A campus university with excellent SEN support

[ThinkingAgainAndAgain]

Fs is currently in y11, planning his A level choices and thinking vaguely about going to university. He has ASD and dyspraxia, and the Ed psych who diagnosed his ASD suggested that a campus university would be a better choice for him. He likes humanities.

Obviously it’s a few years off, but it’s something he talks about a lot, he’s very keen to go, and going to university is something we’d like to encourage.

Are any campus universities better known than others for their SEN support please?

I'd take a look now at some of the Widening Participation courses like Birmingham's Realising Opportunities, Step into Bath, Reading Scholars, Exeter Scholars. Some are Year 11, some year 12. Bath also does an Autism Summer School which you sign up for in January of year 11. These will give you some idea of the support on offer and which unis he might like.

My DN with ASD is studying Economics at Heriot Watt and having the best time. The campus looks great and the accommodation is much better than when I went to university back in the day.

I would look the ones closest to you first of all and choose between them. From friends’ experience something easily reachable by train in less than one hour is perfect.

Thank you, I had no idea about these programmes. Some seem to be about widening access based on areas that don’t relate to neuro-divergence (and some are postcode dependent) but the Bath one especially looks spot on.

Yes, I see the value in this

I can only speak from my own experience- Leeds Uni have been amazingly supportive of my ADHD diagnosis. They refunded me the assessment cost and have been great in terms of reasonable adjustments and extra help!

If you search prospective uni websites for 'widening participation' or 'contextual offers' you'll see they seem to have a wide range of criteria. Care leavers, forces kids, race, postcode, disability - Bath seem on the fence for contextual offers for ASD but the autism summer school is great. Reading and Royal Holloway (and possibly Birmingham off the top of my head) do contextual offers for ASD.

Getting on one of these trying it out courses is like extended open days. The one my DC did also had a residential, taster lectures and seminars on personal statements, as well as getting a contextual offer. It wasn't particularly ASD friendly though, certainly not compared to the Bath ASD summer school.

Look into DSA support and go from there. My son very deliberately chose a local uni with excellent reputation for DSA support over another local uni with a better overall reputation but not good rep for DSA support. The plan was to travel and live at home for first year then move out to live at uni.. he has ended to staying at home because ‘I wouldn’t get my degree if I move out’.
DSA provide taxi money so he can travel home when he is finished for the day and if he wants to stay out to socialise he can. They also provide various equipment ( laptops, printer, dictaphone with specialist software), support worker, scribe, laison officer etc…

It didn’t suit my ds, but Chester Uni was a lovely compact campus with great facilities, nice rooms and seemingly lots of support.

My son is at UEA and went from a special Ed school with a ehcp. They have been really supportive from accommodation needs to assisting him academically. He seems very happy (well the little he tells me)

Is FS in your OP foster son? If so hes classed as having been in care and would be eligible for most, if not all WP schemes!

Sorry, FS was a typo. He is my 15yo DS.

A friend's daughter who is Autistic was very well supported at Warwick.
They allowed her to stay in halls of residence for her second year - she decided to move out after that.

DD is in her second year at Reading, she’s waiting for an ASD assessment but they are treating her as if she has the diagnosis as they are aware of waiting times.

She has a named support person with the Disability team, who ensures that any special requirements are put in place, and as she is under them she has been able to return to halls this year and probably will next year as well. The campus is lovely and most things she needs are within easy walking distance, but it is equally straightforward for her to get the bus into town, and from there it’s a simple train journey into London.

Cardiff Met has excellent student support services. It has two campuses, but with distinct schools in each. Llandaff campus is great and just a short walk to Llandaff village, which is lovely and leafy.

My DS has found Exeter excellent for SEN support.