In 2016, PASSHE (the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education) noticed something strange. More and more autistic students were going to college. But only around a third were graduating.
“What they found was that it was not due to academics,” says Dr. Cherie Fishbaugh, founder of Dub-C Autism Program, also known as D-CAP. Fishbaugh also serves as the Director of Autism Services at West Chester University. “It was due to social connection, independence [and] self-advocacy,” she said. “And in recognizing the trend that there [were] going to be more and more students coming, Pennsylvania decided to be proactive and start autism support programs.”
In March of 2016, PASSHE started pilot programs at four schools: Indiana University, Edinburgh, Kutztown and West Chester. Fishbaugh asked autistic students who were registered through what is now the Office of Educational Accessibility if they’d be interested, and out of the 28 who expressed interest, six attended a luncheon to provide Fishbaugh feedback. “Because it was so well attended and wanted, we started services in July of 2016!” Fishbaugh recalled with pride. Fishbaugh has since served as the head of D-CAP for the past decade.
The West Chester pilot program was estimated to last around three years, with around 12-15 students. Flash forward ten years later, there are over 100 students in the program! What started as a program with once-a-week check-ins turned into one with multiple staff members, services five days a week and campus-wide involvement. Between 24 and 32 students join the program every semester.
“What [the students] struggled with the most was social connection,” Fishbaugh explained. “When D-CAP started, we actually focused mostly on socialization, connection, getting them to meet each other…. [and] find social events that they have common interest in doing [together]. We also know that self-advocacy was extremely difficult… they were trying to figure it out on their own. Our students really needed to know that it’s okay to ask for help.”
: Dr. Cherie Fishbaugh, of West Chester University’s Department of Social Education, and her therapy dog, Luna. Photo credit: Emily Rutz.
Self-advocacy wasn’t limited to asking for help from professors academically but also asking for help from peers and even parents. She notes that parents especially want what is best for their children, and nag for healthy reasons, but don’t realize that their children just want autonomy. “We really wanted to make sure students understood self-determination. [I tell them,] ‘You get to make choices for yourself. We’re here to support you in what you want…. [and] that right for independence,’” says Fishbaugh.
Executive functioning is also a big struggle. Oftentimes, autistic people struggle with self-care because of the amount of steps it entails but also struggle with understanding its importance. Fishbaugh says, “I could be blunt and say, ‘You stink,’ right? And they’d be like ‘Okay, but what does that have to do with everybody else?’” She navigates hygiene by explaining how it affects socialization and peer connection, and that’s how students usually understand. “Being able to explain how they all come together is really, really important.”
Many students are employed at D-CAP, whether it be working at the front desk or helping run the program itself. D-CAP regularly holds job fairs and collaborates with organizations such as the Neurodiversity Employment Network.
D-CAP provides many opportunities for socialization, hosting peer groups every day and a social hour every Friday. Over the years, specific groups have emerged, like an LGBTQ+ group and a group for autistic people of color. D-CAP has a GroupMe where students can propose hangout ideas, and many have met their best friends through the program. When walking into the building at West Chester, you can find students studying together or playing on the Nintendo Switch downstairs. There’s also a therapy dog, Luna, who belongs to Fishbaugh, is a favorite of D-CAP and loves begging for pets and jumping into people’s laps.
D-CAP has not only provided opportunities for autistic students, but for students who need field work experience. Speech Pathology majors, Psychology and Social Work majors regularly work with students at D-CAP, providing skilled specialist counseling and running peer groups. Some of them are members of D-CAP itself and many have gone on to work there professionally, such as former graduate assistant Brooke Williams, now assistant director, and former ambassador Emma Billingsley who is now the employment coordinator.
How Will D-CAP evolve for the future? Fishbaugh’s plan is to make it not just autism friendly, but neurodivergent friendly, as according to Forbes, around half of Gen Z’ers identify as neurodivergent. “Within the past year, I have been getting more and more inquiries for students who are neurodiverse, but don’t have an official autism diagnosis… [At] this point, you need an official autism diagnosis to be part of D-CAP… [but] we would love this to be a program offered to all students.”