The 5 Important Accommodations For Students With Autism In College

College can be a place where students with autism can be successful – but it is important to consider asking for and securing accommodations for students with autism in college. These accommodations help level the playing field, ensuring that students with autism have the ability to access the curriculum and the learning environment in a fair and equitable way.

1 – Extra Time On Exams:

Making sure that students are provided the extra time they need to complete exams and other written assessments can be one of the important accommodations for students with autism in college. Extra time allows students who may have difficulty organizing their thoughts, or completing complicated writing tasks, the gift of time so that they can access their learning and demonstrate their knowledge without the added pressure of time limitations.

2 – Access to Assistive Technology

One of the most important accommodations for student with autism in college is access to assistive technology. This can include access to a keyboard for typing instead of hand-writing assignments, or text-to-speech technology which allows students to access written material via auditory input as opposed to having to actively read. Additional technology could include things like a Smart Pen, a tablet, or other tools to help students leverage technology to provide equal access to curriculum.

3 – Access to Professor Notes or an In-Class Scribe

When considering the sensory experience of sitting in a classroom or lecture hall, and then laying in potential challenges dysgraphia (challenges writing) as well as challenges with auditory processing, working memory, and processing speed it is apparent that one of the important accommodations for students with autism in college is access to note-taking support for in-class lectures.

4 – Quiet Testing Location

One consideration for accommodations for students with autism in college is that sensory sensitivities may make test-taking or other high-stakes academic pursuits intimidating in sensory-rich environments like crowded classrooms. Just imagine all those smells, flickering fluorescent lights, sounds of scribbling and clacking – all things that can be a major and unfair distraction to a student with autism. Access to quiet test taking spaces allow students to focus on the task at hand – demonstrating their knowledge – without having to also work through managing sensory sensitivities or social anxieties (“Am I answering too fast? Too slow?”) during academic assessments. This can be one of the most important accommodations for students with autism in college.

5 – Reduced Course Load

Some schools will offer a reduced course load without impacting full-time status as an accommodation for students with autism in college. The reason this can be an important accommodation is that it allows students the gift of time without penalizing them for not taking a “full” course load. This may mean that a student can still live in the dorms, of maintain a scholarship, even if they are unable to start school with 15+ credits.

The approach of starting college with a reduced course load (say, 3 classes instead of 5) means that students with autism can benefit from some extra time in their schedule to manage not only their academic responsibilities, but also manage navigating the social world of college, practice independent living skills, learn how to apply self-advocacy and executive functioning skills in a collegiate environment, and benefit from some additional “down time” in order to recharge their social and academic batteries. This makes access to a reduced course load an important consideration when evaluating accommodations for students with autism in college.

Bonus Accommodation – With a Caveat – Single Occupancy Dorm

One of the most common accommodations for students with autism in college is to offer them a single occupancy dorm room. The thinking is that students who have challenges navigating social situations may benefit from a quiet and secluded residential setting where they can relax, unwind, and not have to navigate complicated or confusing social situations.

While there is certainly some validity to this thinking, it is important to also consider the potential for students in a single room to be isolated and lonely because they are not integrated into the wider social fabric of the college setting. While the accommodation of a single room effectively removes potentials for conflicts with roommates who may not understand neurodiversity it equally fails to provide students a key connection point for making other friends on campus.

Many schools are simply not suited to effectively supporting students with autism in the residential setting – and so be sequestering them they are sidestepping potential challenges but also giving up on potential successes and opportunities for real social connections before a student even steps foot on campus.

Before asking for a single dorm room consider the ramifications of isolation and loneliness – which could be even more negatively impactful than having to learn how to navigate shared space or manage conflict with a peer.

These accommodations for students with autism in college are evaluated by the school’s Office of Student Services (each school calls it something different) and it is the responsibility of a student to not only get these accommodations from the office, but also ask each professor – in each class, every semester – for their accommodations to implemented in the classroom. They key to unlocking these accommodations for students with autism in college is generally dependent on having updated academic testing available prior to the start of an academic term.

At Mansfield Hall we provide extensive academic, executive functioning, social, and independent living support for students who are attending college. Helping students learn how to ask for, and implement, their accommodations for students with autism in college is one of the key skills students practice as they build their capacity for independent success in college. Learning about their accommodations, as well as how to effectively ask for and utilize them, is an important step in being a successful college student.

Additionally, it is worth noting that while Mansfield Hall does provide some limited options for single rooms, the vast majority of our students have both roommates and apartment-mates, where they can benefit from both social connections and facilitated support as they learn and practice the nuances of living in a shared space with peers.

For more information on Accommodations consider our blog on 5 Essential Accommodations for ADHD.

For more information about accommodations for students with autism in college, or how Mansfield Hall assists students in making a successful transition to college and independence please explore our website.