{
  "abstract": "Neurodivergent university students face significant barriers to participation and success including sensory sensitivities, executive function challenges, social pressures, identity masking, and burnout. Evidence-based programs addressing the social and emotional dimensions of neurodivergent students’ experiences are needed. This protocol describes an evaluation of the Tuned In Connect program, comprising an online self-paced module and a five-session group course. It was adapted by and for neurodivergent university students from the original Tuned In, an emotion regulation intervention that uses a two-dimensional model of emotion and music listening. Participants will be 145 neurodivergent students recruited from three Australian universities. The study will adopt a mixed between- and within-participants design, with participants randomly allocated to the intervention or waitlist control condition, and assessments at baseline and approximately six weeks later. Control participants will have the option of attending the intervention after their 6-week survey and will be asked to complete a third survey after the program. Historical control data from a 2023 cohort of neurodivergent university students may be used to supplement the waitlist control condition. Primary outcomes include sense of belonging, academic motivation, academic course completion, and semester grade point average. Secondary outcomes include emotion regulation, use of music for focus and coping, and wellbeing. Additional secondary and exploratory outcomes include anxiety, burnout, alexithymia and alcohol use. A qualitative sub-study will explore participant experiences through post-program focus groups analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. The findings, if positive, will support the adoption of Tuned In Connect by other universities as a scalable approach to supporting neurodivergent students. Trial registration: https://www.acses.edu.au/trial/enhancing-success-for-neurodivergent-students-through-wellbeing-a-quasi-experimental-design-study-across-three-universities/.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia",
    "Centre for Wellbeing Science, Faculty of Education, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia",
    "School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Newcastle, Newcastle, Australia",
    "School of Psychology, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia",
    "School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of QLD, Brisbane, Australia"
  ],
  "article_type": "Study Protocol",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 10,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Genevieve A. Dingle"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Rong Han"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Radhika Tanksale"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Nikki Rickard"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Babette Rae"
    },
    {
      "name": "Sonja Pohlman"
    },
    {
      "name": "Dianna Vidas"
    },
    {
      "name": "Martha Munro"
    },
    {
      "name": "Melissa Vallence"
    },
    {
      "name": "Angie Weaver"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/decaecbnphnep.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1371/journal.pone.0357369",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "decaecbnphnep",
  "issns": [
    "1932-6203"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0357369",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "3311|Disability Education and Employment"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Bioacoustics"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Neuroscience/Cognitive science/Cognitive psychology/Music cognition"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Neuroscience/Cognitive science/Cognitive psychology/Perception/Sensory perception"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Neuroscience/Developmental neuroscience/Neurodevelopmental disorders/Autism"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Neuroscience/Sensory perception"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Psychology/Cognitive psychology/Music cognition"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Psychology/Cognitive psychology/Perception/Sensory perception"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Psychology/Developmental psychology/Pervasive developmental disorders/Autism spectrum disorder/Autism"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Psychology/Emotions"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Psychology/Emotions/Anxiety"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Psychology/Psychological stress"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Medical conditions/Neurodevelopmental disorders/Autism"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Mental health and psychiatry/Psychological stress"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Neurology/Neurodevelopmental disorders/Autism"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Physical sciences/Physics/Acoustics/Bioacoustics"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Research and analysis methods/Research design/Survey research/Surveys"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Social sciences/Psychology/Cognitive psychology/Music cognition"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Social sciences/Psychology/Cognitive psychology/Perception/Sensory perception"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Social sciences/Psychology/Developmental psychology/Pervasive developmental disorders/Autism spectrum disorder/Autism"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Social sciences/Psychology/Emotions"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Social sciences/Psychology/Emotions/Anxiety"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Social sciences/Psychology/Psychological stress"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7215032441",
  "pdf_url": "https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0357369&type=printable",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-01",
  "publisher": "Public Library of Science",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/decaecbnphnep.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:37Z",
      "native_id": "10.1371/journal.pone.0357369",
      "source": "plos",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0357369"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "plos:neuroscience",
      "subfield": "neuroscience"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Enhancing neurodivergent student success through wellbeing: Protocol for a quasi-experimental evaluation of the Tuned In Connect program across three Australian universities",
  "title_text": "Enhancing neurodivergent student success through wellbeing: Protocol for a quasi-experimental evaluation of the Tuned In Connect program across three Australian universities",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:37Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/decaecbnphnep",
  "venue": "PLOS One",
  "versions": []
}