Just picking up on this: The logistics of switching uni/stopping uni, etc. seem overwhelming. Does anyone know of any resources? Also he's got no friends here - he didn't socialise at all over the summer. He was so isolated. At least at uni there is a larger pool of people to befriend, and lots of organized activities.
I'm a v. mature uni student, with a successfully graduated Ds with ASD. Some of our reasoning as parents re socializing doesn't work out for all students at all unis. This is my view from POV of both parent and student. Sorry it's so long, but I'm not well enough to edit!
Those organized activities require the students to actively engage with the societies running them generally. If he has any v.basic religious belief the Christian societies actually can be quite good if often seen as uncool. Look for Kharis, or Kharis on campus, they have external backing as well as SU.
They should have some sort of disabled students group that is a different basis from societies. (also black, women's, and LGBT++++)
Our's is poor, but it comes down to who's running it, volunteering for committee and how good his SU is, because that's who's running them, not actually the uni, they're just bankrolling. Post Freshers week, possibly 'welcome month,' only the students who work at staying connected to active societies do organized activities. Often not all it's cracked up to be. Extensive and expensive and great opportunities for those who pull it together and get how to do it, but vastly different to what it looks like from the outside for many.
The larger pool of people to befriend takes time and energy and others to want to be befriended, and can be very hard going for those lacking NT social skills or confidence.
I have a small group of autistic lads around me because having an autistic DS they've spotted I get them, and I do push to try to help them get better accepted, because honestly, it's going to take some more years that they've got. But they would happily settle for taking over my life rather than pushing forward to make actual friends if I let them, even though I'm really unsuitable 'friend' material beyond giving a stuff and translating coursework.
Ds can go off sick, depending on his course may even be able to work from home as a reasonable adjustment, and or officially suspend studies and thus his loan, and still return, or seek to transfer to a local uni, this year or next.
He quite possibly needs to give you advocacy rights so you can talk to disability services and his tutor, as well as progression who can help explain trying to change unis and courses etc and the need for compatibility of marking schemes. If organized with local unis he might want to go to, you can then talk with them about reality of transferable credits etc. Transferring standard subjects between yr 1 and 2 is quite normal. Year one is pass fail and doesn't count towards his marks beyond passing it. Year 2 marks do, and can be cashed in for a Higher Education Qualification at the end if he was unable to continue, and can also be used to pull up a disastrous year 3's marks in some circumstances. If yr 3 is good yr 2's marks mean little. The big issue is not using up the loan while not able to study and being unable to afford to complete, which is why learning and loan can be suspended together.
He could also drop now go for direct yr2 entry elsewhere next year and only require a small addition to top up fees at the end of year 3.
Quite honestly a lot of uni's are geared up to putting student retention before students needs, because student drop out figures affect them badly and generally most will limp through however unhappily if given no/low choice. Those who can't only bother them when things go horribly wrong.
My Ds (ASD) made me his shared advocate which got him through a deteriorating miserable 1st year, and ended up changing university and courses from something sensible and theoretically ASD suited, to something worryingly hand to mouth that actually brought joy and was the making of him. He did however live at home, is a proficient masker (at cost) and was able to make friends but only superficial ones at his 1st uni, and pushed his way into my uni for his new course.
The biggest thing is to make sure your Ds feels he does have choices and that even if he can't enact them this week, next week, because of practical reasons, he isn't trapped in a black or white swim or sink situation. Oh and it's a full moon out there, my class and societies what's app is pinging away with unsettled students.