This portion of the questionnaire is designed to gather essential background information to better understand the diverse experiences and perspectives of our participants.  We will explore various aspects, including employment status during university, educational background, previously utlized supports, program of study, and living arrangements during your university years, among others.

The Comprehensive Autistic Trait Inventory, or CATI, is a self-report questionnaire that effectively measures autistic traits in adults within the general population. This measure is one of the first measures to be created using community-based participatory action with the Autistic community. 

Please note that the following link to the publisher's website is external and not affiliated with our group. Completing the CATI at this link does not enroll you in our study. For official enrollment, please adhere to our specified procedures. 

The Sensory Sensivity Scale is designed to measure sensory sensitivity regarding visual, auditory, and somatosensory (such as pain, pressure, or tempurature) processing in individuals.  We're interested in learning about your sensory experiences, and how they may relate to your academic experience as an Autistic individual.

The AASPIRE Autistic Burnout Measure is a measure of the extent to which you may have experienced Autistic Burnout, defined as "a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic life stress and a mismatch of expectations and abilities without adequate supports. It is characterized by pervasive, long-term (typically 3+ months) exhaustion, loss of function, and reduced tolerance to stimulus" (Raymaker et al., 2020, p. 141). This scale includes prompts that evaluate long-term impact of burnout on academic performance, social interactions, and self-care.

The University Environment Scale is designed to assess students' perceptions and comfort levels within their university settings. This scale includes prompts that evaluate feelings of comfort and belonging, perceptions of the university as a supportive or indifferent place, and the institution's inclusivity towards Autistic and other neurodivergent students.

The University Belonging questionnaire is designed to assess university students' experiences of belonging on campus. This scale will assess your sense of belonging in your academic (such as with faculty and staff) and social (such as events and relationships) life. 

The Social Motivation and Friendships at University questionnaire is designed to assess your social motivations in a university context. We will ask you about how you may interact with peers, faculty, and staff as a student at your institution. 

The Accessibility Barriers Scale is designed to measure and identify common barriers that students with disabilities face in university environments. This scale comprehensively assesses the extent to which students with disabilities are provided with equitable opportunities to access information, participate in activities, and utilize services similar to their non-disabled peers.

The Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire (CAT-Q) is designed to assess the extent to which Autistic individuals engage in behaviors that mask or hide their autistic traits. This scale will help us understand whether you may engage in efforts to imitate social behaviors, monitor and modify body language, and the sense of performing or pretending in social interactions. It provides insights into how Autistic individuals navigate social expectations post-secondary environments.

The Interoception Sensory Questionnaire (ISQ-8) is designed to assess your awareness and interpretation of your internal bodily signals. This tool evaluates recognition of sensations like hunger, thirst, temperature, and pain.

The Toronto Alexithymia Scale is used to measure your awareness of your own emotions and your ability/methods to articulate those emotions.

The GAD-7 Anxiety Scale is designed to assess the severity of generalized anxiety. This scale includes prompts that evaluate common signs of anxiety such as excessive worrying, difficulty relaxing, and restlessness.

The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) is a widely used tool to assess the severity of depressive symptoms. This questionnaire includes items that evaluate symptoms such as low mood, loss of interest or pleasure in activities, and changes in sleep or appetite. It provides a reliable measure for identifying and monitoring depression, helping to ensure students receive appropriate mental health support during their academic journey.

In the USSA, we will explore your utilization of various university supports, services, and accommodations. We're interested in learning about both formal accommodations (such as extended time on all exams) provided by the university, as well as informal supports (like an extension on a specific assignment) offered by faculty, staff, or peers.  The length of this section varies as it will only ask you to provide details about any supports you have chosen to access at your university.

If you are a non-white or BIPOC individual, we are interested in your intersectional experience with race and autism. In this section, we will ask you short-answer questions about your positive and/or negative experiences as an Autistic, BIPOC university student. 

The Executive Skills Questionnaire-Revised is designed to assess your executive functioning skills, strengths, and challenges. We will ask you about your abilities with planning, focus, attentio, remembering instructions, juggle multiple tasks successfully, and self-regulation. 

Ranking Priorities is designed to gather your personal priorities regarding accessibility in post-secondary education, based on recommendations made by Dwyer et al. We will ask you to what aspects of university you think are important to improve the campus experiences of Autistic and neurodivergent staff, faculty, and students. We will ask you how your experience at university may be, or have been, improved by enacting changes through DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) initatives, visibility, structured support, mental health, disability services, and more. 

The Disclosure section is designed to explore your reasons for choosing whether or not to disclose your autism to others you may encounter at university. We're interested in learning what factors may influence your willingness to disclose to others, or not. 

The Strengths survey uses a positive psychology approach to exploring your strengths among three main categories: positive relationships, personal qualities, and SPARKS (leisure activities and passions). In this section, we want to understand what helps you thrive and where you shine as an individual. 

If you identify within the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, we are interested in your intersectional experience with your gender/sexuality and autism. In this section, we will ask you short-answer questions about your positive and/or negative experiences as an Autistic, 2SLGBTQIA+ university student.