Autism at uni

Hi, I’ve recently been diagnosed with autism after some pretty intense struggles with sensory issues and social situations in sixth form. I’m starting at The University of Edinburgh in September to study history (my lifelong special interest… the studying is the one thing I’m not worried about 🙂). Can anyone else with who has navigated starting uni as an autistic student help me out. How did you cope with all the new experiences, new people etc. I’m not even there yet and I’m already overwhelmed thinking about living away from home and finance and freshers week.I really don’t want to spend all week in my bedroom with my headphones on but I’m really scared. Tips would be appreciated… thank you !

Reply 1

Jess_Lomas

17

Hi
I'm in the exact same situation as you, so don't know if these things will actually work, but there the things I've tried
- I've planned the routines for uni
- I've also been able to find some other autistic students starting at Sheffield in September
- I've set up all the support which is a huge relief
- I've also come up with solution for the worst case scenario (such as being able to come home mid-week if needed)
- I've also planned to spend time on my special interests more in the first couple of days to help
Also, I've found a way to explain to others my experience of being autistic so they can understand a bit more (I got help with this), like why I wear ear defenders, how I might not look like I'm listening but I am, how I get anxious at new things etc

Reply 2

Georgee37

OP

3

Original post by Jess_Lomas

Hi
I'm in the exact same situation as you, so don't know if these things will actually work, but there the things I've tried
- I've planned the routines for uni
- I've also been able to find some other autistic students starting at Sheffield in September
- I've set up all the support which is a huge relief
- I've also come up with solution for the worst case scenario (such as being able to come home mid-week if needed)
- I've also planned to spend time on my special interests more in the first couple of days to help
Also, I've found a way to explain to others my experience of being autistic so they can understand a bit more (I got help with this), like why I wear ear defenders, how I might not look like I'm listening but I am, how I get anxious at new things etc

Coming home mid week isn’t an option for me, I live 200 miles away, but my parents have agreed to stay in a hotel just outside the city just in case 😂, planning my routines now is probably a good idea, I’ve invested in some good headphones (ear defenders stress me out because I can’t hear enough if you know what I mean). If you don’t mind me asking, how do you explain to other people ? People I tell either seem to think I’m making it up (I get the “you don’t look autistic” comment 🙄) or get nervous discussing it and try to treat me like a child 😂 Thank you for your help, I didn’t think anyone would reply to this, nice to know I’m not the only one 🙂

Reply 3

eeeli

13

Original post by Georgee37

Hi, I’ve recently been diagnosed with autism after some pretty intense struggles with sensory issues and social situations in sixth form. I’m starting at The University of Edinburgh in September to study history (my lifelong special interest… the studying is the one thing I’m not worried about 🙂). Can anyone else with who has navigated starting uni as an autistic student help me out. How did you cope with all the new experiences, new people etc. I’m not even there yet and I’m already overwhelmed thinking about living away from home and finance and freshers week.I really don’t want to spend all week in my bedroom with my headphones on but I’m really scared. Tips would be appreciated… thank you !

I just graduated and was diagnosed with autism right before my final exams (though I was aware I probably was autistic for a very long time before that!). It is definitely hard when you get started but it is more than possible to have a good time at uni as an autistic person.

What worked best for me in terms of settling in was pushing myself to get through those first couple of weeks. It's really hard because its such a big change and you have to get into a new routine and before you've done that it can be a lot, but once you've got through that initial period of instability its so much easier. I didn't plan to visit home during term time and tried not to think about that as an option to go for if I didn't like it at uni . What works is different for everyone but at least for me it meant I could make university feel like home rather than extending the upheaval by going back and forth between two places. It is tempting but if you go home every time you struggle with something you'll associate being at uni with struggling and being at home with feeling better and never settle in - chances are you'd probably get over whatever you found difficult if you stayed at uni too so it's worth trying up to a point.

Try and make friends (or at least be friendly acquaintances) with the people you share spaces with (your corridor/flatmates etc) - hopefully you'll be in a nice mix of people and there will be some you get on with more than others but making sure you get to know everyone is a good idea. Basically it involves resisting the temptation of sitting alone in your room and spending time in the shared spaces, if people are sociable they'll probably hang out there especially to begin with.

Fresher's week can be a bit of a nightmare - I personally didn't get at all why what people wanted to do when they'd just moved to a scary new place was spend all their time socialising and partying and I didn't get involved in much but it's important to get involved with something. There will be loads of events on at varying levels of intensity, so try and go to a few things but make sure you also take the time off in between to recharge. You won't actually miss out by not going to everything but its a good idea to show your face and you will probably find yourself having a good time. Have a look if there are any society events for freshers that you'd be interested in joining, as societies are a good way to meet like-minded people you can be friends with. Once your course starts things will chill out a bit and you'll settle into a routine - even if freshers week isn't your favourite experience ever its definitely not indicative of the uni experience as a whole so don't worry! I also have some autistic friends who really enjoyed freshers so it depends on your personality as well.

It can also help to explain you're autistic to people if you run into any issues - something on the lines of I'm autistic and this is why I (insert relevant autistic thing here). But people on the whole usually aren't judging your behaviour as much as it can feel like they are. Not everyone will understand it at first but most people will when its explained to them, uni students on the whole are fairly open-minded and people are becoming more knowledgeable about autism past stereotypes of how it presents in young children.

If there are any groupchats for your course/accommodation etc I'd recommend joining those, it can help to have previously interacted with people online before meeting them face to face and I met some of my closest friends on uni groupchats!

Also don't feel pressure to be someone you aren't. Everyone is different but for me, I don't really like drinking much or going to clubs. At first I felt like I was somehow failing at uni or missing out because I wasn't doing these things. But actually, moving to uni means you have the autonomy to run your life how you want to and do what you enjoy, and there will always be people who enjoy those things too. So try not to compare yourself to what others are doing, instead focus on doing the kind of things that you enjoy, whether that is a big night out or a quieter one with a few friends.

Also some general practical tips - earplugs and noise cancelling headphones are your best friend. Accommodation can be quite noisy at night especially in freshers week. I find the best earplugs for sleeping are the basic foam ones like you can get from Superdrug, you can also get slightly higher noise rated ones online for fairly cheap. If it was really noisy I found I could block it out by wearing earplugs and noise cancelling headphones playing white noise at the same time - not the most comfortable experience but I could sleep through very loud parties this way. You can also get soft headphones for sleeping that I also like for white noise to block out other sounds when I'm trying to focus or sleep. Make sure you've registered with the uni disability service and apply for DSA if you think it will help. Talk to the uni disability service before you get there so you can organise any accommodations or help you might need in advance. It can also help to have a look on e.g. google maps and plan out where you're going to buy groceries, where the library and your classes are etc so you know what you're going to be doing when you get there. I also find meal prepping really helpful because it is cheaper and means I have a freezer stocked full of food I know I will eat at all times, and it's easy to prepare even if I'm not feeling up to cooking. Having a consistent sleep schedule and eating well make it so much easier to cope with everything else, so make that a priority.

That was a lot of information, hopefully some of it helps. But basically if I could sum it up I would say that uni might suck to begin with, you might find it worse for longer than others do, but you just have to keep focusing on taking care of yourself (sleeping, eating, relaxing and some socialising - think of yourself like a character from The Sims if it helps lol) and not retreating completely because there will come a point where it all settles down and you start having a very good time. It is just about getting over that initial hurdle.

Reply 4

Jess_Lomas

17

Original post by Georgee37

Coming home mid week isn’t an option for me, I live 200 miles away, but my parents have agreed to stay in a hotel just outside the city just in case 😂, planning my routines now is probably a good idea, I’ve invested in some good headphones (ear defenders stress me out because I can’t hear enough if you know what I mean). If you don’t mind me asking, how do you explain to other people ? People I tell either seem to think I’m making it up (I get the “you don’t look autistic” comment 🙄) or get nervous discussing it and try to treat me like a child 😂 Thank you for your help, I didn’t think anyone would reply to this, nice to know I’m not the only one 🙂

So to the you don't look autistic I say what do autistic people look like and they generally don't have a response
I'm the opposite, can hear too much with headphones but understand the struggle
So I normally say it's a communication disability which means my brain interacts differently so I tend not to pick up on social ques and my brain needs to know what to expect

Autism at uni

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you