Questions to ask university about support for son's additional needs

[elliejjtiny]

Got a video call with a university about ds needs tomorrow. I've done a list of questions but worried I have missed something. TBH I'm dreading the whole idea of him going as I can't see him coping but he is determined to go.

What office or unit is the call with?

What would he need help with? You may not wish to answer this but if we need to give you ideas then we need to know.

Make sure you ask some open questions- “ what type of support can you offer ds”
Good luck

Dc3 is looking at university for 2027 and had an online talk about this. 3 of the speakers were students with different needs. They were really good at highlighting different adaptions. One thing that all 3 said was they wished they'd been more open at the start of the process. All said proof of need made things easier to get but wasn't always necessary. One woman in her third year said preemptive planning helped her as she had an illness that could relapse with minimal warning so having a care plan that meant sending one email when this happened gave her automatic extensions on assessment submissions or allowed working from her bed for however long was necessary.
They all said that asking what the University could offer and stating what worked at sixth-form helped but also asking 'for xx diagnosis what do current students find useful' (obviously everyone's different but they said it gave ideas of whats available).
The University said about getting everything planned and written up before starting helped students settle in, meant any equipment could be arranged and available and meant students had one less task when everything was new.

Will the university be proactive? If DD doesn't ask specifically for supports, shes found the university team won't contact her, despite all the documentation they were given. This caused some major issues over exam support which was stressful for her to fix at the 11th hour.
Don't expect school type support.

Thankyou. He has autism and selective mutism. He doesn't ask for help if he needs to.

Oh, in that case ask how they can offer support and if they have done so before. If they talk about it all being in the hands of the student, look elsewhere.
DD was offered a whole list of IT and a small exam room, but anything else has been a challenge.

He'll need to work at getting over that, which may seem insurmountable to you. So that is something to ask about. Maybe in the interim counselling or therapeutic intervention so that he is better at asking for help, or knows how to - maybe a routine or a script.

University isn't school, and staff are spread very thin - too thin to check in on students daily/weekly /whatever.

It could be that there are pretty standard accommodations that can be put in place routinely so he doesn't have to ask eg extra time for assignments or in exams. But adjustments and accommodations have to be reasonable for the degree, discipline, and mode of study. So ask about specific types of assessment: if there's group work, that will be for a specific pedagogical reason, so it will probably not be possible to avoid that. And so on.

To help you prepare, use the university website - try to find the specific degree/department & the compulsory modules and how they are examined. Check that assessment processes will be doable, and what adjustments might be considered reasonable.

Your DS should ideally be present during the call, so he can become familiar with the processes he's going to ave to engage with.

If you want to remain in the loop once he starts at uni, you'll need to find out how he can give consent for that and if they have systems in place for it. Unis aren't geared for it generally as they view students as adults and usually start from the GDPR point of view that you can't be told anything once he is 18. Some are working on getting better at having a second point of contact with the student's consent, but it can be patchy. So I would ask about this assuming it's something he would want?

Sorry if I'm late with this.

I have been in a similar situation. It is working out so far.

You want to ask if they have a mentoring system: someone to check in for an informal chat about his work about once a week.
Make sure that allowances are made for group work (always has someone he knows in the group).
He should have allowances about presentations if these will be an issue (although it is always good to try) - he should be able to ask to talk through presentations one to one with the tutor, not do them in front of the class.
He should be able to go early if he wants (although this didn't help my DC as they would have had to move accommodation after the first week to their permanent place anyway).
He should have flexibility for extensions for work (and someone he can talk to about that).
Ask about equipment to help with note taking, organisation etc.

Make sure you apply for DSA along with student finance too. They can supply equipment, software, mentors etc in addition to university services.

Excellent post from @ParmaVioletTea

OP, I hope DS was or will be present on the call.

@ParmaVioletTea and I are academics very much wishing the best for all students. Dare I say we both have a soft spot for the underdog.

With the best will in the world, there is only so much you as DS’ parent can and even should do. After all, in the bigger picture of his life university is not the end: you surely want for it to prepare him to move forward. For that to happen, he needs to thrive at least reasonably.

You haven’t given us a sense of the severity of DS’ autism and selective mutism, not that you owe us one. . But there is obvious potential for concern here: please see again the post from @ParmaVioletTea One wonders whether spending a year getting stronger and gaining practice negotiating the world before beginning university might benefit DS? Often universities are receptive to a request for a gap year for a student with special needs (or anyone else) when that year is presented with a structured plan geared to enhanced preparation for university.

Whether they have special needs or not, almost all students who take a structured gap year seem to benefit from it, and I write that from the perspective of a very demanding, high tariff School. There isn’t anything the least ‘weak’ about taking one.

Very best wishes to DS

Your daughter needs to engage and be proactive too. It will be very difficult for them to support her if she doesn't. They can't force her and if she doesn't respond to emails or attend meetings I'm not really sure what you can expect them to do.

There certainly won’t be school type support. All of our students must take the initiative and this is a sticking point with many who have special needs.

We don’t know whether OP and hopefully her DS are talking today with a selecting degree programme or a recruiting degree programme (or university). I am a bit worried that some recruiting universities may tell prospective students what they wish to hear, or imply it.

Sadly, the manifestations of autism often impede success at university. This is evident from numerous Mit Circs panels; and research shows higher drop out rates and delayed degree rates. This is why I think that if it is, in fact, possible for a YP with autism to gain some comfort in the world and with people before beginning university, that is usually a good idea.

Excellent advice from @poetryandwine as usual!

It can be good for intending students to take a gap year, so as to gain a bit of independence before going into the intensity of degree levels studies.

The other thing you might do @elliejjtiny is to ask about arrangements and requirements for periods of leave of absence or intercalation, once the degree is started. Sometimes the pressure of a degree is a shock for students, particularly those dealing with learning disabilities. Doing a year’s study, then taking a break, then returning, is something you might want to know about, even if your DS doesn’t plan for it.

But your DS really needs to be involved in all of this. If he can’t cope with these things, he may not yet be ready to thrive at university. He may need a bit more time.

All the above plus he can have support from a study skills tutor for deadlines etc and a specialist mentor ( autism mentor) who supports all of the social stuff, keeping on track with workload etc.
I work as the later and speak to my students every week, also have worked with selective mutism in many students, so please be reassured your DS will if he wants get the support he needs.

I think it must depend on the university and the perceived need for support, @Ezzee .

I have known a number of autistic students without this level of support.

Because they have to ask as a lot of uni's just don't say, up until covid most students under DSA didn't even know it was an option!
It's not funded by the uni's so they tend to push their own 'wellbeing' support which is stretched.
I work for many uni's in the UK ( remotely) and even the OU have this support in place.

This support is through student finance's disabled students allowance. Not the university itself.

OP you're doing the right thing speaking to the uni, but you don't mention the department you are speaking to. Working in uni disability, I know most other departments have no idea what we do.

I mean this with kindness and to be helpful - you need to be taking a back seat at this point because he needs to be able to communicate himself, otherwise university will not be able to support him and he’s liable to drop out. They do offer lots of support but the students do need to meet a sort of minimum capability. My dd (similar) took a gap year and worked to build skills up and it was still a bumpy road.

better he realises he needs to wait a bit now than when he’s at university

The DSA funding will be important. @elliejjtiny your DS will need to apply, then it will pay (up to a certain level) for specialist equipment or support.

Thanks, @Ezzee and @InLoveWithAI

Also thanks to @hahabahbag for bringing the point about gap year to life. I hope your DD is doing well.

Thank you. Meeting was today, it was with someone from the disability and inclusion team.

Ds wouldn't attend the meeting. He also won't consider a gap year.