University
Some of you may be thinking about going to university once you finish school. This is a great option for some. There is lots of information out there to help you choose an appropriate course and access the supports you might need.
Getting Ready For Uni website
The Getting Ready For Uni website has loads of information about supports for differing abilities at university.
This website is for young people with a disability who are interested in attending university and includes information on:
- finding a career direction
- getting into a university course
- preparing for university
- disability support at university
University disability services
Each university has a Disability Service which can offer support to students. You can call to ask for advice before applying to a university and this is also a good idea.
As examples, have a look at the disability support pages of the websites of these universities:
Specific information for university students with autism
The Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre at La Trobe University has a great deal of information on their website about supporting students with autism.
Have a look here.
Disclosure at university
It can be difficult to decide whether or not you should disclose your diagnosis when enrolling at university.
For more information, see our section on Disclosure here.
Further information
The book Growing Up On The Spectrum by Lynn Kern Koegel and Claire LaZebnik has a useful chapter on 'higher education, applying, managing, socialising and surviving.
The book is from the US so there are a lot of American terms you may not be familiar with, however most of the advice is very sensible and would apply here in Australia.
There are also a number of personal stories of young people who have made the transition to university successfully which are very interesting to read.
University
If your son or daughter is planning to go to university, rest assured that there are plenty of resources to help you choose an appropriate course and access the supports you might need.
The Getting Ready For Uni website
The Getting Ready For Uni website is for young people with a disability who are interested in attending university and includes information on:
- finding a career direction
- getting into a university course
- preparing for university
- disability support at university
The website also has a resource sheet specifically for young people on the spectrum.
University disability services
Each university has a Disability Service which can offer support to students. Your son or daughter can call to ask for advice before applying to a university.
Have a look at the disability support pages of the websites of these universities for examples of support services that are available:
Specific information for university students with autism
The Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre at La Trobe University has a great deal of information on their website about supporting students with autism.
Have a look here.
Make Your Mark
Make Your Mark is aimed at young people who would like to go to university but who may have some barriers when it comes to accessing tertiary education.
There are many pathways into further education, and many careers that can be forged.
This is a very readable, accessible website that explores every aspect of further education.
There is a specific section relating to young people with disability.
There are some videos for young people and these are linked to from the Young people section, click on the green tab above.
Disclosure at university
This can be such a thorny issue especially when young people and their parents do not agree on whether disclosure is a good idea. See our section on Disclosure here.
Further information
There is a very useful chapter on higher education in the book Growing Up On The Spectrum by Lynn Kern Koegel and Claire LaZebnik.
The book is from the US so there are a lot of American terms you may not be familiar with, however most of the advice is very sensible and would apply here in Australia.
There are also a number of personal stories of young people in this book who have made the transition to university successfully which are very interesting to read.
Self-advocacy skills for further study
High school sets up autistic kids to fail in college. Here’s how to fix the problem.
This is the headline of a very thought-provoking article about helping young adults gain the self-advocacy skills they need for college from the US magazine Vox, find it here.
Read more on our self-advocacy section here.
