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Introduction
For many autistic adults, college represents the biggest transition period of their lives up to that point. College combines many of the freedoms we associate with adulthood with a flurry of opportunities, experiences, and new people of many different backgrounds.
But an unfortunate reality for autistic students is that college has historically been a neurotypical institution and is mostly defined and run on neurotypical norms and expectations. Yet college provides experiences and opportunities that are difficult to replicate elsewhere, and for some people it’s going to be the best way of helping to achieve their goals.
The purpose of this toolkit is to offer some helpful information on the college experience and how to navigate it to people who might have reason to reference it at some point during their college career.
There are many reasons to create more dedicated guides for autistic college students, not least of which is some of the unique challenges they face. Autistic students may find themselves putting in considerable extra work just to maintain a stable existence on campus, let alone have the “traditional college experience.”
One study cited neurodivergent unfriendly amenities, social challenges, and seemingly hostile bureaucracy as major factors for autistic students who did not complete college. In a system that can be validating and rewarding but also indifferent and even occasionally hostile, we hope this toolkit will offer some resources to help confront those challenges.
Another important reason is that most of the resources focused on the general college experience are written for a neurotypical audience. Despite that 36% of autistic high school graduates are attending college, minimal resources exist that are directly aimed at this growing audience. Whether you are going to a 2-year or 4-year school, living on campus or commuting, college is inherently a major shift in schedule, challenge, and personal experience from high school.
While some autistic people may not want or need assistance in adapting to these challenges, others may wish they had. More information or ways to ask for support. If you find yourself in the latter category, we are here to help!
Who Is This Toolkit For?
This guide is intended primarily for autistic students who are attending or plan to attend college and their support networks. We feel it important to emphasize here that while we believe college is a big enough subject for its own toolkit, there are a wide variety of postsecondary education options available to autistic students and we do not wish to suggest that college is the only option that exists after high school.
If you are interested in learning about some of the myriad o postsecondary options available to autistic students you can check out our Postsecondary Education Options Toolkit. With that in mind, most of this toolkit will talk about college as though the student in question has already decided to attend. If you are uncertain of how you feel about college and think this toolkit might help you decide, that is a perfectly valid use of this information as well!
Throughout this guide we will be talking about common autistic student needs in college, support programs, executive functioning in a new study environment, life skills that become more applicable in college, and some of the ways being on campus can help people connect. If you have an idea of what you need help with, referencing a particular section may be the most helpful way to navigate the situation.
Alternately, if you feel lost and need a place to start, checking out the guide as a whole and using our self-assessment may help you find your footing!
For members of support networks, some of the information available in this toolkit may be helpful to share with the autistic person in your life depending on the challenges they are facing or the support needs they express. We hope it will offer some realistic sense of the challenges that autistic students face in this major life event and drive home the importance of being supportive first and foremost.
Teachers and professionals may find fewer opportunities to directly apply some of the information provided in this toolkit, but we hope it will remain a part of your library to offer to anyone who expresses a need that it can help address.
With all that in mind, let’s get started by focusing on some common needs expressed by autistic college students.
Overview: Common Needs for Autistic College Students
The most important place to start in this section is with the framing offered by some of the research on this topic. In attempting to explain the very real problem of why many autistic students do not complete college, many studies hone in on and even attribute the issue to student deficits.
This framing puts the onus of addressing gaps in the college experience for autistic students on the students themselves, rather than schools to ensure their environments are conducive to more than just neurotypical students. While autonomy and personal agency are big parts of the college experience, students should not face undue burdens in seeking out all of the benefits that college has to offer.
A more helpful framing in our opinion is that a wide range of students can express a wide range of reasonable needs, and schools should be able to accommodate them. When it comes to autistic students, this might include autism-specific support programs or ensuring that autistic students are able to benefit from the more generalized resources the school has to offer.
The following list of common needs may need to be addressed by the student themselves or their support network, but that does not minimize the importance of any given college’s role in making sure they are met.
Belief in the Individual and Their Goals
While this is the type of need most anyone could agree is important, the reality is that belief is not a simple binary and that not all gatekeepers or decision makers will believe in autistic students to a degree that reflects the goals of those students. Many neurotypical people make the mistake of thinking that they can effectively judge a neurodivergent person’s limitations.
The perceptions that educators have of neurodivergent students can make an outsize difference in that student’s educational outcome. This story from a neurodivergent college graduate, for example, cites the introduction of an instructor who believed in her as a pivotal point in her educational journey.
Those who wish to help address this need should be prepared to listen when it comes to a given individual’s goals and to advocate and encourage when it comes to finding ways to help reach those goals. While it is true that none of us achieve all of our goals 100% of the time, many of us take for granted the fact that we can decide on our own when a particular goal is actually over our heads. Autistic and otherwise neurodivergent people deserve the opportunity to make that choice for themselves too.
A Sense of Belonging in the Community
Autistic college students often find themselves in an environment where they are weighing the pros and cons of disclosing their identity. It is not surprising that some autistic students would struggle to feel a sense of belonging in a community where they don’t feel fully comfortable being themselves.
A study on the topic of autistic students and disclosure found that the students interviewed most wanted to be seen and accepted as their true selves despite some tendency toward choosing not to disclose.
Another study focusing on predictors of life satisfaction for autistic college students found both that peer connectedness is a major predictor of life satisfaction and that autistic students feel less of each than the general student population.
Given how much of college is built on creating community spaces, students who feel welcome in those spaces will best be able to take advantage of what they have to offer.
Individualized Services
One great frustration for many autistic students who may already worry about not being seen as unique individuals is being subjected to one-size-fits-all solutions that may or may not solve their problems.
Autistic students regularly point to the value of individualized services in postsecondary education settings.
A Place to Call Home
The same study cited above ranked “a place to call home” as another resource highly valued by autistic college students. In this context, “a place to call home” can mean but does not have to mean your personal living space.
It can instead mean any space in which you feel comfortable working and socially engaging. Some students cited the ability to be surrounded by “others who understand autistic culture” as a component of being able to call a place home.
Supports Outside of the Program
The same study as in the last section noted the value of supports offered by colleges that aren’t directly under the umbrella of an autism-specific program.
Autistic students are not the only students who may need support during the course of college and should be able to access these more generalized services without any undue burden.
Mental Health Support
Many autistic students are already familiar with the challenges of finding mental health support professionals whose backgrounds match their needs, and college does not necessarily make that process easier.
For those who are relying on services provided by the college, the pool of available professionals and resources may or may not represent the right fit.
Yet mental health support can be crucial for many autistic students, be it for an issue related to autism or because of an issue related to another co-occurring condition.
Support Around Preparing for Demands of Postsecondary Education
While it is important that we move away from framing the college experience of autistic students in terms of deficits, it is reasonable to say that college represents a shift from the demands of high school and some students may feel more comfortable having an opportunity to prepare in a safe setting.
While we are not thrilled with some of the deficit framing in this study, its autistic participants identified “interpersonal competence” and “instrumental independence” as some of their greatest areas of need.
If autistic prospective students feel it necessary to practice a particular skill to feel prepared for the demands of postsecondary education then they should have an outlet to do so!
Autism Support Programs (ASPs)
ASPs are programs specifically designed with autistic college students in mind and have been growing in number since 2016. Just 2.2% of college programs overall are ASPs.
For some students, a dedicated program may be key to addressing a wide range of needs despite the relatively few programs that are currently on offer.
The linked study notes that the number of ASPs has approximately doubled since 2016 but withholds judgment as to whether such rapid expansion is being accompanied by best practices and actually suited to meeting student needs.
How Do I Know What I Need?
Self-Assessment
Answer the questions below in considering your college living goals. Consider your needs, previous experiences, and interests.
- As of now, what do you know about college living supports for you/the individual(s) you’re working with?
- What do you want to learn more about around college living for you/them?
- What are your/their goals?
- What supports will you/they need?
- What will you/they need to do to prepare for college living?
- What resources do you have around college living to help along the way?
List of Autism Support Programs
If this toolkit is your first time hearing about ASPs, you may rightfully be wondering where to learn more about what is out there! While the study we cited regarding ASPs may not be available to everyone, it does include a fairly comprehensive list of programs currently operating in the United States.
We are including that list of these programs so that you can begin to explore whether any options among them are right for you or the autistic student in your life!
Far West
Bellevue College
Location: Bellevue, WA
Public, 2-year
California Lutheran University
Autism and Communications Center
Location: Thousand Oaks, CA
Private, 4-year
California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo
Location: San Luis Obispo, CA
Public, 4-year
California State University – East Bay
Location: Hayward,CA
Public, 4-year
Golden West College
Location: Huntington Beach, CA
Public, 2-year
Seattle Central College
Supported Academic and Independent Life Skills (SAILS)
Location: Seattle, WA
Public, 2-year
Southwest
Tarrant County College District
Autism Spectrum Disorder Program
Location: Fort Worth,TX
Public, 2-year
Texas A&M University – College Station
Spectrum Living Learning Community
Location: College Station, TX
Public, 4-year
Texas Tech University
Connections for Academic Success and Employment (CASE)
Location: Lubbock, TX
Public, 4-year
University of Houston – Clear Lake
Location: Houston, TX
Public, 4-year
University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma
Neill-Wint Center for Neurodiversity
Location: Chickasha, OK
Public, 4-year
Rocky Mountains
University of Idaho
Location: Moscow, ID
Public, 4-year
University of Montana
Mentoring, Organization, Social Support for Autism / All Inclusion Campus (MOSSAIC)
Location: Missoula, MT
Public, 4-year
Plains
Dakota State University
Location: Madison, SD
Public, 4-year
Kirkwood Community College
Location: Cedar Rapids, IA
Public, 2-year
Loras College
Autism Resources for Career and Higher Education (ARCH)
Location: Dubuque, IA
Private, 4-year
Westminster College – Fulton
College Transition Program (CTP)
Location: Fulton, MO
Private, 2-year
Great Lakes
Ancilla College
Autism Program at Ancilla College (APAC)
Location: Donaldson, IN
Private, 2-year
Defiance College
Location: Defiance, OH
Private, 4-year
Eastern Illinois University
Students with Autism Transitional Educational Program (STEP)
Location: Charleston, IL
Public, 4-year
Eastern Michigan University
Location: Ypsilanti, MI
Public, 4-year
Kent State University at Kent
Location: Kent, OH
Public, 4-year
Marquette University
Location: Milwuakee, WI
Private, 4-year
Michigan State University
Building Opportunities for Networking and Discovery (BOND)
Location: East Lansing, MI
Public, 4-year
Ohio State University – Main Campus
Location: Columbus, OH
Public, 4-year
Ohio University
Autism Spectrum Peer Coaching Team (ASPeCT)
Location: Athens, OH
Public, 4-year
Saint Norbert College
Location: De Pere, WI
Private, 4-year
Trinity International University – Illinois
Location: Deerfield, IL
Private, 4-year
Western Michigan University
Location: Kalamazoo, MI
Public, 4-year
William Rainey Harper College
Transition Autism Program (TAP)
Location: Palatine, IL
Public, 2-year
Wright State University – Main Campus
Location: Dayton, OH
Public, 4-year
Xavier University
Location: Cincinnati, OH
Private, 4-year
Southeast
Austin Peay State University
Location: Clarksville, TN
Public, 4-year
Central Baptist College
Autism Spectrum Assistance Program (ASAP)
Location: Conway, AR
Private, 4-year
Clemson University
Location: Clemson, SC
Public, 4-year
Concord University
Location: Athens, WV
Public, 4-year
George Mason University
Mason Autism Support Initiative (MASI)
Location: Fairfax, VA
Public, 4-year
Marshall University
The College Program for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Location: Huntington, WV
Public, 4-year
Nicholls State University
Location: Thibodaux, LA
Public, 4-year
Nova Southeastern University
Location: Fort Lauderdale, FL
Private, 4-year
Reinhardt University
Strategic Education for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (SEAD)
Location: Waleska, GA
Private, 4-year
Santa Fe College
Location: Gainesville, FL
Public, 2-year
Seminole State College of Florida
Location: Sanford, FL
Public, 4-year
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama, ASD College Transition and Support Program (UA-ACTS)
Location: Tuscaloosa, AL
Public, 4-year
University of Arkansas
Location: Fayetteville, AR
Public, 4-year
University of Central Arkansas
Location: Conway, AR
Public, 4-year
University of Florida
Location: Gainesville, FL
Public, 4-year
University of North Florida
Transition to Health, Resources, Independence, Viable Careers, and Education (THRIVE)
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Public, 4-year
University of Tennessee – Chattanooga
Location: Chattanooga,TN
Public, 4-year
University of Tennessee – Knoxville
Postsecondary Autism Support Services (PASS)
Location: Knoxville, TN
Public, 4-year
University of West Florida
Location: Pensacola, FL
Public, 4-year
Western Kentucky University
Kelly Autism Program (KAP) Circle of Support
Location: Bowling Green, KY
Public, 4-year
Mideast
Adelphi University
Location: Garden City, NY
Private, 4-year
CUNY Brooklyn College
Project REACH: Resources and Education on Autism as CUNY’s Hallmark
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Public, 4-year
CUNY College of Staten Island
Project REACH: Resources and Education on Autism as CUNY’s Hallmark
Location: Staten Island, NY
Public, 4-year
CUNY LaGuardia Community College
Project REACH: Resources and Education on Autism as CUNY’s Hallmark
Location: Long Island City, NY
Public, 2-year
Daemen College
College Autism Transition Support (CATS)
Location: Amherst, NY
Private, 4-year
Drexel University
Drexel Autism Support Program (DASP)
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Private, 4-year
Eastern University
The College Success Program (CSP)
Location: Saint Davids, PA
Private, 4-year
Edinboro University of Pennsylvania
The Boro Autism Support Initiative for Success
Location: Edinboro, PA
Public, 4-year
Fairleigh Dickinson University – College at Florham
Location: Madison, NJ
Private, 4-year
Fairleigh Dickinson University – Metropolitan Campus
Location: Teaneck, NJ
Private, 4-year
Indiana University of Pennsylvania – Main Campus
Location: Indiana, PA
Public, 4-year
Kutztown University of Pennsylvania
Location: Kutztown, PA
Public, 4-year
Manhattanville College
Pathways and Connections Program (PAC)
Location: Purchase, NY
Private, 4-year
Mercyhurst University
Autism Initiative at Mercyhurst (AIM)
Location: Erie, PA
Private, 4-year
Pace University – New York
Location: New York, NY
Private, 4-year
Ramapo College of New Jersey
Location: Mahwah, NJ
Public, 4-year
Rochester Institute of Technology
Location: Rochester, NY
Private, 4-year
Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania
Autism Transitions for Learning Achievement and Support (ATLAS)
Location: Slippery Rock, PA
Public, 4-year
SUNY at Purchase College
Location: Purchase, NY
Public, 4-year
Towson University
College Autism Peer Program (CAPS)
Location: Towson, MD
Public, 4-year
University of Delaware
Location: Newark, DE
Public, 4-year
West Chester University of Pennsylvania
Location: West Chester, PA
Public, 4-year
Executive Functioning (EF)
School presents a unique relationship with self-advocacy in that we are often taught and encouraged to practice self-advocacy in school, but school is also rigidly structured enough that many forms of self-advocacy we might practice in other settings will look very different in a school setting.
A classic example is that school is one of the few settings where we need to ask permission to go use the restroom! Even if it might be frustrating at times, we still have to navigate the structures of school and advocate for our needs to the best of our abilities!
What is a executive functioning?
A life skill and umbrella term that encompasses a number of smaller skills that overlap and interrelate:
- Adaptable Thinking
- Self-Monitoring
- Self-Regulation
- Organization
- Time Management
- Working Memory
Planning - Task Initiation
- Metacognition
One challenge of adjusting to college that most students must grapple with on some level is the need to more regularly employ more varied executive functioning skills. Everyone has different strengths when it comes to executive functioning, but one unfortunate feature of many colleges is that students aren’t guaranteed to get the type of instruction that might help them practice and improve on their executive functioning skills.
For too many students, executive functioning skills may feel less like something they can work on and more like something they have to work around. It’s no surprise that there is a correlation between college students who report struggling with executive functioning skills and time management.
Autistic students like any other group of students will vary in which EF skills they excel at and which may require some outside support. The most common self reported gaps in executive functioning skills among autistic students were related to concentration, time management, stamina, organization, and prioritizing tasks.
The presentation citing these challenge areas also made note of how obstacles related to executive functioning can cluster and build up on each other. Over time, if left unaddressed, problems related to executive functioning can sometimes snowball to a point where they can no longer be managed.
The good news is that it’s never too early to practice executive functioning skills, nor are there a shortage of organizations interested in offering resources and advice, whether paid or free, at school or outside of school. If you read through all of those links you may notice a wide variety of suggested practice methods and techniques, but what you may also notice is that methods reporting a degree of success also tend to describe overcoming these sorts of challenges with a particular autistic student in an individualized setting.
In other words, one very important component of autistic students overcoming obstacles relating to executive functioning is receiving the exact type of support many autistic students were directly asking for in many of the studies we cited earlier in the toolkit.
If you find yourself in a situation where you do want assistance with a particular executive functioning skill or are generally feeling overwhelmed but do not know where to look, a great place to start can be with any member of your support network who is able to discuss both the obstacles you are facing and the way those obstacles interact with your personal goals, campus life, and schedule.
People in your support network can help you find out whether your school offers resources that help address your obstacles, exercises for practicing or managing particular executive functioning skills, or accommodation tools that make particular executive functioning skills easier.
A helpful member of your support network can also help you evaluate whether there might be other ways to work toward achieving your goals if a particular executive functioning obstacle is proving to be too challenging.
It is always worth remembering that executive functioning skills are supposed to be a means to the end of you achieving your goals in life, and it is OK to decide whether or not practicing a particular skill will be the best use of your time.
Life Skills
This bold header on Clarke University’s web page discussing essential skills for college students is intentionally a great summation of all the newfound freedoms college students come to possess at school and perhaps unintentionally a great summation of the way many autistic students are left to address a wide range of unique needs on their own, even when schools do have some resources available.
While we do think this article from Clarke University is somewhat reflective of how neurotypical norms bleed into the college experience in ways that can affect neurodivergent students, it is also a useful reflection on the types of life skills that incoming college students will start to rely on much more heavily as the school year starts.
While we are separating out some of the skills that might be a better fit in our executive functioning section, you may find it helpful to think of executive functioning skills as life skills too.
When thinking about what you might need to work on going into college, consider the following areas where student responsibilities can become much more significant.
Money Management
For some students, going to college might entail handling a whole new range of finances and tracking money. For others, it might represent their first time living on a budget, balancing their checkbook, or having an individual bank account. Whatever your case may be, college is almost certain to represent a step up in personal financial responsibility.
If you are new to budgeting, one great way to practice is to write down a list of things you need every month, how much you think they will cost, and then comparing that number to your actual expenditures.
If you need help learning about the nuts and bolts of interacting with a bank or your college’s bursar office, a more experienced person in your support network may be willing to go over the important details.
Every college student faces different circumstances when it comes to money management, and knowing how to budget does not necessarily guarantee you will have an easy time meeting all of your personal needs.
That being said, some budgeting knowledge can go a long way in making sure you are getting the most out of however much money is available to you.
Stress Management
College is one of those places where your work and your schedule can just start piling up, and most if not all students experience stress as part of their college career.
Stress is never completely avoidable and living with some is completely normal, but in an environment where the workload can become overwhelming it can also be too easy to let little stressors build up without addressing them until they start to overshadow everything else.
The Clarke article mentions the importance of regular exercise, adequate rest, nutrition, and prayer/meditation in managing stress, and those things can be very helpful to some people! It should also be noted, however, that we as individuals often have a very reasonable idea of what helps us relieve our personal stress.
The important part of stress management is taking the time to ensure your own wellbeing is accounted for, and the exact way you do it can be up to you!
Self-Advocacy
Clarke University described this section as “assertiveness skills,” which we felt played a little bit into neurotypical norms around socialization in college.
Whereas the use of “assertiveness” alludes to displaying the “correct” types of social skills, self-advocacy more broadly refers to a willingness to advocate for oneself in a situation, regardless of whether that advocacy is designed to win over the whole room.
While it can certainly help to be strategic about how self-advocacy is applied, it is the act of standing up for yourself and believing that your needs are important and worth addressing even in low stakes situations that is the hardest part for many people, and overcoming that block can make a huge difference.
It is worth noting too that self-advocacy goes beyond just managing disagreement or standing up for oneself when slighted. Asking for help, sharing your personal goals, and expressing personal interest all fall under the self-advocacy umbrella and can be just as if not more beneficial!
Self-Care Skills
These are the types of skills that can really sneak up on a person who is still getting used to college life. After all, we practice self-care through things like hygiene, grooming, and chores all throughout our childhood and teenage years! Yet much like every other aspect of college life, sometimes things just work a little differently when you are on your own and it takes a little extra effort to make sure you have everything covered.
Things like brushing your teeth and showering might become a little more complicated because you have to buy your own soap and toothpaste, or get used to sharing that space with others, and old morning routines might need to be adjusted based on shifting class schedules.
Not everyone will need to make a considerable personal adjustment in this regard, but every prospective college student can benefit from thinking about the basics and if anything new is necessary to make sure they keep up.
There are also some self-care skills that you may not have relied on at home because a caregiver or another person was willing to take on that role. Many college students, for example, are accustomed to having a parent do their laundry or to help clean their living space.
Even college students who are accustomed to doing chores around the house may find that the tasks they were assigned at a younger age do not fully align with the steps they will need to take as people living independently to ensure their own needs are met.
Some students also see college as an opportunity to build up independent living skills that aren’t strictly necessary in a school setting but could be in the future.
When it comes to deciding what life skills to practice for college, some like laundry may prove necessary to maintaining a reasonable standard of living while other skills like cooking can have benefits but may depend on whether those benefits are worth prioritizing a chunk of time to practice.
The great news about these types of skills is that there are often quite a few different guides out there for when you need advice and it can often just be a matter of finding the right fit.
For prospective college students interested in learning more about cooking, Autism Grown Up offers an array of visual recipe guides, including a collection aimed at college students and a full-on recipe book covering dishes for a wide range of skill levels.
Navigating the Rules and Policies
While Clarke University uses the word “respect” on its page, we do not feel comfortable telling our autistic readers to respect the rules and policies after spending a whole toolkit talking about how many college rules and policies do not account for the needs of autistic students.
These rules should be “respected” in the sense that they can have a very real impact on your life if you are not careful, but actually navigating those rules and policies is a skill that can be practiced and can pay dividends.
When a rule or policy interferes with your ability to fully benefit from your college experience, it can help to think of rule navigation as attempting to address your specific concern while drawing as little attention to the rule as possible. This is not necessarily because the rule in question is fair or just, but because working around the rule is sometimes the path of least resistance.
Other times, confronting the rule or policy in question may be the only way to achieve your goal.
You may also decide that a particular rule is problematic enough that you want to dedicate your energy to fighting it regardless of how it affects you, and your efforts should be applauded. But we also want to emphasize that fixing your school is not your personal responsibility.
You do not have a moral obligation to spend your energy changing a system that already places such an unnecessary burden on you.
The responsibility to fix the system falls on the people who are paid to run it, and anything you are willing to contribute to that effort on your own time should 100% be a matter of your personal preference.
Your responsibility in college is to yourself, fulfilling your own commitments, and meeting your own goals.
Connecting to Others
One of the most valuable benefits that college has to offer is the opportunity to connect with others across a myriad of settings that aren’t so easily replicated outside of school. Unfortunately, the neurotypical framing of the college experience can sometimes obsessively focus on the importance of taking the initiative in social settings.
For those of us who might not be accustomed to taking such a step, such advice comes dangerously close to sounding like “it’s easy, all you have to do is know how to be popular!” It does not help that much of the media surrounding college life tends to focus on things like parties and Greek life.
If these are aspects of college living that you personally find exciting, it is indeed true that “putting yourself out there” can be a major component of those types of social spaces, but they are hardly the only way that a person can make connections on campus.
In fact, college is often a great place to forge connections via your own interests and hobbies, and people you meet through those interests and hobbies can become part of a more expansive social life.
The bottom line is that if you personally see taking the social initiative as an important part of your college experience then you should pursue that goal, and if you do not see that way of doing things as your style then you shouldn’t feel pressured to make it your style.
But if that’s not the only way to connect on campus, what are some other ways for a college student to meet new people?
🏡 Start Where You Live
If you live in a college dorm or communal living space, especially as a freshman, it’s likely there are some common areas where your fellow classmates might gather to hang out. While this is one space where you could practice just “putting yourself out there” if that is your goal, there is often more to dorm common rooms than just looking around for someone to chat with!
Dorm common rooms often play host to dorm events, be they pizza parties, icebreakers with your RA, or just an informal social gathering.
Even if you don’t feel comfortable just walking up to someone and introducing yourself, you may discover that some people introduce themselves to you or that one of the aforementioned activities provides the perfect opportunity to join in, with the drawback that there are no inherent shared interests bringing the people living in the dorm together.
If you are an incoming freshman then odds are you did not get to choose where or who you live with, and there can be some luck involved when it comes to making strong connections.
Many college students eventually move on from dorm events to more specific pursuits, but many also make lifelong friends with people who just happened to be living down the hall.
Your local dorm is certainly worth checking out, all the way up until you no longer feel like you’re getting anything out of the experience.
📚 In Your Classes
Your classes are another great space that offer a range of potential opportunities to make connections based on your comfort level and preferences.
A “put yourself out there” person might see it as an opportunity to chat people up before and after, but that is far from the only option.
Classes have built in discussions where you can develop a sense of what the people around you are thinking and likewise share your thoughts.
Classes are often a reflection of shared interests as not everyone takes all the same courses in college. If you like having conversations but struggle with finding a good starting point, a classroom where the discussion at hand is already self-evident is a wonderful place to start!
🍴 Where You Eat
At the risk of invoking some of the social pressures of high school, eating can be another great excuse to break the ice with people and for freshmen especially schools often provide a communal dining space.
The difference between college and high school is that lunch periods are not fixed and there are no specific expectations around what any student will do for their meals.
For those who want to socialize around meals, there will be no shortage of opportunities.
If your preference is to be alone at mealtime then that is a perfectly valid reason not to pursue connections in the dining hall.
Even folks who are not interested in socializing at lunch may notice other opportunities to connect that fit better with their personal preferences.
🎮 Clubs on Campus
One thing you might notice on the way to the dining hall from your dorm, or to class from the dining hall is the flyers all over campus advertising a seemingly endless offering of clubs, groups, and events.
Some people are able to embrace chaos and pick out the perfect club for them just looking around at different bulletin boards, but for anyone looking for a little more organization most colleges keep a directory of clubs and activities, and at the beginning of the year many schools will host an event where you can find out more about what each club does.
Clubs that interest you on campus are great places to explore because they often let you move between building connections and focusing on your hobbies and interests. Clubs can also pool resources to put on the kinds of events and activities that you might not be able to pull off on your own!
If Greek life is not your speed, many different clubs can put on similarly exciting events that appeal more to your personal sensibilities.
⛺ Clubs off Campus/Meetups
Depending on your living and transportation situation, it may be feasible for you to participate in activities or meetups that are not affiliated directly with your school and take place off campus.
There is absolutely no rule saying you can’t do this, and sometimes off campus clubs are simply better equipped for particular hobbies or have more people to make connections with.
One potential drawback to seeking out connections this way is missing out on some opportunities to connect with your classmates, but there is also no rule saying that you have to focus on making connections with that group in particular if you do not want to. If you are headed off campus to an unfamiliar area, it can help to check out the space ahead of time with a member of your support network or develop a plan for checking in with a trusted friend.
💻 Online Spaces
One great part of college is how it can connect students both online and offline. Online spaces for college students of a particular school can be a fantastic way to meet people who live on campus with shared interests whom you may never have spoken to otherwise, and many incoming freshmen take advantage of online spaces to start talking to fellow classmates before their first year even starts!
If you are interested in these kinds of spaces, searching for your school’s name on your social media platform of choice is often a great way to get started, and sometimes schools will even directly mention particular pages.
Accommodations
As we have previously noted in toolkits pertaining to the workspace, the topic of accommodations can be tricky for autistic people because not all feel totally comfortable disclosing their autism to make a reasonable accommodation request legally binding.
One study we previously cited regarding supporting the needs of autistic college students notes that autistic students are more likely to request accommodations for co-occurring conditions than they are for autism. When weighing the pros and cons of whether to disclose to a college, it is completely fair to consider whether disclosing will actually lead you to getting the types of accommodations you need.
As the study author notes, many colleges and universities are becoming more cognizant of this dynamic and building in systems and programs to make the process of disclosure and receiving accommodations easier. If you have not already done so, it may be worth reaching out to your disability support office to ask what types of accommodation programs your school has set up for autistic students.
If your college is a little more ambiguous in how it will be able to accommodate you, students who participated in their IEP meetings or are familiar with their 504 plans can rely on their lists of accommodations to transition into college.
A 504 plan can carry into college, but students will still need to go to their disability/accessibility office and request their own accommodations. This is the major difference between high school and college.
While we are still working to get to a place where autistic college students can feel fully comfortable with disclosure and receiving accommodations, we hope you feel comfortable pursuing any accommodation you believe is necessary to your success.
Common Accommodations for Autistic College Students
- Advanced notice of deadlines
- Extra time for tests/exams
- Separate quiet space for test-taking
- Peer mentors
- Review sheets
- Work checklists
- Check-ins
- Visuals
- Proofreading
- Assistive technology
- Note taker
- Demonstrations
- Intermittent deadlines
- Organizational tools
- Seating
College Living Next Steps
Self-Assessment Questions
Your responses to the self-assessment will appear below each question. This worksheet helps you keep all of your responses and next steps organized. What are your next steps?
1. As of now, what do you know about college living supports for you/the individual(s) you’re working with?
2. What do you want to learn more about around college living for you/them?
3. What are your/their goals?
4. What supports will you/they need?
5. What will you/they need to do to prepare for college living?
6. What resources do you have around college living to help along the way?
For More Information
Here are some more resources for you to explore on this topic area. Note that not all information presented on these sites is neurodiversity-affirming.
Research
Young Adults on the Autism Spectrum at College: Successes and Stumbling Blocks
Anderson, C., & Butt, C. (2017). Young Adults on the Autism Spectrum at College: Successes and Stumbling Blocks. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 47(10), 3029–3039. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-017-3218-x
White, S. W., Elias, R., Salinas, C. E., Capriola, N., Conner, C. M., Asselin, S. B., Miyazaki, Y., Mazefsky, C. A., Howlin, P., & Getzel, E. E. (2016).
Believe in Me: Insights of a Nonspeaking College-Bound Autistic
Kripke-Ludwig, R. (2020). Believe in me: Insights of a nonspeaking college-bound autistic. Autism in Adulthood, 2(2), 118-120.
Frost, K. M., Bailey, K. M., & Ingersoll, B. R. (2019). “I just want them to see me as…me”: Identity, community, and disclosure practices among college students on the autism spectrum. Autism in Adulthood, 1(4), 268-275.
Positive Predictors of Life Satisfaction for Autistic College Students and Their Neurotypical Peers
Casagrande, K., Frost, K. M., Bailey, K. M., & Ingersoll, B. R. (2020). Positive predictors of life satisfaction for autistic college students and their neurotypical peers. Autism in Adulthood, 2(2), 163-170.
Supports and Resources Valued by Autistic Students Enrolled in Postsecondary Education
Scheef, A. R., McKnight-Lizotte, M., & Gwartney, L. (2019). Supports and resources valued by autistic students in postsecondary education. Autism in Adulthood, 1(3), 219-226.
Supporting the needs of college students with autism spectrum disorder
Chandrasekhar T. (2020). Supporting the needs of college students with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of American college health : J of ACH, 68(8), 936–939. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2019.1686003
Nachman, B. R., McDermott, C. T., & Cox, B. E. (2022). Brief report: Autism-specific college support programs: Differences across geography and institutional type. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 52, 863-870.
The Relationship Between College Students’ Executive Functioning and Study Strategies
Peterson, R., Lavelle, E., & Guarino, A. J. (2006). The relationship between college students’ executive functioning and study strategies. Journal of College Reading and Learning, 36(2), 59-67.
Resource Page
Postsecondary Education Options Toolkit
Autism Grown Up
Michelle Mullen, Amy Banko, & Brittany Stone | UMass
Self-Management Skills for College Students
Beyond Booksmart
Franklin & Marshall College
Lieber Recovery Clinic
College Internship Program
Essential Skills for College Students
Clarke University
Blog/Article
Executive Functioning Strategies for College Students
Dean College
MindTools
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