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Those here who are on the Autistic spectrum how did you find university?

So for me (this is my experience from a high functioning 'type'. Was formally diagnosed by a medical professional when I was 5:

1. At my university, the policy for those on the Autistic spectrum focuses less on integration - I don't know what its like in other universities?. For first year, all Autistic students (as well as those with other mental and physical disabilities) are put into postgraduate halls (because they are typically much less chaotic and noisy). This was definitely my experience and I greatly appreciated avoiding Fresher's Week, as being pressured into getting drunk isn't my idea of fun personally. Those on the Autistic spectrum can also skip the standard queue line for enrolment - and was signed up for the Autistic enrolment automatically, I don't have strong feelings either way on whether its a good idea or not as didn't see the non-Autistic enrolment process. Student Finance England were also going to fund the difference between an non en-suite hall of residence vs an en-suite hall of residence under Disabled Student's Allowance, but this fell through. I had two weeks extra time for all my assignments, which I found helpful. Every module leader would be emailed a memo for me prior to module commencing. I was never treated in a patronising way, and it was a nice feeling knowing that module leaders were on my back.

2. I learned valuable life skills - cooking healthy good, shopping, cleaning, managing money, juggling deadlines etc.-. I've never had much of a problem with any of these things pre-uni, as have never been particularly reckless in my personality, but I found that I further honed my skills in these areas. I loved the independence that university gave and has definitely set me up for when I have my own home. It was incredibly exciting having complete control over what I ate 7 days a week, and being able to try novel meal ideas from hundreds. However on many occasions, I would have multiple competing demands -e.g: having to do washing, and doing research, and waiting for a call from Tesco to say that my groceries has been delivered, and I would just zone out as I had no set structure outside of myself regarding which order, I should be doing these tasks in, and how much or little mental attention I should be allocating to each. Throughout the four years, I also struggled somewhat with personal appearance (combing hair, and pulling up trousers high enough) - and even had to prompted by a lecture leader on one occasion.

3. I loved the content of my course. I loved seeing an essay come together. I especially enjoyed working independently and researching, and putting in long hours to ensure detail and concise communication. I came out with a high 2:1. My student advisor (for those with special needs) said that I had a consistent track record of reliability, especially compared to many of the other students she worked with. In the set structures of lectures and groupwork, I built satisfactory 'working' relationships with others on the course, though there was never a 'deep friendship' with anyone either inside or outside of lectures. People on the course also seemed to also be constantly 'shifting' as to who/what their alliances were, and everyone seemed to always be several steps ahead of where I was socially, and I was forever playing catch-up - drawing upon skills that I was only learning for the first time.. They had an end of course getaway organised independently of the university to Centre Parcs which I wasn't a part of, and had a Facebook chat group which I wasn't part of either.

4. I made plenty of deeper friendships as part of another student society, where we had a common interest (i.e: more certainty and 'structure'), and found it a lot easier to make friends in this context. I ended up sharing a flat with two other lads from this society in second year, and am still in contact with a number of people from this society.

How was it for you?