1. People Experience Autism Differently.  

It may seem very basic, but the first thing I began to realise about Autism is that it is experienced very differently by different people. Two people with autism may need very different supports. As a lecturer there cannot be a blanket approach, each student must be understood and their needs addressed as individuals. 

So, for example, I have had a student with Autism who finds it extremely difficult to present in front of their peers. When they do present, they seem fine, and it would be easy to dismiss their concerns. However, what I didn’t see, was that the prospect of a minor presentation overwhelmed them. It absorbed all of their time and effort for weeks before the event. Yes, it may have worked out on the day, but at an enormous cost for the student and their engagement with other modules. All of this for something which was a minor part of a single assessment. Prerecording their presentation was equally challenging for them. However, a less formal format such as a round table discussion worked perfectly and served the same purpose as the presentation.  

Suggestion: If sharing their learning with their peers is an important part of the assessment, then students could be offered the choice of formal or informal formats.  

On the other hand, another student with Autism was very keen on making presentations and found them to be a useful way to structure their thoughts and develop their learning. The challenge for them was a tendency to speak too much, to drift off message and to become frustrated with themselves because of this during the presentation. So, while it might be possible to redirect some students during a presentation, once this student was “in the zone” it was very difficult for him to moderate his style. So, it became important to set clear parameters about the number of slides and the amount of time available for the presentation. While this student did spend a lot of time editing and formatting for their presentations, they enjoyed the process of refining and improving and it was beneficial to their overall learning and confidence when complete. This student found it helpful to begin with as many slides as they felt necessary to tell the story (perhaps 30-40), and then to edit that down to the 5-10 slides permitted. This student choose to do detailed presentations as an alternative to essays when given the option.   

Suggestion: One of the best skills that students can develop is an ability to restructure and edit their work and some students with Autism can become very good at doing this in defined presentation formats.     

1. Building on Strengths to address Challenges    

In most semesters there are 3-6 modules. There are always modules which students like and ones they don’t. Students with autism, in common with all students, can often focus on the subjects they enjoy to the detriment of others. So, for example a student studying computers may not engage with a teamwork module, or a Games Design Student may not want to do computer programming. Getting students with Autism to engage with modules “outside their comfort zone” can be challenging, however they cannot progress on the course if they don’t pass such subjects. 

The first thing is to recognise they there is a problem and to talk with the student about how it can be overcome. For a student with Autism, seemingly small progress in some areas, such as group work, can be hugely significant for them. While, as a lecturer, you expect all students to actively engage in group discussion, making contributions etc… for an autistic student this may need to be achieved in a more structured, gradual and limited way.   

I would make the analogy of a student in a Design course who has never done still life drawing. We would not expect them to draw portraits overnight but would set them tasks and give them guidance which develops their skills in a realistic way. 

Suggestion: A student can be encouraged to be an active observer of the group interaction, giving feedback on how the discussion went, perhaps then taking notes and keeping the minutes. In this way they are part of the group and play a role which allows them to contribute.     

My experience with Autistic students is often that they can achieve extremely high marks in some modules and very poor marks in others. Concessions or compensations can often be made but students do drop out or fail because of one or two problematic modules. Addressing this may require redesign of assignments in order to bring the students strengths to bear on subjects where they are weak. A student I had in a design course was required to draw characters for an art module. Progress became impossible for them with “pen and paper” so we opened up the option to students that they could use digital art apps to create their characters. It took the student considerable effort to master the apps but they did and produced characters designs which met the standards required in the course. The availability of AI apps such as “Midjourney” has made the production of illustrations more straightforward, but still require clear instruction and judgement to be exercised by the student.  

Suggestion: While it may be controversial, Content generating AI, can be particularly helpful for students with autism as a tool to provide structure for essays and assignments. The extent of Its use on assignments should reviewed by lecturers and discussed with students.           

1. Students with Autism may have more Complex Needs.  

While the needs of many Autistic students whom I have worked with over the years have been straightforward and could be addressed with some support and minimal accommodation, some students have complex multidimensional needs. In addition to Autism, there may be, Dyspraxic or Dyslexic, have ADHD or other learning disabilities; Students may experience physical or mental health problems and, as with all students, they will be exploring their Identity and seeking to develop new relationships. Family circumstances can be complex and there will be the practical challenges to be faced in adapting to college life. Understandably, the accumulated impact of such things can be more significant for students with autism.  

Again, the key factor which has contributed towards positive outcomes for students has been support. On the academic side, the lecturer obviously plays a role as does student services, and it is critically important that students access such supports as soon as is possible. However oftentimes supports need to go beyond the academic. Students with whom I have worked have benefited hugely from ongoing support from “outside” organisations such as the National Learning Network and the range of national and local Autism Support Groups. When I have engaged with their support workers from these organisations I have learned a lot from people who have specialist expertise in providing such support and often know the students very well. I have also found them to be invaluable in helping the student identify and access placement and research opportunities. In some situations, parents can also be very active in supporting their child’s academic progress.  

While as a lecturer you need to be conscious that the academic relationship is with the student. At times the student can have key people who are supporting them. In some circumstances it may be appropriate, with the permission of the student, for you to include them in meetings and communications. For students with complex needs I have found this to be very helpful and meant that I did not need to understand, or in many cases, even know the nature of such complexities, the support worker could address these once they are aware of the academic requirements the student needed to address. 

Suggestion: In so far as is appropriate, and in consultation with the student, engage with the students support workers both internally and externally. There may also be to opportunities to link students with external supports with which they have not previously engaged.  

Another factor that needs to be borne in mind is the social dynamic within a class group. It may be that a student with autism will connect with the other students in their class, they may make one or two close friendships or they may be quiet socially isolated. Such isolation may not be a problem for the student or their classmates, however, it may well be. As mentioned before, this can often come to the fore when a module requires group work, discussion or peer review of student work. While it is important to attend to the Autistic student’s needs, it is also important to keep an eye on the group dynamic. The vast majority of students are understanding of difference, however, there can be pressures felt by students within the course which cause periods of tension. Such pressures often relate to deadlines for assignments, the usual challenges with course content and exam preparation.  

Suggestion: It is important, especially for first years that work is put into encouraging class groups to get to know each other early in the academic year, before deadlines kick in. While this is useful for all students it can be particularly helpful for Autistic students to feel included and better understood.