Son not allowed to continue to second year at uni

[PocketSand]

DS2 has just completed his first year in an engineering degree. His results are all over the place from 1st in maths to 2:2 to required resits. He exceeded the A level grade requirements for MEng. He is autistic and has ADHD. He was un medicated prior to and during most of his first year due to shortages followed by referral to cardiology.

His DSA support didn't start til the spring term and one support worker provided 1 hour support when 30 hours was approved. He constantly tells the one he has seen that everything is fine and they believe him.

He always says everything is fine and doesn't ask for help. He has never been to the library and relies totally on lecture notes. He doesn't know what independent study is. I have always been his advocate but now he is expected to advocate for himself. No one at the uni knows these issues - he has not even contacted his personal tutor let alone disability services and just thinks he needs to work harder.

He found out today that he has failed his third submission of a lab report he initially submitted in February. He did not have DSA agreed support at that time so he didn’t have his own laptop. He borrowed another student’s at the time but when he had to resubmit no longer had access to his results and so he tried to cobble together a report using specimen (and maybe someone else’s results - not clear). He had previously received an email saying he couldn’t proceed unless he passed resubmission. I assume that’s where we are at now.

His feedback is harsh - shouldn’t study for a degree if not prepared to use feedback to improve his work. Trouble is he often doesn’t understand the feedback and he is unwilling to ask for clarification as he fears tutor’s anger. He says he doesn’t know who marked the work so doesn’t know who to talk to and seems generally clueless about most administrative issues.

I feel completely in the dark and don’t know where to go from here. Obviously I don’t want to just give up and accept his journey ends here as it seems very unfair but don’t know what I can do to try and enable him to fix this or if it can be fixed.

Can anyone who knows the system provide advice on next steps please?

@Lollylucyclark101his ECHP was discontinued when he went to university.

EHCPs don't cover tertiary education. They automatically cease when you reach that stage - it's DSA taking over, then. It can be a really tricky transition, as the EHCP is mediated by parents usually (though the kid takes over in theory, and with capacity, at 16, in reality parents continue to be closely involved in almost all cases), whereas DSA assumptions are that the YP is an adult, and can manage themselves. A lot of autistic kids are highly capable cognitively, but can't manage the practicalities at all yet, due to delays in maturity.

Minor point - it's not an EHCP plan, because the P in EHCP is plan (I used to trip up over that all the time, too!). It's an EHC plan.

My daughters ex boyfriend was autistic and didn't tell anyone at Uni to get the support he needed. He did fine until his final year when he had to give a presentation as part of his dissertation and couldn't do it, so didn't do his dissertation - he failed. He had to do another year and redo his dissertation module and, once he admitted his issues, didn't have to do the presentation at all. You can't blame the lack of support if he isn't admitting his needs and telling everyone he is fine when he isn't.
He will need to speak to the Uni and let them know the support he needs and then redo the first year probably

How do you know everyone else has one? Some people still have to use uni computer banks.

I have spent today trying to understand the position as best I can before speaking to disability support. I don’t want to go in half cocked. I also have a lot on my plate atm what with supporting 2 young adults (hence carers allowance) plus preparing for my divorce financial dispute court hearing next week and transferring DS1 from ESA to UC.

I was told by my LA that the EHCP continues until they’re 25?

surely needs don’t just “stop” when they’re at uni!

i agree. Having an Sen child is incredibly challenging-Especially if those needs are masked. My dd is autistic and she refuses help like the clappers. Won’t look at feedback, won’t redo homework to secure her learning, won’t accept any support that’s outside of what her peers get. She has massive trust issues so I I were to go against those refusals she would literally shut down and that would be it. But hey, it’s all the parents fault for not pulling their weight and getting a laptop

OP-I sympathise and can relate massively. It’s hard to see others whose kids are firm on the future, or it’s safe to assume will get there. If I were you I’d probably suggest a year out and try the working wirld just to build his confidence up a bit

It should cover him until he’s 25?

Your DC needs some coaching for ND. Being aware of the challenges that he doesn’t resonate with and advocating for himself as he progresses through uni and work is essential. He has a disability and is legally protected but only if being discriminated against and as the uni is unaware..they only see a struggling pupil and not someone who will fly with adaptions and barriers removed.
Being kicked out will likely make him feel worthless so it is important that he understands why it happened and how it could have been different. Unless he and you chooses to keep his head in the sand and never realise his potential and happiness.

Maybe he refused it?

This is complicated. Essentially Uni is about independent study and I understand when people say support services won't chase students who don't engage BUT your son has Autism! Communication and engaging with people he doesn't know are key areas of difficulty. Would one expect a student in a wheelchair up get up and walk if a ramp was missing? You and your son need to be a team. He needs to learn how to engage by doing it jointly with you. You must advocate for him, he cannot do it himself and yes they must, in my opinion, be more proactive about helping him to access and accept help. And about sharing his learning needs with his lecturers. Support should have been taking him to the library, they are not lip service, they are there to help a student achieve success and should do whatever is needed. Your son may need to repeat Year 1, this time with a clearer plan. Contact the Uni yourself. Find out what his options are. As others have suggested, a straight Maths degree looks like a good option but not if it isn't what he wants. He will need to learn from this. Uni will be as much about him learning what support he needs and teaching him the skills to ask for it and use it. Adult life will be no different. The same issues will occur at work and he needs to know how to be successful. I wish you both huge success.

Only if they stay in mainstream state education. University is FE and is considered to be different. Support is also funded differently.

As he is an adult he needs to be engaging in the support available at uni. This is not something you can fix. All you can do is to support him to help himself - signpost him to get help. If he won't seek help and support it is probably not the right environment for him. Uni is all about being an independent learner, managing your own time, own study needs, being independent and seeking out the information you need. If he used someone elses work that could also result in being investigated for cheating / plagiarism. I cannot fathom why he would not have a laptop to use - most universities have them available to loan free of charge. it sounds like he has just not engaged with the services available to him.

If he has got to 3rd attempt and failed the assessments that means that he has had feedback and not acted on it to make improvements. The responsibility lies with him. However what he can do is check out the universities mitigating circumstances process. It is now quite late as he would have been made aware of this at the outset and its available on universities web pages to find out for himself. He could have had additional chances to submit potentially - but it involves submitting evidence. He will only have evidence if he has engaged with services eg disability support at uni.

The university has done the right thing in asking him to withdraw. Ethically if the course is not right for him he will be running up a huge student debt to continue on something that will not benefit him as he will be unable to pass it. Even after the first year he will have run up a considerable student debt and have little to show for it.

However failure can be a huge opportunity for growth. Maybe let him learn the lessons from this and let the failure happen. Once he is back home let him reflect and process then start the conversation about what he has learnt from the experience, what he would do differently in future, why he did not engage with all the services available to him and what would motivate him. I suspect that the course was not right for him and did not motivate him. So what does he want to do? Play to his strengths. These days there are many options not just uni - what about an apprenticeship?

Hope that helps.

I hear this so often with friends who have kids with either ASD or ADHD or both. Some of them who are high functioning seem to cope but others just don't seem to get on well with the change, culture, independence and constant study pressure. Parents rarely feature at all. Year 1 is pretty easy. The work counts very little towards the final grade (although they do have to pass certain elements) it then ramps up for Year 2 & 3. Every single one who struggled with Year 1 repeated it at the same setting or a different Uni and they all ultimately failed and came home with debt and no degree. If he really wants to continue its up to him to get it sorted. You may know he is more than capable of getting a degree but maybe not doing it away at Uni or maybe not at this age. He needs to decide not just if he wants to continue but if he wants to do it there, away from home. Good luck finding a way through.

As much as you are aware of his needs if the University isn't then they have probably been very fair with him. So 1) has he contacted the relevant support team and been given a set of adjustments? If he has been in I would expect that to have been communicated to the teachers. You shouldn't be sending emails to individual teachers about this.

Because he is an adult you can't act on his behalf unless you have permission in place. The uni should deal with him directly unless there is a specific agreement in place otherwise. So 2)

you need to talk with him about what he wants. Its quite possible he wants to do it himself even though you would do a much better job. That's what teenagers do.

To not be allowed be allowed to carry forward and resit this class or module means either this is a core or essential module (normally some modules can be forgiven (condoned) or he had actually done something worse than a bad submission. Possibly he has been asked to create a data set but has instead used someone else's (friend or internet) and has been caught up in an unfair practice situation. 3) if you know what he failed you might be able to work that out by diligently studying the online course information. Also a mark of zero is a big warning flag, a mark of say 33 is poor work.

If you can unpick all of the above you still need to know what does he want? Leave, change degrees or try to get back. ? It really should be his choice. If he wants to stay the course maybe try for something like an 'external resit' where he is basically having a year off but hands in the assessment. That would be a lot cheaper, but if he has to go in to use equipment may not be possible. So 4) talk to him and keep reminding yourself how you would have felt if your mum chose your clothes/music/friends for you at his age.

You can try to teach him how to use the resources available to him. IMO that's your job rather than making decisions for him. Can you send him things he needs in his uni emails to get him opening them? You might be surprised how few students do this

If he had been to student support and they didn't deliver what he was promised (and YOU can see evidence of that) go for it and demand resolution and immediately move to formal complaints.

Maybe a year to re group pick up some basic skills with your support and resources do the work would be less awful than you think.

Good luck

Or a year out and look round for a more supportive uni

“As far as I am aware readiness for uni is assessed on academic achievement rather than life skills.”
Readiness for uni is based on various factors - being able to understand instructions and undertake independent study is one of them. My friend’s daughter is profoundly disabled and sadly cannot attend uni because, with the best will in the world, she is completely non verbal and cannot follow instructions.
I also have a high achieving, high functioning autistic son so I do understand your frustration, OP. I wish your son all the best.

There are issues at play here above and beyond a degree course. If support is obtained and the course completed what then? Academia may be required to provide support, preparation for the future should have begun way before this all transpired

Agree wholeheartedly with this.

I appreciate that he qualifies for some disability support, but he is still an adult with full capacity and you cannot continue to be his advocate all the time if he doesn't engage with the support that's available and refuses to have conversations with his tutor if he doesn't understand something.

University is about more than academic ability. When you say he 'hasn't been to the library and relies on lecture notes' and that he 'doesn't know what independent study is' - why is that? He is presumably aware of the existence of the library and knows that other students use it. What is actually stopping him from going there? Does he refuse to accept that it's necessary? Does he have some sort of anxiety about setting foot in the building?

Why doesn't he know what independent study is? He won't be able to do a degree like this with no research skills and no willingness to try.

It sounds from what you've said that he has had support and is getting feedback on his work, but isn't engaging with that feedback or trying to understand what it means. If he truly is incapable of understanding any feedback on his assignments and, as an adult of 19/20 years old, cannot grasp what 'independent study' means, then it's very possible that university isn't the right path for him.

University isn't obligatory and it's not for everyone - plenty of very bright people aren't necessarily suited to university. If it's not right for your son, that's OK.

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You can appeal based on everything you said here. The details can be found in the student handbook. You do not say which uni so I cannot provide more details. Also contact student support. I cannot say the appeal will be successful but the full facts were not known during the resubmissions. Speed is of the essence though.

Hi, I do not have any answers for you but two of my sons are autistic. One has completed uni and got a first. The other is still young and I think would struggle like your son does. Sometimes it’s not a bad thing to delay uni a couple of years give them a chance to mature and learn to cope with life before embarking on uni life.
Your son can still do uni but maybe he just needs a couple of years to mature and think about what he wants.
Autistic people need to do life at their pace x

Really, not everyone should go to uni. Happiness does not come from squeezing a square peg into a round hole.

Universities should be used to arranging disability support in confidential ways. Nobody else on his course needs to know he's getting it. This is something he needs to discuss with them - there will be places other than the library he can meet a mentor.

There are arguments for telling the academic staff - once told they can't be untold that you both need to talk through with the disabilities service staff.

There is a bit of a harsh truth in that the failed lab report does mean there is a problem for which he needs help.

In the circs yes it's likely to help him if he allows disability services to talk to you. But the support needs tailoring to him and needs his input - from what you've said I think it'd help him to have regular preplanned meetings with his tutors and a disability person where they can talk through the feedback on his work.

Disability services should be able to help him find out about student societies where he might find people like him. It's harder to integrate living at home but worth trying for sources of support that aren't you.

If he's going to repeat the first year, check with Student Finance England (or equivalent) what the effect is on his entitlement.

You could try to appeal the third attempt on the grounds that he didn’t have his disability stuff in place at the time it was attempted. They may accept the appeal & give him another try at it