Published on 12, July, 2020
Any advice will be very much appreciated.
My son, who is in his second year of university, has been struggling with his university life. The staff's lack of knowledge of autism has harmed his mental health, which has clearly deteriorated, yet it is also frustrating that I am unable to engage directly with the university.
The university is required by law to make 'reasonable adjustments' for disabled students. These adjustments are meant to ensure equal outcomes for disabled students so that the effects of the disability are nullified. Ideally, this means that there is an even playing field between able and disabled students.
The 'fitness to study' is not a 'get out of jail card' for the university, and what might be termed 'unreasonable support' for students in general, might not be so for disabled students. The university disability support team should be proactive in helping your son. They should have regular liaison contact with him. I would write a formal letter to a senior member of the university and cc the disability team, outlining your concerns about your son's treatment, and include that you think that he may be being discriminated against on the grounds of his disability.
Some universities are good in making useful accommodations. My autistic daughter received very useful support, which she considered prevented her from dropping out of her course. In the end she finished with a first class degree in chemistry, came top of her year and won a Royal Society of Chemistry prize.
Martin has given very good advice already so I don’t have much to add. Some universities have a confidential Student advice service. (This is usually independent of the university and might be run by the student union.) It might be a good idea to see if such a service exists for your son’s university- they might be able to give some more advice on how to best approach the situation.
The university should do more to support your son. He is legally entitled to reasonable adjustments. At my university autistic students can have one to one mentoring and the mentor can help with managing day to day life at uni, social situations, mental health, organisation etc. My university also offers study skills support if necessary (again 1 to 1). They also draw up a student support document for each student which gives advice to academic and pastoral staff on what adjustments should be made. This document will have a more general section and specific advice tailored to the needs of each individual. This is then shared with all academic and pastoral staff involved. There is also an option of having adjustments for exams if necessary. In addition there is a counselling service and funds that can be applied for in case more specialised counselling is needed which is not available through the university counselling service or NHS. They might even help fund things like noise cancelling headphones. There are also activities run specifically for autistic students. I just thought I would list some of the adjustments offered by my university to reassure you that what your son’s university is offering is not good enough and it is normal for there to be more adjustments than just help with ‘note taking’.
Thank you very much for your kind reply - information you have given me is very informative and helpful. He has a one-to-one mentor and a study skills tutor but has stopped seeing them - he has cut out people who could possibly help him, including his parents. I think the problem with his university is that the Disability team does not communicate with academic staff who know nothing about his needs .As you suggested, I will encourage him to approach Student Advice Services. Thank you again for your useful information. Really appreciate it.