Welcome back to our College Prep Series, where we are exploring the process of seeking out college programs that support the needs of Autistic students and identifying which of these programs is right for you. 

In Part 1 we discussed some of the common needs that Autistic students might consider when exploring college options and in Part 2 we are going to take a closer look at what forms neurodiversity-affirming programs might take.

As you are likely already aware, support for Autistic people is not a simple binary, and there are a wide variety of ways that colleges attempt to show that they are supportive of Autistic students. Inevitably some will be more effective than others, and inevitably different people will benefit from different types of programming. 

While there are a number of places you can go to check out specific programs, including this helpful article from the Neurodiversity Network and our free College Living Toolkit, it can also be helpful to consider some of the forms that support might take to better inform which types of schools stand out the most to you. So let’s dive in!

Affinity and interest groups are some of the most basic ways that schools can foster a supportive environment for Autistic students. 

No matter the campus setting, being able to connect with other Autistic people who are navigating the same challenges can be a big difference maker, as can advocating for change collectively rather than as an individual. 

At the same time, affinity and interest groups are more like a bare minimum than an indicator of a school’s commitment to Autistic students, as most such groups are student-led and run. Rather than look for schools that have such groups, it may help to think of it as more of a red flag when a school doesn’t have any such group.

One surefire way to tell about a school’s commitment to its Autistic students is the type of programming it runs in support of Autistic students. School programming can serve many purposes, from offering support, resources, or guidance to Autistic students who need it to specific subject areas encouraging more Autistic people to explore that potential career path. 

A great example of the former is Carnegie Mellon’s Career Readiness Program , which actively supports Autistic students through some of the challenges that can come with seeking a job and career after college. A great example of the latter is Missouri’s Neurodiversity and Entrepreneurship program.

As valuable as school programming can be in guiding our educational path, we also need to consider what resources a given school has available to support its Autistic students through the transition to college living and navigating a new educational environment. 

A great differentiator in such programming is how active a role the school plays in reaching out to students who might need these resources and how much they will advocate on the student’s behalf. 

Some examples of school offices or resources that are focused on supporting Autistic students include the Stanford Neurodiversity Project or Eastern Michigan’s College Supports Program .

As important and helpful as it can be to have programming and resources specific to the needs of Autistic students, one other crucial component of college living for many Autistic students is feeling comfortable navigating the school environment that they are living in. 

After all, our living environment affects everything else about our day from whether we can meet our own needs to whether we can get all of our necessary work done. 

While no school will be universally perfect, it can make all the difference in the world to feel like someone has thought about some of these things ahead of time and that there is a reasonable avenue to getting issues resolved. Schools committed to a positive environment for Autistic students often lead initiatives or programs to work toward that goal. 

Some examples include the University of Montana’s MOSSAIC Program and the University of Alabama’s UA-ACTS Program .

Every Autistic student is unique and has different needs, and we thankfully exist in an educational environment where enough schools are taking the support needs of Autistic people seriously enough that we do not necessarily have to choose between a school that offers basic support and a school that helps us meet all of our other goals. 

We hope this post has offered a basic framework for identifying the ways that schools can be supportive of Autistic students. Whether you want to seek out programs through some of the lists we linked above or research whether the specific schools you like have a reasonable support program, the most crucial thing is to find options that are a good fit with what you need. 

We will cover that process in Part 3, and in the meantime, if you’d like to share any of your college search experiences then we would love to hear from you at hello@autismgrownup.com .