How much support for things like ADHD at uni?

[basildonbond]

Ds has a statement since he was 4 and has had a lot of help at school to get him through GCSEs - he's got a mix of ADHD/Asperger's traits and tic disorder. He's v bright but has major problems focusing and processing info and has had extra time in exams plus uses a laptop

I suspect he's not going to be mature enough to cope with uni straight after leaving school partly because he doesn't like admitting he needs support

What have your dc with statements experienced at uni with regard to support?

[Dumbledoresgirl]

Wow, I really want to know other people's experience of this too. Ds1 is in Yr13. Never been statemented, but his asperger traits seem to be dominating his life more and more, to the extent that dh and I are considering asking him to go to the GP for support. No idea how he will function at uni. He may well stay home and go to the local one just because he knows he won't cope away from home. I am really worried about the whole situation and would love to hear from other parents whose child has gone through the system.

[callamia]

University disability offices will be able to give you more information. In my experience, (I work in HE and my husband receives support for dyslexia for his MA) I would expect your son to receive a god amount of support - including disability support allowance (hardware, software, maybe some mentoring). Extra time should be straightforward to arrange, as would using a computer for exams.

He can also make his personal tutor aware so that they can help him to plan for deadlines etc.

Do you think that he would manage living independently from you yet? Or might he stay at home? I guess the living skills are things that universities might not be able to support as much as academic issues.

[creamteas]

I have seen lots of students with ADHD/ASD sail through university and get good degrees. I have also seen some struggle.

Here are my top tips:

Declare the disability on the UCAS form. It is really important that you make it clear from the start. Some people worry that their application will be judged unfairly. This is very unlikely to be the case. But even if it did happen, you are probably better off not going to a dept that is discriminatory. So by declaring, you are weeding out anywhere that will be unhelpful.

Choose your university carefully All will offer support, but some are better with some students than others. This is very individual, and you need to think about what your DC will need. Ask lots of questions, and ask for examples of the support they can offer. Go for a university that will support your DC rather than a bigger name that will not.

Take a gap year For three reasons, first that it gives you more time to choose. Secondly, it can be very hard to get the rights things in place between A level results and starting university. Thirdly, it gives time for transition activities. Good universities will encourage applicants with disabilities to come in, try classes out and make sure everything is in place. This can make all the difference.

Work with the university support services They are the experts at what can be done and can help with getting DSA. But more importantly, all too often things fall apart because students are not communicating with staff and support services about their needs. So students need to be active in both engaging with support and be vocal when things are not working.

HTH

[chemenger]

I agree with creamteas. The most important thing is to engage with the disability support system at the university at the earliest possible point, to ensure that everything is in place in good time. Usually they will be available at university open days to talk through what they can offer, I know there are talks from our disability office at our main open days. Its also important to understand that there is very limited scope for informal support, other than pastoral support, usually only the disability office can arrange extra time, deferred deadlines, flexible study; it isn't that academic staff don't want to help but there are systems which have to be followed.

We have had many students successfully complete degrees with significant adjustments to their study, but sadly I can remember a few who either recognised their difficulties too late for adjustments to be implemented or decided not to declare a disability and did not do as well as they could.

[mumeeee]

DD3 is Dyspraxic and has other learning difficulties including some Autistic traits. She was 22 in January. She is now in her first year of uni doing a computer degree, She has taken awhile to get here doing various courses at college after leaving school.
She declared her disability on the UCAS form and also applied for Disabled Students Allowance which she got. She had to have an assessment whish was done after 16. Message me for more details.
Anyway she is doing fairly well with her course although stressed at the moment with getting assignments finished. She has a laptop, printer, dictor phone for recording lectures and software to help her with proof reading. She also has a study support tutor who she sees once a week she was supposed to have this last term but there was some delay and the uni also provides a proof reader. She gets extra time and use of computer for her exams.
She would not have been mature enough at 18 and I wasn't sure how she would cope when she went in September. She has surprised both me and DH and we are proud of how she is coping although she is still very disorganised and often miss places things.
She has found the Disability team at Boton very good. We contacted them before she went and she also spoke to them at an open day.

[basildonbond]

thanks all

at the moment I can't see him getting through a uni degree without an awful lot of support which he's reluctant to ask for

And I'm not sure how he'll cope with living independently although I know he'd be keen to go elsewhere to study

He's definitely going to have a gap year - he's got dual nationality so will go and stay with extended family in Oz for a while - so fingers crossed he matures enough to get through the application process let alone the degree!

It is frustrating as he is exceptionally bright but he finds organising anything (his thoughts, time, belongings, work) exceptionally difficult and is very impulsive. I worry immensely about how he's going to cope outside the protective bubble of home and school :(

[creamteas]

We have students who struggle with organization because of their disabilities. They usually have a learning mentor whose job it is to help them with this.

The range of support is dependent on need. So I had one student with ADHD who had someone with them everyday (attending every class) right through their degree and others which had weekly meetings at the beginning moving down to monthly towards the end.

We have also had some students that have lived on campus in halls for all three years and others which have done the more usual shared house route after the 1st year.

Some students have been open about their condition and others have not disclosed to their peers (it can be arranged that assistants such as note-takers sit apart from the student they are assisting for example).

But student's do need to be able to talk to staff, otherwise it is difficult for everyone.

[tallulah]

My DS has ADHD and dyspraxia and was fine at university. He applied for the Disabled Students allowance and made himself known to the SEN Unit (can't remember what their proper name is) from day one.

He got a lot of support, especially in organisation etc, and was lucky to get housemates who took on the job of looking after him.

He did start off in catered accommodation because that was one less thing for him (and us) to worry about.

[callamia]

Basildon, it might be that he needs a bit more time out before committing to university? Some of my best students have come after a few years working - they come motivated and prepared to work, most freely say that they weren't ready to do it as a teenager.

I have few ideas what your son might do in the intervening period, but it might be better than struggling and bit meeting potential?

[UptheChimney]

at the moment I can't see him getting through a uni degree without an awful lot of support which he's reluctant to ask for

This is the crunch: he'll need a statement of his SLD acceptable to the university, and he'll need to take up what's offered by systems of support. There is good support at most universities, and all staff want to assist, but the student has to initiate that support.

[mumeeee]

DD3 got a report of her needs after her DSA assessment which was approved and agreed by our local authority for student support. DD3 had to send the report to the university and get in touch with The Disability advisor team at the university herself she emailed them initially but then spoke to them to arrange an apointmenr for when she started. This was a big achievement for her because she had always found speaking on the phone difficult and stressful. Going a few years late to uni really helped her. She also found she''s not the oldest on her course and there's a mix of ages in her flat in halls.

[LapsedPacifist]

Hi everyone, can anyone tell me how we can go about getting a post-16 statement re. DS's ASD prior to applying to Uni? He is in year 13 and about to sit his A2 exams. DS received a diagnosis of Asperger's in year 9 from a consultant at our local hospital following a referral to CAHMS by his school. Should I speak to the school about this?

DS is having a gap year and is planning to apply to uni this Autumn, but TBH I am having a complete nervous breakdown about the whole business. He is predicted to get A*AA-ABB in History, Politics and Philosophy, and has vague ideas about studying some combination of History, International Relations or Politics at uni, but has done jack shit about finding courses etc. I'm the one poring over whichuniversity.com and the UCAS websites, making notes of entry requirements, disability support, campus accommodation arrangements etc. I suspect he is actually very anxious about the whole business and would rather just not think about any of it, but doesn't have any plans for his gap year either. We also have close family in Oz who have offered to have him for a while, but they live way out in the suburbs of a small city and I can't imagine what on earth he will do with himself over there.

He has been pretty happy in 6th form after a horrendous few years of being badly bullied at school, but has no social life whatsoever, never sees friends outside school and has no interest in joining clubs or groups in or out of school, with the exception of Model United Nations. He has no hobbies or particular interest (unlike a lot of people with Asperger's, he has no particular passion or talent.) He never ever leaves the house of his own accord except to go to the gym. He is a very sweet and gentle person, compliant and kind, and almost completely passive. It's become impossible to tell how much of his social isolation is due to his ASD and how much is low self esteem and just not having created the social networks normal to other teenagers. He's on FB but never uses it to engage with his peers unless prompted by me or DH.

Apart from going abroad, options for his gap year suggested by me include: he moves in with his dad in London for a change of scenery, undertakes voluntary work, looks for paid work or does some 'soft skills' training such as ECDL or another foreign language. I've made it clear that doing none of the above is not an option, but he just says 'I don't know' and looks sad. He has started suffering from tics again, which is related to anxiety, and I don't want to stress him out during the run up to exams, but I feel we are running out of time to put things in place for him.

He could live at home and attend one of the local unis, but he wants a chance to become independent and make a life for himself. I agree. But he seems unaware of just how carefully he needs to choose where to go, what sort of environment will suit him best (small town/large city campus based uni etc) what course to take, and how much needs to be put in place before he goes. I've pointed out he can take more than one year out first, but he's afraid he'll find it harder to 'fit in' if he's more than a year or so older than his peers.

Sorry this is so long, I really needed to get this off my chest! I know I should back off and leave him be until after his exams, but it boils my piss to see him spending all his time on the damn computer playing games while I'm worrying myself into an early grave about his future!

[PenelopePipPop]

On obtaining a statement you might find the special needs boards more help. It isn't easy but there will be a lot of people over there who can help and point you in the direction of those who can help. Your son does not need a statement of SEN at school to be eligible for extra support at uni though so that is a separate issue.

The word statement has been used a few times on this thread. Apologies if this is patronising and you knew this but there is a big difference between a statutory statement of SEN under s.323 Education Act 1996 and an assessment for DSA or any other 'statement' about what your son needs. LEAs have statutory duties to assess any pupil in school who may have SEN and be entitled to additional help and if found to have such an entitled they then have an obligation to fund the support. As a result, statements are like gold dust and the whole process for children and young people with ASD whose needs may be complex to explain can be fraught. In your sons case if he is performing well academically it may be hard to convince the LEA of any need for additional support, if indeed he has any. But the people on the SN board will be placed to advise you on that.

OTOH he may well be entitled to DSA, and the fact that he has had a recent assessment of his Asperger Syndrome can all help you communicate what his needs are to the university. The university's duties have nothing whatsoever to do with education legislation, they just flow from the Equality Act and the duty to offer reasonable adjustments to disabled people in order to ensure they can use their services. It can be easier to explain to the university what kind of support your son needs if he has a recent ed psych resport which says 'He finds classroom teaching difficult to follow because of sensory integration issues so a note-taker may be helpful'. But if that hasn't happened it doesn't change the fact that the Uni still has a duty to provide the support.

So I agree with my academic colleagues on this thread who emphasise making it clear as early as possible what support would help, but only because it makes our processes more efficient and therefore less stressful for the student - I have met students who have only been diagnosed with Aspergers at uni and they have managed to perform extremely well in their degrees, it can be extremely hard to anticipate how any individual will respond to the uni environment but I seem to remember the chapter on Higher Education in Tony Attwood's book on AS used to start with something like 'Universities are havens for the socially mal-adjusted' (he was talking about the staff, not students with AS!).

Disability Rights UK has an excellent range of factsheets here. And they also run a disabled students helpline.

[LapsedPacifist]

Hi Penelope, thanks for your reply! DS doesn't have a statement for school - we were told years ago he doesn't qualify as he is very 'high functioning' and the school won't even allow him extra time in exams because he is academically able. They will let him sit his exams in a room away from the main exam hall, but he has declined the offer since taking his GCSEs because, as he says, the other SEN pupils in the room are very 'fidgety' and stressy, and the A2 pupils he works alongside are now all v. focussed and quiet!

DS has a very detailed statement from BIBIC about his needs (mostly difficulties related to interpreting verbal instructions). He went there for an assessment 3 years ago and the SENCO at his school has taken on board their recommendations. I'm just concerned about accessing another assessment which will be acceptable to the university disability support teams. At 17, DS falls between various agencies, so we are not sure who to approach. We can fund a private assessment, but we need to know whether this would be acceptable to universities. We are not terribly concerned about accessing major or expensive support at uni. His needs are mostly related to his social and communication problems, ie getting him a buddy/mentor for the first few weeks at uni, making sure he understands the procedures for deadlines/extensions if he is suffering from anxiety, getting him a quiet room in Halls, possibly with mature/postgrad students.

Tony Attwood has some extremely positive things to say about the uni environment for Aspies, but DS is a lazy toad who does the bare minimum necessary he can get away with neither stratospherically academic or ASD-typically focussed on a particular discipline, so I'm about his prospects as a budding academic. If only he'd been a nerdy computer/maths/science geek like most of his family!

[rightsaidfrederick]

Can I suggest having a look at this board here? www.thestudentroom.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=277

There are some useful stickies and some very knowledgeable users on the subject of disability at uni and support available (River85 is a gem, for instance)

[PenelopePipPop]

Given his predicted grades your DS is either very bright+lazy or actually very focused. But he can't be getting those grades without one or the other. I appreciate given his ASD he isn't going to talk about his feelings, but I wonder if your comment on anxiety and particularly anxiety about performance is quite an issue for him. If he has been bullied too he may have perfected the art of applying himself without appearing to.

WRT to what universities need - I'd call the disability support services for any Uni he is interested in and explain the situation. His support needs are likely to be predominantly social rather than educational. And some of them may not be identifiable until he is living away from home for the first time. If the Uni takes its duties seriously they should ask intelligent questions about how they can offer flexible support of the kind you identify - working with him to make sure he understands procedures for assessment in his dept, making sure he is in appropriate accommodation etc. They should not need a further assessment to identify the kind of support nees you have mentioned.

If his needs were very unusual the situation might be different.

As for when to call, now is as good a time as any.

[ToBeFair]

It might be useful to add in my DS's experience to the discussion. He has dyspraxia and ADD (not ADHD), so also quite disorganised, and needed above average support up to A levels. He had a gap year abroad, which certainly helped him both grow up a bit and gain independence, plus come back to studying with some more enthusiasm. The downside was that he had lost the habit of studying a bit. But many students on his course did not come straight from school, so that wasn't an issue for him.

He had a annual (and final) paediatric psychiatrist appointment for the ADD in Y13, with a follow-up letter that counted as evidence, and a private educational psychologist report a while later. The ed psych report confirmed the dypraxia and spelt out the support he should get at university. He applied for DSA and had the Needs Assessment for that - the assessor basically accepted all the recommendations in the ed psych report and the DSA then funded them. So he had a laptop, printer and microphone for essays and to record lectures, He had two terms' of weekly study skills, and he will get one hour a week of sessions with a mentor for all three years of his course (this was specifically suggested by the ed psych). The mentor seems to be some one he can confide in, but the mentor also helps him to keep organised, e.g. texts him a few days before assignments are due in and again on the day they must be handed in.

He might have got some or all of that in place without the ed psych report, but it certainly made things much much easier in terms of getting the DSA in place, and also proving his entitlement to exam concessions (laptop use and extra time) for university exams because of his dyspraxia. Obviously, that may be irrelevant for others, depending on what difficulties your DCS have.

I would say that, once he started at university, there was very little (quite rightly) that a parent can do to make sure that the student is accessing the help they need. If your DC are like mine, they are not very confident or good at recognising when they need help and asking for it. But if they get into the student support system with the right information at the beginning, they do seem to get a reasonable amount of help. I would imagine that, in my son's case, the mentor would be particularly good at flagging up if he needed more help than he was getting. But it is worth knowing that the mentor does not work for the university - it is an outsourced service.

[SlowlorisIncognito]

Lapsed Just as a thought, could you take your DS to visit some universities now? That may help him see the differences in campus and have a look at halls, and what different universities are like. It doesn't have to be for an official open day- most universities are happy to give some form of tour at other times, although things may be a bit quiet at this time of year.

Maybe seeing the concrete reality of what being at university might be like might help him start to make some decisions?

Disability support will have dealt with everything before, and if you contact them at a few universities, they are likely to be able to make some useful suggestions and talk about things like housing. I agree with maybe looking on TSR as well, as people will be able to advise from their own experience.

[MrsWOLF1]

My asd/ ADHD / idd son has just done his 3rd yr first 2 yrs at Coventry third year at Lund going bk to cov for final year dsa gave him a laptop at the very begining & he got extra allowances for various items great support at cov uni which gave him the courage to study / live abroad for a year he had a ball made loads of friends travelled a fair bit and lived on his own after being in halls for 2 yrs..house sharing in his final year all in all it has been a wonderful experience for our son and a bit of a jab to those who threw him out of school aged 6 !!

[Hendricksandcucumber]

If he's looking at A*AA then has he thought about Oxbridge? It sounds like the collegiate environment might really suit him (a lot of Organised Fun that doesn't just centre around alcohol and nightclubs) he could go to a college where everyone lives in for 3 years, they remove every obstacle for everyone so organisation may be less of an issue (he'd have a scout for his room, could eat 3 meals a day in college, a few colleges even have a laundry service!)
Also it might be that the tutorial system would suit him and he could get to know his DOS very closely so they'd be very aware of his issues. Oxford do a history and politics degree or cambridge do a broad socsci one he could take politics and IR in?