Accommodations at university?

It is extremely difficult sometimes for people who have autism to go to the classes on campus at university.  Things are improved by doing course online. Some people struggled at school but as they were forced to go felt they didn’t have a choice and people felt like they wanted to get out of school because of various difficulties (such as bullying, feeling really tired a lot but nowhere to lie down, frequent class changes and rooms, changing the place where sitting in class, difficulty being in class and trying to learn in the difficult environment), but couldn’t. At university, being more independent, everything is new and difficult and this means people need a lot of support with getting to the campus and attending. People also need help with shopping and various other things including budgeting and socialising.

Yes, it can prove extremely tough going.  An online course would be easier, but in this case the person has already struggled through most of the course and the extreme anxiety and difficult feelings have intensified for the last year, returning after a long break due to issues relating to undiagnosed autism (now diagnosed).  

Shopping and budgetting is OK, but anything relating to socialising, or other interactions such as group work or being in crowds on campus is extremely difficult.  Warning emails over non attendance are now landing.  All of the issues have become very intense following negative experiences and strong memories from the first years of the course.  I'm not sure what the disability officer might suggest but I have the feeling it's likely to be shot down as useless due to the high anxiety and anger over the predicament.     

Jenny Butterfly said:

I'm not sure what the disability officer might suggest but I have the feeling it's likely to be shot down as useless due to the high anxiety and anger over the predicament.     

Jenny Butterfly As well as finding specific support for you son, I suggest you think about your own bias and how over the years this may have contributed to your sons willingness to work with others - especially seen as his mum tends to write those off who are there to help him before she's given them a chance.

As an autistic, who has worked as a Disability Officer and has been in the same shoes as your son, I certainly wouldn't have shot him down. Nor did the DO I am working with for the reasonable adjustments for my PhD. I did find your comment to be offensive and upsetting.

The usual accommodations, in this case, would be that the student is given an individual project to work on instead. Plus, letters about attendance etc could be stopped if the student is going to work from home instead of attending campus. At most uni's his lectures should be recorded and put on Blackboard but if not the disability dept could look into this.

As your son is over 18, the uni can't legally talk to you about his specific circumstances, yet he can fill in a piece of paper work that will allow them to speak to you instead, or as well as, when needed. If you had called/emailed the disability dept yourself, they would have explained this weeks ago and your son could have completed the new assignment by now.

A lot of work is being done around the disability employment gap and if a uni's progression rates for their disabled students are low this will affect how much they are able to charge for fees. Therefore, its also in their best interests to support your son. 

Jenny Butterfly said:

I'm not sure what the disability officer might suggest but I have the feeling it's likely to be shot down as useless due to the high anxiety and anger over the predicament.     

Jenny Butterfly As well as finding specific support for you son, I suggest you think about your own bias and how over the years this may have contributed to your sons willingness to work with others - especially seen as his mum tends to write those off who are there to help him before she's given them a chance.

As an autistic, who has worked as a Disability Officer and has been in the same shoes as your son, I certainly wouldn't have shot him down. Nor did the DO I am working with for the reasonable adjustments for my PhD. I did find your comment to be offensive and upsetting.

The usual accommodations, in this case, would be that the student is given an individual project to work on instead. Plus, letters about attendance etc could be stopped if the student is going to work from home instead of attending campus. At most uni's his lectures should be recorded and put on Blackboard but if not the disability dept could look into this.

As your son is over 18, the uni can't legally talk to you about his specific circumstances, yet he can fill in a piece of paper work that will allow them to speak to you instead, or as well as, when needed. If you had called/emailed the disability dept yourself, they would have explained this weeks ago and your son could have completed the new assignment by now.

A lot of work is being done around the disability employment gap and if a uni's progression rates for their disabled students are low this will affect how much they are able to charge for fees. Therefore, its also in their best interests to support your son. 

I'm not sure what you find offensive here plus how on earth can you know of any bias i might  or might not have had over the years?  I was saying that my son will very probably shoot down anything that is offered, due to his extreme anxiety and anger at his predicament.  Sorry if this wasn't clear. 

i am also aware of the legal restrictions regarding someone over the age of 18 so wouldn't contact the DO without my son's permission.  Given that he has no expectations of them and is extremely reluctant to engage, that hasn't been forthcoming.  So your statement that, "If you had called/emailed the disability dept yourself, they would have explained this weeks ago and your son could have completed the new assignment by now" seems unnecessarily blaming to me. 

Overall I am simply trying to get an idea of what might be offered in order to encourage him to seek the DO's help.