College is difficult for many people, let alone Autistic folks. How do you survive, and even thrive, as an Autistic in college and beyond? Let’s discuss!
Whether you’re a new student entering college or a veteran of the academia system one fact is true: even if you love it, it can be hard.
There’s many deadlines, which can clash with our changing capabilities day-to-day.
There’s tests, which can cause some of us to have test anxiety.
There’s, historically, little wiggle room for people who may be neurodiverse in general.
So, how do you cope?
One thing to remember is that, as an Autistic student, let alone a neurodiverse student, you are accomplishing so much by just going through college. You’re deciding to educate yourself, and that’s admirable.
I’d say it’s a good choice to get educated, however you do it.
However, let’s be frank. You will encounter, or likely already have experienced, barriers along the way. How you cope with those barriers may decide your career opportunities in the future.
This is a guide on how to attack those barriers as they make themselves known.
Table of Contents
If professionally diagnosed:
Step 1: Get registered with disability services
Step 2: Talk to disability services about your plans
Step 3: Connect with your teachers for help
Step 4: Go to office hours frequently
Step 5: Use your accommodations
If self-diagnosed:
Step 6: Talk to your classmates for support and study groups
Step 7: Study often
Step 8: "Body doubling" and study groups
Step 9: Online study groups and communities
Survive college
Final thoughts
Step 1: Get registered with disability services
First off, you should talk to your university’s disability support services.
In these modern times, you don’t need to go into the office if you’re embarrassed.
Give them a call, ask how to register with them, and they will likely ask you for some information e.g. an official diagnosis from a professional.
Disability services usually accept:
Statements from a medical professional
Medical records. Example: evaluations completed
Educational records. Example: IEPs (Individualized Education Plans) and 504 plans
A note: Schools are not required to accommodation self-diagnosed individuals. This is a benefit to getting professionally diagnosed, though that is a barrier to many.
Once they receive the information, they will then direct you to meet with a counselor or advisor in the disability services center. They will help get you on the right track with your accommodations. They will ask which ones you think you need, and what you struggle with. They will also help you determine what classes you should take and in what order.
Done! You’re registered. The hardest part of this process might be poking your medical provider a few times to send the paperwork over.
Step 2: Talk to disability services advisor about your plans
Once you’re registered with disability services, your counselor is then an established resource for you to talk to anytime. You can connect with them for any academic questions you have.
They’ll be there to best help you on your collegiate journey.
They may not have in-depth knowledge of the needs of your specific degree program, however, they are often happy to find this information out for you.
The counselor will also be able to give you advice on what professors have been most accommodating to disability services students. They’ll also be able to recommend who’s the friendliest, the most helpful and understandable, etc.
I highly recommend connecting with your advisor to gain insight into your classes.
Step 3: Connect with your teachers for help
Next, as soon as classes begin for the semester, you should connect with your new professors.
My personal disability support services have me bring a physical sheet to my professors to “activate” my accommodations. This is to begin the line of communication between yourself and your professor.
Make a point of talking to them during office hours in the first week of school.
When you give them your disability services paperwork, have a discussion with the professor.
You should have an idea of what’s difficult for you in academia. Make sure to bring all of these things up with the professor. They’re often willing to go above and beyond the strict accommodations to offer more to help you.
For example, I had a friend with a professor who allowed him to take an in-person class asynchronously. He struggled with attendance due to the overwhelm of many people being present, so this was a huge help for him.
I personally struggle with assignments due to frequent overwhelm. I usually cope by just doing my assignments before the due date, but sometimes I fail. I try to communicate this to my professors, and they are usually quick to offer extensions for assignments.
Teachers are human too, and mostly want to help convey their information effectively to students. They're (usually) willing to help, and if they aren't they're breaking ADA requirements.
Don’t be afraid to communicate to DSS that they’re not giving you the accommodations they are required to provide by law.
Remember: ask for what your need. If you don’t speak up, no one knows.
Step 4: Go to office hours frequently
Next, there’s a vital obligation you have as a student: advocating for yourself consistently. The best way to do this is via this simple trick: attending office hours!
It’s also an easy way to keep yourself on top of work. If you make yourself complete most of your assignments before office hours, then you’ll be ready to learn more with the time you have with the professor.
Make sure and push yourself to be brave enough to ask for help. Again: no one knows you need help unless you use your voice (or AAC, etc.)
Use this time with the professor wisely! Office hours are usually about an hour maximum, and other students are likely to come. Be prepared, advocate for yourself, and be ready.
Step 5: Use your accommodations
Next, make sure to actually use the accommodations you’ve been given.
If you’ve been given extended testing, because you have test anxiety, use it!
If you’ve been given the ability to postpone deadlines, use it!
Use your accommodations! There’s no shame in it, you’re being given the leg up your diagnosis warrants. Other people don’t struggle in the same way you do, so they don’t have those accommodations. Don’t be ashamed, be proud that you’re in education with the setbacks that you have-- and you're still trying!
Step 6: Talk to your classmates for support and study groups
Make sure and connect with your classmates often. They can be an invaluable resource for your (and their) academic journies. You can make friends, but more importantly, they can be an important resource for sharing notes, mutual learning, testing each other, and pushing past obstacles with the material.
People are usually happy to help others. Especially because it means they can ask you for help in the future too.
Step 7: Study often
Lastly, the best tip to survive academia– study often!
Study a lot more than others seem to be studying.
Study a lot more than you think you need to study.
Make sure you’re ahead of the class schedule, if you can be.
Your class time should be review, not your first exposure to a subject. This is much more helpful than coming to class unprepared.
It’s difficult to begin this habit, but if you start it at the start of the semester it’s far easier.
Step 8: Body Doubling and Study Groups
There is a method called "body doubling" that is frequently very helpful. This is when you work with another person, or another people, on the same tasks to complete them.
The desire to stick to your goals, along with the motivation of multiple people doing the same work, can be useful.
There are very many body doubling communities and platforms for those looking for this arrangement.
Step 9: Online Study Groups and Communities
Beyond body doubling, there are a HUGE amount of study-buddy or study-group organizations online. Most famous is the "Study Together" Discord server, of which there are about a quarter of a million members.
If you want something smaller and more intimate, search Reddit and Discord for groups where people study on webcam together.
Finding these groups was life-changing for me. I was suddenly able to focus when I told a friend what I was working on, and when I felt demotivated I could look up and see them focusing on their camera.
Survive college
Surviving college can be difficult. Make sure and connect with your college’s mental health services if you find yourself struggling. It’s about enjoying, but also getting through, the semester. You can absolutely do this, especially with these tips and tricks.
Remember: advocate for yourself. It’s a tough skill to learn, but an absolutely vital one. Use your voice, and mention what you need. The worst thing someone can say is “No.”
You can do it.
Final thoughts
I just want to assert that college is possible for you. Whether you need to attend asynchronous classes to avoid the crowds, or if you’re comfortable with traditional college, you CAN complete the important part of it all-- the learning!
I believe in you. You got this!