Universities outside London with good support for autistic students

[dylexicdementor11]

If your LO had a particularly supportive university experience as a person with ASD could you please let me know which university they went to?
in particular, if your LO was able to stay in the same room/flat for their entire degree, could you please let me know?
We are looking for a campus university outside of London with very good support for autistic students.
I realise that many other things matter such as grades and courses, etc., but it would be really helpful to start compiling a list of universities where people have had good experiences. thanks!

Avoid Warwick I know 4 kids who have crashed out due to lack of support, very much sink or swim. Similarly Oxbridge is sink or swim. Less pressures are needed for some not others though so very dependent on your dc.

Oh no, I’m so sorry to hear that! Thank you for sharing. I hope they found a place to recover from their experiences.

Thanks for telling us all about Warwick. I certainly did not know this.

Would you mind saying whether these students had anything in common? Eg were they in the same School or Faculty?

TIA

DD loved being able to access some fantastic sports opportunities at Oxford. The bit she found challenging were tutorials which for PPE could easily be dominated by a certain type in groups with 1, 2 or 3 others. I'll let you use your imagination for the stereotype. The tutors didn't always have the skills to manage this. That said, it was sometimes uncomfortable, but it didn't hold her back in the end.

Thank you for sharing. LO would find that challenging as well. But I’m glad that your DD was not held back.

Language is important, it shapes our feelings and actions. Unless 'LO' is 3, it may be healthier to call them DC or just simply my child/son/daughter/cat

Great idea - thanks! I’ll start calling LO, Little Cat (LC). They’d like that. And while I’m at it, I’ll ask my 80 something year old mother to stop calling me her little baby. 😂
You do make me laugh - thanks again. 🥳

FYI, DC is an abbreviation of ‘darling child’ - from way back in the early days of mumsnet. It’s a self deprecating lighthearted way people posting on this site refer to their children.
But have no fear! I’m pretty sure most posters use their children’s real names when speaking to them in person. Although I do like to call LC (little cat) ‘baby poochkins’, when out and about! 😂

Lincoln Bishop
Manchester
Salford

Probably the most important thing is to apply for DSA in good time to get study skills and mentoring support in place. Some autistic students prefer this to be delivered remotely over Teams, Zoom, Google Meet.

My DD has just finished her undergraduate at Reading, I will second that the support has been fantastic and they can apply to specific quiet/ supported halls.

We found Exeter very good for autism support

An autistic relative of mine did an Erasmus exchange here: www.dcu.ie/autism-friendly

Hello...parent to autistic DC and admissions tutor for my course at an HE institution.

I would say that support is variable within an institution. Academic tutors are important for students with additional needs and programme leaders, as much as disability services.

I would get a list of places that do the course. Then think about how far from you they want to be. Being nearish can be useful ( 2 hours or so). Then try and get some opinions from here or student room.

Having a support worker is essential for some of my students and can be a huge difference between coping and not coping. Academic tutors cannot offer the same amount of time as someone doing a weekly one to one.

I'd think about the size of the city, campus or city based and so on.

Lots of places do an induction for neurodivergent students separately or get them to come early when it's quieter to get settled in.

Swansea University is good for History and very friendly - always gets highly rated in student satisfaction surveys. Lots of support for neurodivergent students available: https://hwb.swansea.ac.uk/student-support-services/autistic-spectrum-conditions/