Uni help

I have autism. Find it really hard to maintain conversation with others and small talk to. Can anyone give any advice on how to conquer this?

Reply 1

Talkative Toad

Volunteer Team

Original post

by Anonymous

I have autism. Find it really hard to maintain conversation with others and small talk to. Can anyone give any advice on how to conquer this?

Are you asking about this from a social perspective (for social events and building friendships) or an academic perspective (group work or reasonable adjustments for example)?

Reply 2

University of Bath

Official Rep

Original post

by Anonymous

I have autism. Find it really hard to maintain conversation with others and small talk to. Can anyone give any advice on how to conquer this?

Hi there,

I completely relate to you. My best friend at uni was autistic too, and had very similar worries to you when we both started uni. I am also quite a quiet person who isn't naturally good at making conversation with others so know personally how you feel too.

I think the key to it at the start is just to put yourself out there even if it feels uncomfortable at the time. It won't always feel like this once you get to know people. Perhaps start with questions such as what people are studying, how they're finding uni so far, if they've been to town, where they live in the UK/the world or what societies if any they're planning on checking out. Also don't be afraid to introduce yourself: 'hi, I'm X - I live in X accommodation. How are you finding our course so far?'

Most people at Freshers in my experience tend to start conversations with people about what they're studying/where they live etc, but this then grows into conversations about other topics such as interests, sports teams, what you enjoyed at school, societies and plans for going out etc.

Something my friend did from first year was to join Bath's Baking Appreciation Society as baking and cooking is something she was very interested in and good at. She eventually met some other friends there and even ended up on the committee! Perhaps this is something you could think about.

I found the most easy people to make friends with and get to know were my flatmates, the people in my group who shared my personal tutor (there were five of us) and the people I ended up doing group projects with. Then your conversations have an easy start that focusses on the work and you can always get to know them more in between.

I hope this helps a bit - please shout if you have any more questions or if anything isn't clear 🙂

University of Bath

(edited 1 month ago)

Reply 3

Kingston Zhi En

Official Rep

Original post

by Anonymous

I have autism. Find it really hard to maintain conversation with others and small talk to. Can anyone give any advice on how to conquer this?

Hi there,
Practice makes perfection 🙂 Friendships take time to build and you won't always click with everyone you meet. So don't be too hard on yourself when you have trouble maintaining small talk. You can try and shift the conversation to be something you are passionate about or join a hobby or sports society where you can meet people with a common interest 🤗 I hope this helps and I wish you the best of luck in the new academic year.

Zhi En
(Kingston Student Rep.)

Reply 4

Anonymous #1

Original post

by Talkative Toad

Are you asking about this from a social perspective (for social events and building friendships) or an academic perspective (group work or reasonable adjustments for example)?

Both

Reply 5

Talkative Toad

Volunteer Team

Original post

by Anonymous

Both

I agree with what Bath has said.

Have you also signed up with the disability service at your university? That way they can put in place reasonable adjustments. For example one of my reasonable adjustments is that I don’t have to do group work, I can choose to work on my own if I want to.