with ASD need (Jackson et al., 2018). 

From the literature review that has been carried out, the need to place more emphasis on studying how faculty staff face the attention to students with autism in university classrooms has been detected. More specifically, an attempt will be made to identify the barriers that current university teaching staff face in relation to their inclusion. On the other hand, and in response to this, we will try to give some suggestions that can help faculty staff to teach inclusively.

This study falls within a qualitative approach with the purpose of developing insight into how teachers feel about the complex topic of the inclusion of students with ASD at university. Three focus groups were conducted from one university in Spain. Specifically, 15 teachers from different fields of knowledge and profiles participate in this research. The contact with teachers was established through the Diversity and Disability Office. This service notified them of the purpose of this study and were the teachers who made contact with researchers. Once we had a response, for the creation of these groups we tried to ensure that the sample was equal and that they belonged to different areas and departments. This allowed a greater exchange of opinions and experiences. Depending on their availability, these groups were organized between 4 and 6 people. For ethical reasons, informed consent and permission to record were requested. Researchers ensured data processed would be pseudonymized and guaranteed its confidentiality. At the request of the participants, all sessions were conducted online and lasted no more than one and a half hours. A set of questions were organized by researchers (semi-directivity) following three main themes: knowledge and intervention for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and teacher training in diversity and inclusive practices based on UDL. Questions were asked of the participants to start the debate. These arguments developed freely (non-directivity) with the interaction of the teachers. For the analysis of the information provided, the interviews were transcribed, and a content analysis was conducted (Saldaña, 2009; Miles and Huberman, 1994). A deductive logic was followed, with pre-established themes, and inductive with emerging themes related to the research aim. The Atlas.ti program was used for the management and organization, which helped researchers to determine deductive and emergent categories and identify meaning units by participant and focus group.

We are currently in deep data analysis, but the preliminary results suggest the need to become more aware of what autism spectrum disorder means and train teachers on inclusive practices that can benefit not only these students but all students. Deeping preliminary data analysis, most participants recognized an insufficient knowledge of the disorder’s symptoms and the needs that students with the disorder could have. Related to Universal Design for Learning, only a teacher was trained through a university course and knew its meaning. Other participants affirmed never having heard about it or being trained in it. Finally, about the training on diversity and inclusive teaching practices, most of them confirmed not having enough time or possibility to enroll in it. They were overworked with teaching, research and publications, which was a significant barrier for them. Related to that, teachers affirmed that they prefer customized support for each case and not general training on ASD, which means a big challenge to universities. To conclude, this work could provide relevant information to continue advancing towards more inclusive and diversity-sensitive institutions. All the insights will be used to further work in overcoming these barriers and develop teacher training actions that could help teachers in the complex topic of inclusion and benefit students with ASD and others, following the UDL approach.

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