Autism
Explore the support available including a campus induction, priority accommodation and mentoring.
The Disability and Dyslexia service offer support to students with autism spectrum condition for study and wider University life.
It is important that you tell the university as soon as possible about your condition and how it may impact your learning, daily living and work placements. You will need to provide evidence of your diagnosis or confirmation that you have been referred for an assessment.
Evidence
What Evidence do you require?
The Disability and Dyslexia Service will ask you to provide a copy of any assessment reports for Autism from an appropriately qualified assessor. If you are unsure, please make an appointment with an advisor to discuss your options.
The University is unable to provide assessments for autism. Autism can only be officially diagnosed by appropriately qualified medical professionals. In the UK the route for adults to get a diagnosis is through your GP or through private assessment.
The National Autistic Society (NAS) has lots of useful advice about how to get a diagnosis and ensure that people offering assessments are appropriately qualified and offer suitable assessment tools. You can find out more about this on their website here.
If you have lost your evidence, please make an appointment with an advisor to discuss your options.
It does not matter how old you were when the diagnostic assessment for Autism was carried out as long as it as from an appropriately qualified assessor.
Accommodation
Moving away from home can be daunting, especially if you find it difficult to talk to people. Advisors in the Disability and Dyslexia service will discuss with you any adaptations to accommodation which may support your needs.
Find out more on our Adapted Accommodation Page
Before You Start
We will invite you to a Pre-Induction Visit day a few weeks before you start. This gives you the chance to meet other autistic students new to the University, current autistic students and members of your academic department and from our Student Support Services.
We can also arrange orientation around the campus to help you become familiar with where things are and day-to-day life at university. Contact the Disability and Dyslexia service to request an orientation.
A guide for autistic applicants written by autistic students (PDF)
Reasonable Adjustments
We know that people with Autism can find exams difficult, especially in a large examination hall.
We will agree with you what adjustments you need to perform your best in your exams. This might mean allowing you to take exams in a small group room or in a one-to-one situation, giving you extra time, or using a word processor if you have problems with handwriting or arranging a reader and or a scribe.
We can also discuss other sorts of assessments that may worry you, such as presentations or group work. We can agree with you some information that is passed on to your tutors to let them know your difficulties and what will help them to be minimised.
Mentoring Support
Many of our students with Autism find it useful to have someone they can see on a regular basis who can help them keep up-to-date with their academic work.
This support is normally funded by the Disabled Students’ Allowances so we advise you to apply for this before you start your course.
Please see our Autism & Uni toolkit – a European funded initiative – which has lots of advice and tips to help autistic students navigate the transition to university. Autism & Uni Toolkit
