Hello

In response to banksie, it would be useful if you could find out whether he has been told this or read it on a website.

Meltdowns are a response to sensory overload of one kind or another, and or the build up of anxiety over unresolved issues, or anything else causing in effect a bottleneck, where his desperation and distress over things affecting him explode. The process is largely involuntary, although he may have indications that one is coming on, and be able to remove himself to a more private place for an outburst.

He might perceive meltdowns as a different side to his persona. Or someone - one of his peers, or a teacher who doesn't understand, may have told him this as explanation. Or he may have tried to look things up on the web to find answers and be worrying about all kinds of things that don't apply to him.

In response to Hotel California I am amused by the school's advice. I guess it is just part of the whole circus of misunderstandings. Universities mostly have complied with the Disability Discrimination Act, even if their interpretation, such as misapplication of the social model of disability, leads to oddities. But they will generally have good provision, and when chosing universities, on visit days, make a point of going to see the disability support team, who should be available.

What may be behind the school's advice is that at university there is no intervention, like in a school. Nobody will be leaning over his shoulder quite like teachers do. You are supposed to self-help at university, although that must adjust a bit for disability. So the kind of intervention you would see in a school over disability support wont happen, and your son might be getting to an age when quite glad if that doesn't happen. He'll just have a needs assessment that takes account of any issues attending lectures or doing coursework or taking exams, it just wont be omnipresent along with teachers, as in school.

my son is 13 and just been diagnoised with high functioning autism.He has recently started saying he has a split personalitiy with his alter ego who he describes as his temper rage and i was just wondering wether any one else out there can relate to this as i am worried sick and its effecting more on a daily basis now. He does see a psycologist who has reassured me that it is just his temper etc but just thought id see if any of you guys have experienced anything similiar!

I'm not sure why they told you that, about the uni not providing additional help, if anything, my university has provided me with more support than was provided at school, they have been amazing with support. 

As for the selection process, I think there should be a bit more information given about the actual support provided, in our case it was left to us to have to go to the university directly in order to find out what type of support is available. http://www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/sgc/disability/

Here's the link to the Queen's University Disability services, I would imagine most universities will have similar structures in place!

Hi Ryan.  Congratulations on getting to uni and starting a blog to raise awareness.  I'll pass on your blog details to my sons.  My eldest is planning to go to uni in a couple of years and I would welcome your views on choosing the right uni.  I was told by his school that he would not get any additional help at uni.  Have you found this to be the case?  Also if you had to do the whole choosing uni process again, what would you have wanted to know then that you didn't  think of asking at the time.  the sort of "If I had known.." that would have either made you think twice about going to the uni or would have made the decision process more straightforward.