Cambridge / UCL for an Autistic child?

[ComfortablyGlum]

My son is year 10 and is working at grade 9 for Physics, statistics and computer science with predicted 9s for maths and geography GCSE.

He has been advised that he should take physics, computer science and double maths at A level. Possibly taking physics one year early.

He is high functioning autistic- very bright but no social skills at all. Not interested in friends or in his appearance ( needs constant supervision with personal hygiene, to wear clean clothes etc).

He is interested in applying to Cambridge and UCL. I worry that he won’t cope with the interview or have any ‘extra curriculars’ to put on his application. He is not interested in anything at all except his computers and has no desire to integrate or take up other hobbies.

Can anyone offer any insights on how Cambridge (or UCL) deal with this kind of applicant and whether they offer good pastoral care for special needs students? He could commute to UCL and we are only a 50m drive from Cambridge so neither are miles from us and we could keep a good eye on him!

Academically, I have no concerns he has the ability to apply however I just worry he won’t be able to handle the initial interview process or have anything to put on his application to stand out.

I know I’m thinking about this quite early but DS likes to plan ahead and I don’t want to start him on the stressful road to a high end Uni if he has no chance due to his autism.

Any experiences would be appreciated!

No experience, but lots of Universities have ASC-focused events for potential applicants and a 30 second google found mention of one at UCL here which will hopefully go ahead once this pandemic is over so would be good to go to before the time for applications comes around. I couldn't find any specific mention of such an event at Cambridge, but plenty of guidance for faculty staff about the adaptions they should make during recruitment and teaching for people with ASCs (no idea how well these are applied). TBH I would expect that most top universities would expect that a larger-than-average fraction of their applicants for technical subjects like maths, physics and computer science are likely to either be diagnosed with ASC or undiagnosed but with enough relevant traits that they might well be on the spectrum. Some of the faculty and staff in these departments will be so too. Academia can be a good environment in which some people with ASCs will thrive. The concept of a person with autism having no social skills but a whizzkid with numbers/computers is certainly a stereotype and certainly does not apply to everyone on the spectrum, but it is common enough that such a person will not be surprising/unusual/out-of-place. Given that your DS has the ability, there's no reason why he shouldn't go for it.

He will find his tribe at university. Often very clever, exceptional people meet like minded peers on advanced courses.

Their eccentricity is reflected by the people around them. I've known many very happy people with autism do well in advanced subjects at university. They speak the same language, they become immersed in their subject and, they get to talk endlessly about it to like minded people.

They get a lot of bespoke support to help with functioning. Student disability services are good.

My son has “high functioning” autism and is in year 13 and currently hasn’t offers from 2 universities, waiting on two more and has an interview at a very prestigious establishment. He does have some hobbies and lots of friends but is totally lacking in social skills.

When applying for universities, there is a section all about disabilities which ds filled in. The universities have so many students with ASC and many other conditions and are likely to have procedures in place to help. I know that once enrolled the support sounds phenomenal. Given that your son has a couple of years to go it may be a good idea to work on his social skills: we have tried that with ds and it has been eye opening!

My son is nowhere near as advanced as yours and I have no worries about how mine will get on.

Cambridge actively say that they don't really give a shit about irrelevant extracurriculars; they want to know you're obsessive about your academic subject. That's why the university feels like somewhere that was pretty much designed to disproportionately admit, and then cater for the all-encompassing academic obsessions of, certain kinds of autistics. It's heaving with them. The ASD awareness and support was very good in my experience. No idea about UCL though.

(I speak as a 2020-graduated student, not as a parent, though, if that makes a difference.)

How would he cope with living independently for the first time?

Cambridge, and living in college, might be the better bet than navigating London.

Passion for the subject is all that will count. So don't worry about other extra curricular, but point him towards maths challenges, Astro PI, the safe-cracking challenge etc. Also look at they free online courses with things like OpenLearn and FutureLearn - they won't attract any awards/UCAS points but they might interest him in and of themselves and could also give him staff to include in his future personal statement

Can't advise on autism front but my brother is at Cambridge and I know from the interview process they don't care if you do rugby or Duke of Edinburgh... They care about your obsession and curiosity for your subject. The workload is so crazy intense there isn't even a lot of time for anything else judging by my brother!

Just wanted to add that

Sorry that should “has offers from 2 universities”

Oh dear god what is wrong with me today?! Hopefully it makes sense op

The University of Bath used to run a summer school for potential applicants on the autistic spectrum.

www.bath.ac.uk/case-studies/groundbreaking-workshops-for-autistic-people-applying-for-universities-and-jobs/

Following the links through to 'Register for...' currently gets to a dead end from that page, unfortunately; however. the university does seem to be planning ahead for 2022:

www.bath.ac.uk/events/autism-summer-school-2021/

Thank you everyone for the very useful information.

The main trait of his particular type of autism is a very unemotional and stoic character. I understand that all uni’s will look for ‘passion’ in the chosen subject but he is unable show that emotion. He comes across as bored and rude even when talking about his favourite thing (computers!) so I hope we get a chance to get that across in his application.

At this (very) early stage I’m mainly fact finding and it’s good to hear Cambridge is abundant with autistic students. My gut does tell me he’d do better living in at Cambridge (or other non local uni) than commuting into London.

Hi there,
You've had lots of useful thoughts already but I just wanted to add that I don't think you should be worrying about hobbies and extracurricular activities - they won't be asking about those in the interview. Cambridge specifically say they are interested in evidence of students' super-curricular activities, and not in the extra-curricular activities. So - if he is not already - make sure he is doing the Olympiads, things like Smallpeice courses are great, and reading around his area of interest. The main thing the interview is looking for is curiosity and obsession with the subject. I would imagine that visits, taster days and/or residentials might be helpful for him to get a feel for the place, and a sense of whether it is for him. All colleges are linked to an LEA, so find out which college your LEA is linked to, and see what they offer in terms of outreach etc
Some links that might be useful:
www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/find-out-more/teachers-and-parents/helping-students-prepare
www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/files/publications/super-curricular_suggestions.pdf
myheplus.com/

DS (ASD) is in his first year at Cambridge, studying physical natural sciences.

From the point of view of studying with autism, Cambridge has been a very good environment. The expectations are very clear, he can access the lecture notes in advance, and his college is caring and understanding.

He has been advised that he should take physics, computer science and double maths at A level. Possibly taking physics one year early

1. If he wants to study Computer Science or Maths at Cambridge then this is the perfect combination of A-levels. If he wants to study Natural Sciences then I would recommend taking Chemistry instead of Computer Science. Without Chemistry A-level, he would be (a) limited in what sections he can attempt in the NSAA) and (b) limited in what courses he could take in first year. (As well as Physics and Maths, he'll need to take two other science courses, and without Chemistry he would have fewer options). If he dislikes Chemistry then a straight physics course somewhere other than Cambridge would be a better fit.

2. What would be the benefit of taking Physics a year early? There's the risk of not achieving as high a grade, of not demonstrating that he can easily handle the workload of four A-levels, and of losing physics skills in Y13 (when the admissions assessments and interviews would be).

My autistic DS is going to Oxford next academic year. He found the interviewers were great. They seemed to accommodate his 'quirks'. He put down a college as first choice but was picked up by a much more suitable college that actually make a point in being open to candidates with access requirements. A positive experience on our side. (Although I realise it's not a university that you mentioned).