Autism support at uni - any recommendations?

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We are looking at 2022 entry for my autistic daughter, she plans to study English and/or Linguistics.

Can anyone recommend any universities that offer good support for autism?

I am looking on individual sites, and to be honest I'm really disappointed with the lack of disability information on them.

Ideally she needs to be within 2 hours travelling distance from Manchester.

Sorry post should read 2023 entry

Manchester's own student support policy for autism looks pretty good (we used it as an example for 'what other places say they do' when battling student support somewhere else).

www.dso.manchester.ac.uk/what-support-can-i-get/other-ways-we-can-help/autistic-spectrum-disorder-support/

Bath runs (or ran) summer school courses aimed at helping students with ASD into university
www.bath.ac.uk/case-studies/groundbreaking-workshops-for-autistic-people-applying-for-universities-and-jobs/

Both of our DC hold offers currently for Nottingham Trent, one is an English offer. Both DC are ASD/adhd etc

we did look carefully when planning Uni and both felt comfortable on the campus, student support is highly rated and the students we spoke to who had autism rated the campus well

i believe the Uni has just won an award again for best student satisfaction

@Lancelottie Thanks, I totally missed that info when I checked the Manchester website. Staying in Manchester, but living in halls is ideal - she's had to repeat a year Y12 due to MH issues, and nearly didn't get through this year so I need her within reaching distance. I'm sorry you've had issues elsewhere - I hope they were resolved

@Tomnooktoldmeto This is really helpful, I will add to my list

A lot of the support provided would be through DSA so it’s quite individual to the students.
you need to find out unis with courses she’d be happy with and start the conversation with their student support teams, rather than just rely on the websites.

My DD was diagnosed ASD age 17 and had MH issues in 6th form and throughout Uni. She's just completed her 3rd year at Durham. The college system has meant that she has always had a point of contact and support. She's had access to a MH nurse for all this year who is based in college. The academic department has been supportive too. Durham is probably just around 2hrs from Manchester and there is a direct train to Mcr Victoria.

@chocolatenutcase I will reconsider Durham. I'd been put off thinking it would be too high a pressure environment, but I understand what you are say about the college system ensuring more close contact. I don't drive, so it definitely needs to be accessible by train. I hope your daughter is doing much better now. Thanks for posting your experience

One of DD's friends (who was diagnosed in 6th form) went to UCLAN and was supported very well. She achieved a first.

Have good reports from Keele and Swansea.from others...if you want to widen area..
Had a really good response from Keele re questions for dc looking for 2023 ..not asd but other needs .....but they dont have quiet accommodation if thats something your thinking of...think swansea and UEA do....mixed reports on support at UEA but dc loved it on open day

@RampantIvy This is really useful to know, we have family in Lancashire

@averythinline Thank you for posting. I hadn't considered Keele, but will definitely look at now. Swansea sounds great, it's just too far.

Dd has tried a couple (so far, not tempting fate!) ask what the accessibility provision is like and make sure the course suits or is adaptable. I would avoid Warwick like the plague, know 6 separate students who have dropped out due to lack of mental health support, 3 were autistic.

Another thought is accommodation in year 2 if sharing a house isn't practical for them - cheaper cities mean a bedsit is more affordable eg dsd pays £140/week for a bedsit no shared facilities whereas my dd2 (no health issues) pays that for a shared house in a more expensive city

@motogirl That's really sad to hear about the student's who attended Warwick.

Hi my daughter with ASD is looking at universities for Sep 2023 entry, so I've read this thread with interest. We haven't spoken to our toured any yet but going by their website, Nottingham looks like it provides excellent ASD Support in theory.

Ds who has asd went to Keele. Very impressive. V supportive. Disability Student services very on the ball.

My uni at Winchester had a good student support, but the actual 1-1 etc was all funded by the LEA and DSA
not sure if those are still available it was a long time ago

@PinkBuffalo Great to hear that you had a good experience. The DSA system still applies across all Universities. I think it's the extra things I'm thinking of - like tutor training, social groups, quiet accommodation...

A family friend diagnosed when she was 17 is doing very well at Lancaster University - collegiate and very supportive environment

@Pattygonia That's really useful to know, I've been trying to steer her towards Lancaster for a while! Lancaster is a lovely town

We were impressed with autism support at Durham, Nottingham and Exeter. Kings London were useless! Dd ended up at Exeter and they've been superb.

I was going to say Durham as well. The college system means students are well looked after and kept an eye on. They are all different, but she possibly would want one of the smaller colleges. You can also live in for all 3 years if you have a disability (most students live in Y1 and Y3).

Bath Bath Bath Bath Bath Bath!

I regularly work with their Centre for Applied Autism Research and they work on the principle that they use their studies to support the students also. Also a very on the ball and autism friendly career’s service.

@Empra123
@LillyDeValley
@user1471548941

Thank you for the recommendations, your insight is really helpful.

For anyone else researching the same question, I've found that Lincoln University and York St John University seem to have really good support networks in place.