Qualitative Research with ASD

 Shana Szczupakiewicz, Verrazzano Class of 2021, completed major in Psychology and minor in Sociology/Anthropology

When I took my first psychology course at CSI, the subject fascinated me. The more classes I took, the more intrigued I became.  There is always more to learn, study, and explore in the field of psychology.

Autism Spectrum Disorder is a neuro-developmental disorder that affects an individual’s social,communication, and behavior. Project Reach is an amazing program whose primary goal is to help and guide autistic students with any difficulties that may occur in college. The program provides social activities and guidance. My experience in Project Reach provided insight and understanding to their everyday life experiences. The topic that I chose for my independent study  was analyzing the motivations and future goals of autistic high school students.

The study examined and reviewed the Interview Transcript Pretext from the Tech Kids Unlimited data, which is a summer technology program for autistic high school students. This study’s focus was on a section of the interview entitled, “Plans for the Future”. We qualitatively coded responses to these three questions:

1) “What are your job and/or school-related goals for right after high school?”

2)  “What job or type of job would you like to have in the future? Why do you   want this job?”

 3)  “How are you preparing now to get this job?”

The results showed that autistic student’s interests are diverse and are not limited, intrinsic interests are a primary motivator, and they are actively preparing for future jobs.

This experience helped me delve into the deeper complexities of autistic high school students' decision-making when discussing their future goals in order to better understand their motivations.