Higher Ed Dive interviews Howorth about UMaine’s Step Up to College program
In an article about how colleges can better serve students with autism, Higher Ed Dive featured a Q&A with Sarah Howorth, assistant professor of special education and coordinator of the University of Maine College of Education and Human Development’s Graduate Programs in Special Education. Howorth, who piloted the Step Up to College program for students with autism in 2019, shared some of the unique challenges students with autism face, how accessibility offices can help and why she believes colleges need to incorporate disability into their diversity, equity and inclusion plans. “If we can’t make our colleges welcoming places for diverse people of all abilities and backgrounds, that upholds the idea that education is exclusive and not everybody gets to go to university,” Howorth said. “Look at things from a Universal Design for Learning perspective. The things that you offer for students with autism on college campuses, like peer mentors, will help all students.”