Published on 12, July, 2020
My 19yo is in their 2nd year at Cambridge, or I should say was at Cambridge as they were forced to leave a couple of weeks ago. They are so upset. They were told they should have asked for more help but their ASD makes reaching out to strangers for help almost impossible. My child is quite depressed now they are back at home and it’s really difficult trying to support them. Part of me wants to get legal advice as I don’t think the Uni have dealt with this situation well but part of me wants to just help my child to move on and try to start again elsewhere. Does anyone know where I could get advice on what the University’s obligations are towards their ASD students?
This is awful. I'm very sorry.
I'm going to do my best to be objective about this. Full disclosure: I spent one year at Cambridge University before dropping out. It was the most miserable experience of my life. But that was 40 years ago, and I would hope that the levels of support available to students in mental health situations might have improved considerably since then. As Ann :) says in their comment, it sounds like they have.It sounds like the University are saying that your child has done something which means that they have to leave Cambridge University, but that the University will nevertheless assist them to find a place elsewhere - i.e. that whatever your child has done, it is not sufficient to get them excluded from every university in the country. This sounds a bit disingenuous. It may mean that there are still avenues for appeal. Good luck.
Thank you for the sympathy and good wishes James, I really do appreciate your kindness.