Best university for student with aspergers?

[Gertygypsey]

I have a 17 year old dd who needs to make a choice about university shortly. We are in a geographically isolated part of the UK so any open days / visits would have to be carefully planned. Dd has high functioning autism, is extremely intelligent and driven but suffers badly with anxiety. She can be quite social (to a point) , and most people don't actually realise she has asd (she does not like anyone knowing this). She is capable of getting the top grades in all her a levels and living independently. A smaller university / campus with good pastoral care / inclusive ethos but with a great reputation for psychology would be perfect. Could anyone recommend a university that might be a good fit?

Surrey also have an excellent programme (or did a few years ago), with students with ASD arriving a week or two before everyone else and doing planned activities, staying in quiet halls that are smaller and less busy.

My 16yr old ds has aspergers and he will be applying to Liverpool university.

It's one of our closest to be honest but that's not the reason he's set on it. He has researched lots on aspergers support at university and Liverpool has lots of support.

To be fair though he has another few years before he has to apply so he may change his mind on location but his criteria is very much based on pastoral support.

I think the department also makes a massive difference, I would go and meet each department and see how supportive they are it isn't just about the university.

I would love her to go to Oxford or Cambridge but I worry about putting this pressure on her (even though she is 100% capable). We will definitely go to their open days. She has fallen out with all of her friends because she won't tell them about her asd and is so excited about university and a fresh start. I just want her to feel comfortable wherever she goes and hopefully meet people similar to her.

Another here watching with interest as I have a DD who will be in a similar situation in a couple of years - but looking for a maths or computing course, not quite decided yet. I have a question for those of you already at university and getting support. Is it conditional on a formal diagnosis? She'll have no chance of getting one(for now), as she's not showing MH issues and is not disruptive in school. GP said that there was no point in referring her as resources were so thin on the ground, and if she was referred she'd likely stay at the bottom of the waiting list for years. Do I need to pursue this privately to give her the best chance and make support available? School have been great so far.

I came on to say Durham! Lots of people in it for the drink and loud nights out but also loads who have different interests, plus the collegiate system would really help her while she found her feet.

Gertygypsey - we live in Surrey, so going into London from time to time has been a necessary evil for us ever since DD was little and probably therefore less of a shock to the system than it would be on a short visit. We do avoid the tube on the whole, although she likes trains so it can be OK at quiet times. It was a calculated risk, which paid off to some extent as she did enjoy the subject lectures.

Anyway, interesting stuff. Bath is on our list, too, so I will be following Findprime's link!

Just to say that if you are applying for Disabled Student Allowance for extra support etc then you will have to provide medical evidence.

The support I receive from my uni happened after they saw my diagnosis. Unsure what they would have done without it.

DS went to Queens Belfast from England and I think the support he got was pretty poor - although he isn't the type to ask for help as he also doesn't tell anyone about his ASD. He dropped out at the end of 1st year! So possibly no bad think your DD wants to get away from NI.

Would she think of Trinity College Dublin as no flight involved if you had to pop down to her.

Forgot to add that he loved the city and the flying to/fro was fine - just not the course or the support!

Bangor is north wales. Great psychology department but more importantly a small, friendly city that won't be to overwhelming.

I work for a RG university, I would say do not worry too much about the university as aspergers is so prevalent in top departments, she will soon find herself in an environment she may find easier to navigate and to be accepted as she is. My ex has asperges, never saw him as happy as when he joined a RG uni, he just fit in in a way he never did in his previous more average uni.

I would perhaps worry more about choosing a city that she finds easier to navigate but even so, please do not forget that if she lives at Uni in the first year, she will have an easy introduction to the city and hopefully a nice bunch of friends to support her when they move together out of university halls.

OP, don't let her be put off from Cambridge, my experience and knowledge is that they are well equipped/ experienced of young people with asc. In fact they are very supportive of staff who also have asc from my conversations with lecturers/ professors. Your dc would probably be a good fit if they can make the grades.

Every third student I meet in Cambridge is autistic or waiting for an assessment 🙃

We're EVERYWHERE

Be reassured that it is not only the students, quite a good number of academics with aspergers too.

Sheffield Hallam and Birmingham are renowned for their autism studies so might be worth a look. Is she applying for Disabled Students’ Allowance? I’d recommend she does - even if she doesn’t need any additional funding, the DSA report will make the university aware of any adjustments she will need, including accommodation requirements.

Thanks everyone. Cambridge sounds ideal for her. As for DLA, I am going to urge her to apply but she is really stubborn and says wants to achieve things on her merit not be 'given an easier ride' because of her asd. I know this isn't the case and it really infuriates me that she won't take the extra help. I think the room situation might be the thing that swings it though as she is going to be VERY particular about that.

It is dsa not dla. Even if it is approved she can choose which of the suggestions she takes up. It just means there is funding available for, for example, one to one support sessions to manage her workload. Even if she does not follow up dsa the Student Support department at uni can be accessed and help her with such as appropriate accommodation and extended deadlines.

Copied from what I just typed on another thread, in case it's useful:

DSA is not a loan - it doesn't have to be paid back. It is not cash but funding for things that she would need to be able to access the course.

Examples of what can be funded:
Weekly mentoring with a specialist learning mentor.
Software to help with note-taking and assignment writing.
Laptop to run the above software (the student has to pay the first £200 towards this).
Insurance for the laptop.
Printer.
Reimbursement of printer costs (ink cartridges).

She would apply for DSA at the same time as applying for the student loan (the spring before starting university)

DS1 (neurotypical; gets support for another reason) was very reluctant to apply for DSA. He was approved for all of the things I've listed above and he actually thanked me and admitted that applying for it had been the right thing.

No idea what support is available but Keele is a lovely quiet campus uni with loads of green space around. The local area is very cheap so if she didn't want to live with other students it wouldn't be outrageously expensive to rent a 1 bed flat on her own.

I only know about the DSA at second hand, but my take is that it's provided precisely so that students who are in some way outside the usual box are able to achieve on their own merit.

To echo/ back up what someone earleir said about Liverpool it may well be worth looking in to. Easy to get to from NI, comparatively.

My friend has a son who deferred uni entry due to a traumatic bereavement and also (pretty severe) MH issues. By all accounts, Liverpool have been brilliant, including making sure his accommodation and health care suit his needs.