Best Universities for Autistic DD with social anxiety. Looking for flexibility

[whatisgoingonandwhy]

Posting for traffic. DD has autism but is very bright academically. She struggled a lot in high school but has flown in her A levels as she is attending an online college. She would like to study psychology and work with autistic children in some capacity. Has recently started to make progress in socialising more but is extremely daunted at the prospect of having to attend classes. Are there any Uni’s that have the flexibility to attend classes in person or online, or any that are particularly supportive for those who are neurodivergent?

She’s thriving in every area except that. Which is why it’s in the plan!

2 1/2 hrs devoted to student mollycoddling, which wasn’t in the job description, is 21/2 hrs you now don’t have for marking, prep or research
Also add in the attempt at a work life balance and throw in some caring responsibilities and it’s a big fat totally unreasonable ask

She couldn’t do better than Newman University

newman.ac.uk/

If she’s crap at emails and won’t talk, what would the check in even achieve anyway?

If you read what I wrote. She will talk if someone else initiates. And she will answer emails if someone else initiates.

Dss is a lecturer ( redbrick) he lectures one day a week. All the rest is prep time and he works from home 4 days a week. How can there not be enough time?

sigh. Its really frustrating if the second reply comes from someone who is just ignorant on the matter and clearly knows nothing. Why do people feel the need to respond to threads if they have absolutely nothing meaningful to add?

Sorry OP, cannot help but hope you find the right place. My DC isn't quite at that stage yet but the right setting can make such a difference and help them to develop so much.

where does he work? I want a job there

I'd say the average working week amongst lecturers in my dept is 60 hours a week. So two and a half is an ask. If a few of those students also have major crises then that can be a lot more.

It’s the cumulative nature of the asks that makes it so difficult and doubled down on in the negative

@op i really hope HE is in a better place when your daughter gets there!

No, it's not all prep time. Likely 40% of his contract is research time. 20% is admin (not teaching admin; this will be a role he holds in his department). This is if he doesn't have a larger admin role or a research grant that is buying him out of some teaching work.

As I said above, I have c. 7 hours in which to do all my non-classroom teaching activities per week if I stuck to my 37.5 hours a week contracted time. If I had 30 students with support plans, who all required a 5 minute email, I'd be working even more over my contracted hours than I do now.

Because teaching (including all prep, marking and admin related to teaching which includes designing assessments, attending boards of studies, managing teaching assistants, providing all the online resources and tutoring) is usually only 40% of a lecturers contract. If they have a grant or a leadership role then teaching will be less of the contract.

My DC went to Southampton uni and there was a lot of support available to students with additional needs but he didn’t really use it. What was really helpful was a suggestion from another mum for DC to join the student society for scouts and girl guides (SSAGO). Members of the society were really great despite my DC never having been a guide or scout and they provided a lovely, friendly social circ without any pressure to drink to excess etc.

DC is now employed in a responsible position and continues to live independently.

Disability support teams write up overly idealistic learning plans without consulting tutors. Your DD needs to contact her support team if she feels she’s struggling but they cannot force a tutor to do weekly check-ins. It’s simply not feasible. As has already been explained to you in depth.

Yes, 2.5 hours a week is a huge amount of time spent essentially babysitting when you’re already drowning in work. As has already been explained to you in depth.

Your DD may be the centre of your universe but she’s not the centre of anyone else’s.

Would it be enough to simply ask ‘is everything ok?’ or would she need specific questions or prompts?

DS is convinced they are trying to force students out. I just think the tutors dgaf because they know their days are numbered. It makes me cross because the uni have happily taken their tuition fee and the lecturers are still getting a wage.
When DS applied to the course (and it's nothing niche) he hadn't expected single digits, although quite a few have dropped out.
His older sister actually is ND but sailed through uni (RG, so much bigger campus), not sure how much support she had, although she said her tutor had helped her organise her shit, how much shit that involved I'm not sure 🤦 but she was happy and thrived.

No that’s all it needs. No biggie.

Well it’s a good job she’s the centre of mine isn’t it? Uni aren’t going to do anything.

Whats the actual point of a disability team? Or even a university diversity policy. They seem to mean nothing. And yet all these misguided parents who believe what they read are then told their child isn’t entitled to what’s written down in black and white.

I mean wtf?

Why would you expect a university to centre your DD as you do @ArseInTheCoOpWindow? It’s an institution of higher learning, not a crèche.

Sorry but I just don’t believe that someone with selective mutism who can’t even initiate email communication would meaningfully engage when asked ‘is everything ok?’

Many people don't get educated up to degree level. If you are someone who struggles to get GCSE MS then it's unlikely that you would the same as all jobs are not suitable be uni material. Same as someone who can't hear is unlikely to be a professional musician. People have different strengths and weaknesses but uni isn't for all

Aberystwyth university is where my cousins autistic son is and he loves it there.

OP - go for a uni As close to home is possible. Or Open university.

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow

I think what this thread is highlighting is the lack of understanding of some parents of how much time supporting SEN students takes out of a teacher/tutor's day. What your child is entitled to on an EHCP is all well and good on paper, but the reality is, the staff that EHCP impacts may well not have the time or skills to implement what's written on it.

From a secondary school perspective, I lose at least two of my free periods every week to meeting with two ND students in my A level English Literature class. Their EHCPs require me to scaffold every piece of work for them, talk them through their ideas orally, make study plans to help them break the task down into manageable chunks, and so on. Every time I meet with them, admin is also generated, as I need to update the SENCo with how they're getting on and forward them any scaffolding worksheets I've made so they can follow up with them in their 1-1s with the students.

I teach well over 150 students per week. And yet these two ND students take up a hugely disproportionate amount of my time. I care a lot about them and I want to help them achieve, but neither of them should be doing A Level English Literature as neither of them can cope with the cognitive demands of the course. Despite all of our combined efforts, neither of them will probably achieve a passing grade.

Their parents have advocated for them to be able to do the A Levels they want, against the school's advice, and they are straight on email if they feel individual teachers are not doing enough to differentiate learning or support them to achieve. But they have no awareness of how much work their children add to an already overwhelming and unsustainable workload for us as teaching staff. The time I spend with these students means the three hours of work I could have done in that time gets pushed into my (unpaid) evenings and weekends. Their focus on their children's wellbeing means they take no time to think about mine.

I am 100% for an inclusive education. But parents do need to understand that teachers and university tutors only have so much time in the day, and every SEN child who needs 'just a bit of extra support' creates another hour's worth of work for someone who already doesn't have enough time in the day to do their job effectively. The sheer amount of young people with EHCPs these days is unsustainable for most educational institutions. We don't have the time to do all of the things these plans ask of us. It is quite literally impossible.

So disabled people aren't suitable for uni? The ableism on this thread is utterly astonishing.
There's nothing wrong with my disabled DS's intelligence, 3 x A at A level, yet he is struggling because of barriers put in his way. Lots of our brightest young people have disabilities, but they will thrive if given support. Workplaces are expected not to discriminate and may be prosecuted if they do, universities should be held to the same standard.

BTW there are non hearing percussionists and pianists🙄

It’s not ableism, it’s exhaustion

I was a teacher for 30 years. I know how much work EHCP’s can provide.

But the issue with that is, those students should have had subject specific support or specialist education. That’s what an EHCP pays for. I know LEA’s try to push them all into mainstream.

That money from the EHCP could have paid for extra teaching hours to free you up to prepare their work with more time.

Whete was the EHCP money going if you were doing all that?

And anyway, my dd just requires someone to say ‘is everything ok?’ once a week.