Should College Instructors Reveal Their High Functioning Autism in the Classroom?

College instructors with highly functional autism, also known as Asperger’s, can have difficulty interacting with students. To mitigate the potentially reduced teaching ratings, college instructors must decide whether to reveal their condition to the students. Using a survey of 393 university business students, the hypothesis was that instructors who revealed that they have Asperger’s at the beginning of instruction will receive higher ratings from students. Evidence suggests that ratings were higher when instructors revealed they had Asperger’s, rather than displaying characteristics typical of Asperger’s without revealing. This effect only was found for male students. The findings of this study suggest that instructors with Asperger’s should reveal their condition to students.