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Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

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Original poster

UCAS application and autism

21 replies

JamieandRoybromance · 01/10/2023 19:22

Hi all. So my DS is in year 13, doing his A levels, and he has just had his autism diagnosis. He's classed as high functioning and as such doesn't have any problems with the academic side of things. But obviously his autism has meant he hasn't really engaged with school life, so no extra curricular activities or any accolades like head boy etc. He has also never had an interest in work experience or part time jobs. So we're really going to have to think hard about what to put in the personal statement.

I'm just wondering, is it worth referencing his diagnosis in the personal statement? Maybe pointing out the value of the diagnosis in terms of his abilities and interests? Putting a positive spin on it?

Thanks.

OP posts:

Fluffycloudsblusky · 01/10/2023 19:29

I don’t think it’s usually included. Showing interest around the subject could be museums visits, a magazine subscription, work experience, volunteering, length of interest in the subject, tutoring etc.

MuffinWalloper · 01/10/2023 19:33

It's certainly worth ticking the box elsewhere on the form for a contextual offer - if the unis he's applying to offer them for ASD.

We're two UCAS forms in - one mentioned ASD in the personal statement and one didn't. The one that did was in terms of how it influenced the choice of course. It wouldn't have added anything to the other one so we didn't mention it.

Scampuss · 01/10/2023 19:36

Mine didn't put it in his personal statement, just disclosed it in the relevant disability box.

Mine also had no extra-curricular stuff but was able to discuss why he was interested in his chosen subjects and it clearly worked as he got what he wanted!

Hermanfromguesswho · 01/10/2023 19:38

This is a really good question. My year 13 is in exactly the same boat. It’s tricky to know what to write!

Original poster

JamieandRoybromance · 01/10/2023 19:38

Oh wow! Ok, so his autism has definitely impacted his choices so he can say lots about that. If there's a disability box to explain his diagnosis, we will fill that in. It's all new to us, only had his diagnosis 2 weeks ago so we don't have any official paperwork yet. Do you have to include proof to ucas?

OP posts:

Original poster

JamieandRoybromance · 01/10/2023 19:40

@Hermanfromguesswho It is tricky isn't it. They are wonderful people who would add so much to a course, but it is difficult to get this across in a personal statement when there are limitations to their experiences. Good luck to your ds too.

OP posts:

clary · 01/10/2023 19:41

PS is not about extra curricular (unless relevant- sporting activity for a sports science degree perhaps) or being head boy so dw about that. Most dc are not head boy after all.

I would focus on what interests him about the course and what he has read/watched/taken an active part in relating to that. So dd talked about books she likes, themes that interest in and why for her Eng lit course. What he would like to do going forward and how this course relates. Unis don't care about D of E.

Wrt autism, I would deffo flag it somewhere, but only in the PS if it relates to the subject in some way as a pp says.

MuffinWalloper · 01/10/2023 19:42

No proof to UCAS now, but you'll need it when you apply for DSA via Student Finance later.

DonkeyFacedCunt · 01/10/2023 19:46

DD is year 12 and will face this problem next year. Her school Ucss advisor has said to tick the box or whatever to indicate autism, and this will help explain lack of extra curricular. But as others have said, it’s more about the course etc

HowcanIhelp123 · 01/10/2023 19:46

Don't include unless relevant. It shouldn't impact him at all. Lots of students with autism diagnosis go to uni, and there are lots of help available. Make sure to ask!

There's often grants for special equipment and software, support plans with disability services (basically they will discuss what he needs - quiet room to himself for exams, extra time, freedom to sit near an exit, to present to smaller groups rather than whole class etc.). I've seen many thrive.

marthasmum · 01/10/2023 19:51

Hi, I think clary has given really good advice above. OP, my daughter is autistic and has just started at uni. There is an option to disclose a disability on the ucas form and if he’s comfortable with ticking this, I’d definitely encourage him to. This will flag up to the uni he hopefully joins and enable them to fast track him to their disability support services. You can apply for Disabled Students’ Allowance from Student finance - this is a pot of money which he can access for any specific support needs/ reasonable adjustments eg my DD has access to a weekly meeting with a tutor to help her plan her work, and extra time for exams. The support has been phenomenal so far. I work in a uni and know that they will be keen to support autistic students. All the best to you and him.

marthasmum · 01/10/2023 19:52

Sorry I’ve just seen post above which says similar!

Jaxx · 01/10/2023 21:34

I wouldn’t reference his diagnosis in his personal statement - the disability box and extenuating circumstances on the reference are the places this should be recorded.

Does your son have any special interests that he can link to the subject he wants to study? As an example my son likes maps and wants to study history so went to a Map exhibition and did a bit of extra research and included it in his statement. He has largely stuck to academic stuff.

Also please don’t worry too much the statement - he’ll figure out stuff to write. So many universities don’t even read them nowadays for many courses, the most important thing is predicted grades.

Original poster

JamieandRoybromance · 01/10/2023 22:19

Thank you everyone. I'm feeling much more confident about it all now.

OP posts:

OneInEight · 02/10/2023 08:05

ds1 did not and ds2 did. But ds2 only because there were huge gaps in his education / extra-curricular activities which needed some sort of explanation. Both ticked the disability box.

Ceit · 02/10/2023 08:30

Just responding to the part of this I know about - as implied by a PP, extracurricular activities are really not that important unless they directly relate to interest in the subject. So don't worry about that unduly.

lifeturnsonadime · 02/10/2023 08:41

Yes as others have said, it doesn't need to be in the PS if he feels it is a disability then the disability part can be completed and if it has impacted study it can be mentioned in the teacher reference.

My DS has already submitted his, current year 13 as he's applying to Oxford. He's autistic and anxiety has impacted his previous education - he was a school refuser so it is ticked as a disability and his teacher has made reference in the relevant part that they fill in.

He has already had an early offer from one of his 5 choices.

Good luck to your DS .

JediKnightingale · 02/10/2023 08:43

This is also my son! Yr 13, high functioning, recently diagnosed etc.

His top choice is St Andrews for Computer Science and on their open day they stressed that the CS Dept look closely at personal statements and look for ‘students who show a deep passion for the subject’. Instantly I felt dread as DS is unable to show emotion and his PS will be quite logical and robotic. They took the kids off to the CS labs for a bit so I was able to ask the head of the department about it in more detail.

To be fair, she didn’t know exactly what to advise but said she’d look into it and she emailed me back a few days later. Her main point was to make sure the uni are aware of his diagnosis and maybe get the school to mention it in their reference. DS wouldn’t want to mention it in his PS so this seemed a good idea.

My elder son receives DSA (for a different condition) and his uni were fantastic- he got a quiet studio flat and is thriving. We didn’t know about DSA and it was the uni who advised us to apply when he confirmed his offer.

Geneticsbunny · 02/10/2023 09:04

I work in academia and there are an awful lot of neurodiverse folks in universities, both studying and staff. In fact certain courses, the majority of students are autistic. So it's probably not worth mentioning on the personal statement bit of the form but he will be well understood and welcomed in a university environment.

Original poster

JamieandRoybromance · 02/10/2023 14:57

Thank you everyone, you've all been really kind and helpful.

OP posts:

Mombie · 03/10/2023 07:18

DS is higher functioning and has not referenced it in his PS but has in the relevant disability but. He is really passionate about his chosen subject (special interests yay😊) he keeps it all in, so it wouldn’t be so obvious at interview.
Academically he will do fine but it is the being out of ‘sync’ and establishing a new routine which might throw him off course-so we thought he should mention it sooner rather than later.

He is always reluctant to tell ppl about it tbh because he has been labelled in the past at school and during extra-curricular activities. However, he doesn’t realise that over these 17 years, our home has a developed a fine balance that works for him and that this will change drastically if he goes away to Uni.

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