It's the end of September, so most Irish college students have been back at least a couple weeks, but for someone with autism, they may need a little more time and some extra help settling in compared to their peers. After all, starting university is stressful and nerve-wracking for any young person, let alone someone on the spectrum! So, as a second year in University College Cork, I've compiled some tips for any autistic student, school-leaver or mature, who may be feeling a little on edge at the moment.
Be Proud of Yourself!
Congratulations, you're a college student! How cool is that? You're finally studying something you love and enjoy (and if you're not, know that there are back doors into everything, but I'll get into that) in an exciting new environment full of lots of different people where hundreds of new opportunities await you! Sound scary? Let me help with that.
Familiarise Yourself With Your Surroundings
One of the main reasons people find starting university so scary is because everything is new and unfamiliar. So, it's important you do your research and know where all the important buildings are, as well as the ones you're going to be in the most often. For example, make sure you know where the library, restaurant, student's union, admissions/registration office and the office for your relevant college within university, or department within college (eg. College of Arts, College of Business, Department of French, Department of Chemistry) are. Basically anywhere you feel may be important to you during the year, locate it and pick a noticeable landmark near it so you'll know where it is next time. Other important services to know of would be the nearest hospital, GP clinic, pharmacy, where students go out most (e.g. pubs and nightclubs), and a phone number for a local taxi company.
My sister isn't autistic, but she was understandably nervous about starting college, so the day she moved into her accommodation, we went up to the university campus and located every building she had a lecture in, so she knew where she was going in advance, and it really helped!
It's also important to get to know the nearest town or city to your college campus, as you'll be visiting it often, trust me! Get to know the bus routes in and out, take a walk around the city yourself and locate the places you think you'll visit the most often, e.g. fast food, restaurants, cafés and shops.
Develop a Routine
One of the most characteristic traits of an autistic person is how heavily we rely on routine. This is another area where new students feel anxious, as your timetable is most likely not as structured as it was in secondary school. So, take a few days to practise a new one. Designate certain times of the day to certain tasks; for example, eat at 8am, 1pm and 6pm, or perhaps reserve every Wednesday afternoon to your extracurriculars. Everyone's timetable will be different, so it might take a week or so to find a balance between everything, but do whatever you need to do to make things less stressful. If that means drawing out your timetable on an A3 sheet of paper, colour coding every activity and sticking it on your wall, so be it.
Another piece of advice I would give is practice travelling from your accommodation to college, so you can slot travel times into your routine. I walk to college, so last year I gave myself plenty of time, like 40 minutes, to walk to my college campus, and I timed myself along the way. Turned out it was only a 20 minute walk, but I knew that for future reference and I was sure to alot that amount of time in the morning for travelling to college. Even if you get a bus, same thing, time yourself, study the bus timetable, know when you need to be at the bus stop going over and coming back. Trust me, after enough practice this'll all be engraved into your brain and you'll have no issues whatsoever!
Link In With Disability Supports
Every university has a Disability Support Service, so find them! They're an incredible bunch of people who will have endless resources to help improve your experience both in lectures and in exams, from arranging notetakers or scribes to providing you with a room on your own for exams should you need it, or even a laptop to do exams on, and everything in between! In Ireland, if you got accepted into the DARE (Disability Access Route to Education) Program, the college already received your supplementary documentation (e.g. psychologist's report) when you accepted your college place. If you didn't come through DARE, you'll have to provide documentation proving your disability yourself when registering with their services. Once you register, you'll meet with someone who works in the department for an assessment, just to compare the supports you received in school with what's available to you at university. They make it all very easy for you, don't worry!
Even if you're not autistic, but feel you are, or perhaps you suspect you're dyslexic, or dyspraxic? Anything like that, they'll help you arrange an assessment with a relevant professional.
Join Clubs and Societies!
This is a hugely important one. Since most Irish universities have already had their Fresher's Weeks, the Societies and Clubs Days have most likely passed. If you didn't join any then, however, fret not! Most university clubs and societies have social media, Facebook usually, so if you find them and message them expressing interest in joining they'll tell you how! Usually all they'll need is your student email to sign you up to their mailing list, but I'm aware it varies between universities. Alternatively, each club and society should have their own email address, which you can find through the 'Societies' or 'Clubs' section of your university's website. So, you can get in touch with them that way either.
I cannot recommend joining a club or society enough. It is the single best way to meet new people and make friends, which I know a lot of us find difficult to do, but the best part about clubs and societies is everyone there has a common interest, making starting a conversation with someone so much easier, as the ice is already broken!
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And there you have it! They're the most important things I believe autistic students starting university need to know. Believe me, I know there will be difficult days and rough starts, but honestly one of the best skills I've acquired while in college is patience. If you give something enough time, while still having faith, things will begin to work out, I promise. College is an incredible experience, for so many reasons, and it's not just limited to neurotypicals. Us autistics have just as much potential and opportunity to make college the best days of our lives as anyone else. In fact, a lot of us actually flourish during college, because we're doing something we love, and disability support services in universities are excellent.
For real, the day of my orientation I made the brave decision to turn to the girl sitting next to me in the lecture theatre and make some passing comment about whoever was speaking to us. I can't remember what I even said, but we hit it off, and now she is one of my best friends as well as my roommate. So I promise, so so much awaits you in university. You're going to have a great time. Know that I'm so proud of you for getting this far, and I fully believe in how much further you'll go in the next few years.
Don't forget, you can always message me on Facebook, ask me a question on Tumblr, or Tweet me!
Until next time, see ya around, it's been a real slice!
Meagan (but my friends call me Meg)
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