Top Ten Tips for Starting University as an Autistic Person
To celebrate her new book “University: The Autistic Guide: Everything You Need to Survive and Thrive”, Harriet Axbey has compiled a list of ten tips for UK undergraduate students starting university.
01 Visit your local university as soon as you can.
I mean as soon as you can. Go in Year 11 for a walk around; book onto an open day way before you start looking at where to go, even if you have no intention of going to your closest university. Being able to visualise what a university looks like will help you to make informed choices about your future. University isn’t like it is in the films, which are mostly American and centred around the Fraternity/Sorority style that is just not the case in the UK. In my book, I encourage schools to arrange trips to universities as soon as possible in the first year of Sixth Form/College, even if students do not end up going to university, they will be equipped with an idea of what to expect.
Once you have seen one, go and see more! Every university is different: there are campus universities, city universities, multi-site universities, and of course some are collegiate. Look round as many as your time and budget can stretch to, and remember to let them know in advance that you are Autistic so they can make adjustments if you need them.
02 Apply early
Even if you are not applying for medicine or to Oxbridge, aiming for that earlier deadline can allow you extra time to spare, especially if you are prone to demand avoidance. And if you do apply early, you may hear back sooner, and have longer to make arrangements! This means being on the ball in your first year of Sixth Form/College, and preparing your personal statement and application ideas over the summer before your final year. Spending the summer working on a university application may not sound like much fun, but it might be preferable to worrying about it alongside your homework and coursework!
03 Get vaccinated
As someone whose life has been touched by cancer, I cannot urge people strongly enough to get the HPV vaccine. If you missed this one while you were in secondary school, get it now before you start university, even if you do not plan on having sexual contact any time in the future. Five minutes of your time could save your life. The same goes for the MenACWY, offered to those under 25. Meningitis develops quickly, often unnoticed, and can be deadly: get vaccinated, and know the symptoms so you can notice if others become ill. Make sure you are up to date with all your other childhood vaccinations, including the MMR, as rates have been low in some areas, and these diseases spread quickly among the busy, tight-knit environment of a university. If you are unsure what vaccines you have had, you can request this information from your GP, who can give you any does you missed.
04 Move in early
Many of the universities I contacted already offer this, and if they don’t, you can still ask. Most universities have two move in dates: one for internationals students, and one for home students. It is therefore not too much to ask that you move in on the international student date, if they do not have separate arrangements for Autistic students. Having that extra day or two will make all the difference, trust me. Freshers’ week can be overwhelming, and busy, and that extra time can help Autistic people adjust to their new environment, find their way around, and settle in. It also means you can help show other people round, which can help you to get to know your new flatmates.
05 Learn how to use the library
I met someone at the end of my degree who had never visited the library?! I couldn’t believe this, as I practically lived there. For me it was a quiet place to work, learn, and socialise (yes, we used to order takeaways to the library at 1am during essay season). Knowing your way around, and how to check out and return books is important, as is knowing where to ask for assistance, and how you can request new texts or journal articles for the library. This also goes for the online system. Students often have an introductory talk from library staff during their Freshers’ Week, and I encourage you to actually listen during this! Study skills courses, interesting talks, and help desks can often all be found in the library. Visiting the library early on in your first term can also mean you can take out some of your course texts before everyone else tries to get them out!
06 Educate yourself about consent
Many people think consent is all about whether someone says yes or no to sex, which of course it is, but it is also so much more. Consent is knowing not to pressure people to drink, to ask before hugging someone, or to get permission before sharing someone’s photo on social media. Enthusiastic consent means that the person is sober of drink of drugs, able to understand what they are saying yes to, and able to reverse their decision at any point. Consent must also be freely given, meaning that the person is not under any pressure from external sources. Knowing about consent, and what is non-consensual, can help you recognise when situations are not right, and to be able to help others.
07 There is no such thing as an unreasonable adjustment
This comes with a caveat that of course, if you want the lecturers to speak only in Klingon, or hold seminars at the local Greggs, I’m afraid you might be pushing the boat out a little far. However, I have yet to meet someone who is asking for an Autistic adjustment that isn’t reasonable, and fairly easy to implement. An adjustment is anything you might need to be able to access university to the same degree as someone without any additional needs or differences. Common things Autistic people might find useful include: extra time in exams and assessments, access to a specialist study skills tutor or counsellor specialising in Autism, being able to be placed in a quiet or non-drinking flat in halls, and being able to take oral or group presentations in a less pressurised environment, such as 1:1 with the tutor rather than in front of the whole cohort.
08 Find your people
One of the wonderful things about universities is the vast array of societies, clubs, and activities. Play Ultimate Frisbee? There’s a team for you. Like Hummus? There’s a society for you. Love politics? There’s a Union for you! While schools and colleges can be small and limited, universities are full of people from all over the world, and this is your chance to find those with whom you click. This might not happen straight away, some people don’t find good friends in the first year, so don’t worry if you feel like you don’t fit in with anyone in your first week. Sign up to everything that catches your eye (you can always ignore their emails if you don’t want to attend) and try as many new and different things as you can. I would 100% recommend joining an Autistic peer group, of Students with Disabilities Association if your university has it, as many Autistic people find kinship with other Neurodivergent people.
09 Decide your working strategies early
Before I went to university, I bought six folders: one for each module I would be doing that year. I also bought a hole punched notebook with perforated pages. I took that notebook to every lecture and seminar, and titled and dated each page; at the end of each day, I put the pages related to each module into the corresponding folder. During lectures, if I had something I didn’t understand, or wanted to Google later, I would put a star next to it, when I got back at the end of the day, I would look up all those things, write notes, and then highlight the star to show I had completed the action. Now, this method may not work for you, especially if you prefer electronic to hard copies, but doing this from the very first week meant all my notes were in the same place, and I wasn’t competing with multiple organisational systems when it came to assignments and exams. Figuring out early what works for you can help you to stay on top of your workload, and mean you have everything in one place for when you need it.
10 Take a breath
University may be bigger than your college or sixth form, but it is still an insular community. It isn’t representative of the wider world, and it doesn’t have to be your whole life. As Autistic people, our friendships and relationships can get very intense, especially when we are younger, and this can become exhausting, and devastating when they go wrong. Take a breath. Go for walks. Meet people outside of the university community. Visit home. There is a world outside your flat, your course, your campus, and your degree is just one step on the long road of becoming who you will be.
