Best uni for young woman with ASD, anxiety and depression

[LifeIsAGameofMonopoly]

DD has dropped out of Bristol uni due in part to extremely poor pastoral care.
If anyone has got any recommendations for unis which have got really good support for neurodiverse students, I would be extremely grateful to hear this. (And if any unis to avoid also!)
She likes the sea, and doesn't want to be too far from the family home (we are Berkshire) she has been thinking about Brighton or possibly Bournemouth.
She is 21, so maybe also any unis that have a good proportion of mature students. I understand that Birkbeck is for mature students but I don't know how mature... She would like to be with people who are in their 20s.
Thank you very much 😊

100% this. DD really struggled at school, and literally all they cared about was what her attendance was like. They also put loads of pressure on her to do the lower GCSE papers because they were worried she would fail the higher papers and that would not reflect well on them.

OP would it be worth considering working for a few years and then consider going back into further studies of whatever kind as a mature student with a clearer idea of what would be most useful to her in a future career?

Bristol has notoriously poor pastoral care and seems to somehow have ended up with a culture whereby needing any kind of support is a weakness. I do think your daughter could have a much better experience elsewhere.

My nephew with ASD had a very good experience at Brighton, they had specific support in place like additional tours of the campus and city at the start of the first year. I only have that one anecdotal experience though.

Yes, it is very disappointing. But what DD went through really was shocking. I wouldn't recommend to anyone unless their DC was NT, really confident, outgoing, etc.

@LifeIsAGameofMonopoly

Yes we had a terrible time with both primary and secondary schools. They're just exam factories IMO. Shove the child in one end and push them through to the other. Woeful is an excellent word for the so called support we had with our autistic daughter and anxious son. When they struggled to attend school we were constantly threatened with non attendance fines! Sorry I'm going off at a tangent a bit here aren't I? 😂 Hope your daughter is able to recover well and decide in time on her next step. My son is having a year out at present deciding where to go next. 💐

Not really in the right direction for you, but I rate ARU highly. Good communication, very well supported teaching

Lancaster is excellent.

To echo other posters, it really depends on the course. I teach at Brighton and, from what I hear, pastoral support at Sussex isn't great.

I'd strongly advise your daughter to contact the Disability and Learning Support Team at any universities she is interested in to discuss what support she requires. In my school (not the subjects your daughter is interested in unfortunately) course leaders or admissions tutors are usually very happy to speak with potential applicants about their individual situation and answer questions about the course / modules.

Somewhere smaller like Chichester?

I know Warwick uni looks after it's ND students but they are generally straight out of school but they do house mature students together because they have tons of accommodation on campus

I work as senior lecturer and admissions lead, so here is my advice for what it's worth.

When you make the choice and get an offer, engage early with BOTH the disability services team and the course leader. DS are great but can be unrealistic about what subject teams can offer. You need both and a dialogue.

If possible, ask to meet the Course Leader before she starts. This should be possible via applicants days/taster days/open days. This will help talk things through.

Ask for your daughter to give permission to speak to you and have this noted on her record if possible. The last uni was being proper. It is still a GDPR issue to acknowledge that your daughter attends a uni and to take information from you. We are not supposed to engage with parents at all unless there is permission.i know it is frustrating but there have been instances where an estranged parent gets in touch to find out where there adult child is, so we can't just talk about them in any way without permission.

Your daughter and you need to think carefully and what support you think she needs. This will help in asking for reasonable adjustments. But uni is not school. Lecturers cannot operate as teachers or TAs and give loads of one to one time. There will be some but consider of she needs a notetaker or support worker and how to fund this.