Advice on choosing a uni

Hey, 

I'm a student with ASC. I would also say it depends on how self-dependent she is and what she wants. There are lots of ways how you can support her. (do online shopping (you can do this for her) /do cooking classes for skills etc.)

My main thing that helped was that I went to the introductory days, to get to know the place as well as student services. 

When I was accepted I asked student services if I could come to campus again a week before getting to know the facilities better. They also organised that I have accesses to a quiet room and the possibility to wear noise-cancelling headphones (I advise to use in-ear noise-cancelling headphones because they are less noticeable to classmates unless she prefers complete isolation)

I prefer living really close to uni so I can avoid public transport and living in a privately rented room, as the student halls can be overwhelming (too many people for me) 

Make sure she applies for DSA as that helped me massively and they can otherwise also arrange transportation if she struggles with that (she can then book a cab for the price of public transport and claim the rest back if she does not live close to uni). They can also give you programmes for time management and many other things that help to make things easier. I also have something to record the lecture so I can listen back to it / rewatch it.

If you want to know anything else I'm happy to help!

MoritzV said:

Make sure she applies for DSA as that helped me massively and they can otherwise also arrange transportation if she struggles with that (she can then book a cab for the price of public transport and claim the rest back if she does not live close to uni).

My daughter knew a girl doing this - a taxi both ways financed by DSA - she was lucky, the 'public transport cost' part was too small and complicated for the company to claim back so it was completely free for her - and as a regular contract, sometimes she got picked up in a huge Limousine if that was the nearest car available 

The DSA also assess the needs of the child so things like laptops and all sorts of stuff is available - a partially-sighted friend of my daughter had digital voice recorders with long-range directional microphones and a large-screen laptop with all the best voice-to-text software loaded to assist her in lectures - all provided by them..   The university provided large-font versions of everything she needed.

It's also worth looking at some odd extras that are available - at one time, my daughter was classed as coming from a deprived background - so as a commuting student, she qualified for an overnight stay in the posh hotel next to the uni with a free breakfast to help her prepare for exams (deprived = home has only one income, one tv and no i-pad or i-phone?). 

Your daughter will also qualify for extra time during exams.

@Plastic @MoritzV @FSCR - Thank you so much for all this really useful advice. It is so helpful to get different perspectives and view points. 

The introductory days and being able to arrive early will I think be really useful and we will definitely look into that. 

She is at boarding school (her choice to start this and we had to move to Switzerland for my husband's job so it was lucky she had already had the transition) and so is used to living with others and away from home but her day is very structured so that is going to be a big issue. She won't be able to live at home unless we have moved back to the UK by then (but Brexit means probably not) and she seems keen to want to live away. She has said she wants a catered hall if possible however she is very fussy and limited in food choices so I am not sure if that is best (based on my own uni hall food memories lol). The idea of being able to order food for her is a really good one - thank you.

The idea of things to help organise and record lectures also sound useful as she also has ADD and so I am not sure how she will manage an hour of lectures (on a subject she is less interested in)...

Thank you so so much again. It is such a big learning curve for us when we have had so little support through all her schooling we have never know what might be out there.

This is really useful and thank you, underlines the fact we(she) needs to be open and discuss her needs and see how it is accepted by the uni and how open and supportive they are to it.

Also so helpful on the DSA aspects - she is a UK national and she has lived in the UK for over 5 years. Before the pandemic she spent more time in the UK than Switzerland because of the length of terms.

@MoritzV, I hope the course is going well for you and you are getting all you need.

We need to understand the finance thing - just starting to look at it now. 

She is looking at Maths or Physics or a combination maybe, not sure on uni at the moment but Durham, St Andrews, maybe Oxbridge - not sure really. The OU is an interesting idea but I think she is keen to go to a physical place to study if she can. Although with the pandemic who knows!

I'm also a UK resident but live away from my parents who live in another country. She is eligible for financial assistance (DSA and PIP) if she has lived in the UK for 5 or more years or has UK nationality. 

If she has diagnoes ADD and she is eligible, she will be able to get further help from the DSA. They also gave me a study skills tutor which helps me (on top of an autism specific tutor) 

It's all manageable for me, and she sounds like she will be ok. She sounds like she knows what she wants, so that's great. A catered hall is definitely an option, but I am also not that easy when it comes to food depending on the textures. I would check with them and ask them what they offer usually and when they release their menu. In that case, she can plan ahead and buy something for the days that she does not like what they are offering. However, this is not the cheapest option, but it is the most convenient. 

I am sure the uni will be able to assist in some way if they are connected with the student hall. 

I would make sure that the student services are nice and that they offer enough help. They will be the first point of contact for her if she needs help, that part is vital, so that she gets the support she needs, even when she has not received much support before. 

Also, if she applies for any support, do it as soon as possible as it can take a while for the support to be in place. For me, that took nearly 2 1/2 months for the DSA. 

Hope this helps :) 

So is she a UK resident and does she live away from you?    If not, she might not qualify for any financial assistance from the UK - I've no idea how that would work.     If you don't mind me asking, what course is she talking about and what uni is she thinking of?

What about the OU?

So is she a UK resident and does she live away from you?    If not, she might not qualify for any financial assistance from the UK - I've no idea how that would work.     If you don't mind me asking, what course is she talking about and what uni is she thinking of?

What about the OU?

This is really useful and thank you, underlines the fact we(she) needs to be open and discuss her needs and see how it is accepted by the uni and how open and supportive they are to it.

Also so helpful on the DSA aspects - she is a UK national and she has lived in the UK for over 5 years. Before the pandemic she spent more time in the UK than Switzerland because of the length of terms.

@MoritzV, I hope the course is going well for you and you are getting all you need.

We need to understand the finance thing - just starting to look at it now. 

She is looking at Maths or Physics or a combination maybe, not sure on uni at the moment but Durham, St Andrews, maybe Oxbridge - not sure really. The OU is an interesting idea but I think she is keen to go to a physical place to study if she can. Although with the pandemic who knows!

I'm also a UK resident but live away from my parents who live in another country. She is eligible for financial assistance (DSA and PIP) if she has lived in the UK for 5 or more years or has UK nationality. 

If she has diagnoes ADD and she is eligible, she will be able to get further help from the DSA. They also gave me a study skills tutor which helps me (on top of an autism specific tutor) 

It's all manageable for me, and she sounds like she will be ok. She sounds like she knows what she wants, so that's great. A catered hall is definitely an option, but I am also not that easy when it comes to food depending on the textures. I would check with them and ask them what they offer usually and when they release their menu. In that case, she can plan ahead and buy something for the days that she does not like what they are offering. However, this is not the cheapest option, but it is the most convenient. 

I am sure the uni will be able to assist in some way if they are connected with the student hall. 

I would make sure that the student services are nice and that they offer enough help. They will be the first point of contact for her if she needs help, that part is vital, so that she gets the support she needs, even when she has not received much support before. 

Also, if she applies for any support, do it as soon as possible as it can take a while for the support to be in place. For me, that took nearly 2 1/2 months for the DSA. 

Hope this helps :)