Ds is 26 and has just applied through clearing for uni starting this academic year. He is autistic and suffered from debilitating depression for several years. He couldn’t cope with school sixth form and dropped out halfway through, he tried doing a BTEC the following year and only managed a few weeks. He had a couple of placements sorted out by the local authority’s SEN department, did get a job which was ring fenced for young adults with ASD but at the time still couldn’t cope. We persuaded him to move home and eventually he agreed (things usually took a long time to percolate through his brain..) only for his dad to die unexpectedly the day after he moved back which sent him into a further tailspin of depression. It’s taken a while but he has gradually been getting better and last month he completed an Access to HE course. This week he said he wanted to apply for uni this year through clearing and he’s been offered a place doing the course he wants at a relatively local university. It’s come as a bit of a shock as he always used to take ages to make decisions. Could someone talk me through what he needs to do regarding student loans - am I right in thinking that he’ll be classed as independent so my income won’t be taken into account? He’s been living at home and claiming UC - he was allowed to continue claiming during his access course but presumably that will change once he starts uni? He’s not sure yet if he’ll live at home and commute in or try to get student accommodation (but is not keen on living with a load of teenagers so would need to be somewhere catering for mature students). I’m immensely proud of him for getting this far but I’m very aware of how fragile his mental state has been for much of the last decade so I’m also feeling quite worried. I know that he’s 26 and therefore an adult but he has always been several years behind his peers socially and emotionally.