Autism is a lifelong neurological difference which relates to how a person communicates and interacts with others, and how they experience the world around them. Autism exists on a spectrum, which means it affects people in different ways, at different times, and in different situations. This article explores issues related to informing people that you are autistic – also known as ‘disclosure’ or ‘declaring a disability’. 

What do we mean by disclosure? 

We’re talking about disclosure here because so many students don’t tell anybody at uni about their autism, not even the university itself. Not disclosing makes it difficult for students to get the support they need, both officially and from their friends and the other people around them. At school or college, you might not have received or even needed any support outside your family, and if you don’t know anyone at uni who knows about your diagnosis then you don’t have to tell anyone about it. However, university is very different from school and college and the help available can level the playing field so you can concentrate on enjoying your time at uni and doing well on your course.  

Disclosure and accessing support 

Disclosure is a necessary part of getting academic and/or financial support for any issues you might face related to your autism. 

The university needs to know that you have an autistic spectrum condition to make any reasonable accommodations. See here for guidance on this. For example, if you need extra time in your exams, a different location for exams, use of assistive technology, you need to tell the uni. Accommodations exist to support you, they are not “special treatment”.  

ATU encourages students to disclose their disability/specific learning difficulty/ongoing health condition during their application process to enrol in ATU or immediately following admission. Students can disclose their disability/specific learning difficulty/ongoing health condition at any time during their studies in ATU.  

Non-disclosure may limit the capacity of ATU to be fully aware of the appropriate reasonable accommodations to be implemented, and/or the capacity to deliver the reasonable accommodations and supports.  Such disclosure is encouraged so that ATU can work with the student to ensure that reasonable accommodations are identified and facilitated in conjunction with the student.  Accommodations are a right, not a privilege. 

ATU is committed to providing students with disabilities with the opportunity to meet a suitably qualified staff member in the Disability Learning Support Service to discuss the Reasonable Accommodations required. Once a student discloses a disability and seeks disability support, they will be invited to complete a Needs Assessment to identify their Reasonable Accommodations. 

What is a Reasonable Accommodation? 

As outlined in the Equal Status Act 2000 (as amended), a reasonable accommodation is any action that helps to alleviate a substantial disadvantage due to a disability and/or a significant ongoing illness. At ATU, reasonable accommodations for students with a disability aim to ensure equality of participation for students with disabilities, learning differences, or significant ongoing health conditions, enabling them to achieve programme and module learning outcomes.  

Key aspects of reasonable accommodations include:  

• adjustments to procedures or programme delivery,  

• provision of examination arrangements,  

• modifications to the physical environment, and/or  

• access to additional services such as assistive technology, materials in alternative formats, or extra tuition.  

A reasonable accommodation may be standard or non-standard 

Spunout have a factsheet where you can learn more about what it means to be autistic: Am I Autistic? – spunout 

The benefits to registering for support 

If you get support as early as possible, preferably from the start of course, settling into uni is a lot easier. 

Starting university is an exciting time, but like any change, it can be stressful for anyone. It can be particularly stressful if you are autistic because it can involve some uncertainty. It’s also a very busy time for the university, with lots of new students arriving and familiar ones returning. Getting the support you need in those first few weeks, even simple things like someone showing you around all the places where your lectures will be held, can be important. In our surveys, lots of students didn’t tell anyone they were autistic until they were already really struggling.  It takes time to process applications for support and send information to the relevant people, so the earlier you can do it the better.

When I disclose, who will find out? 

Telling the university that you have autism doesn’t mean you have to tell everyone – it’s a confidential process. 

It’s good to agree that the information is passed on, but you will still probably have to do some of the legwork yourself, and just because your fellow students don’t have to know you are on the autistic spectrum, it doesn’t mean that it wouldn’t be helpful for you to tell them. 

In some ways, making a decision to tell the university officially about your autism has obvious benefits with clear boundaries. Declaring means you can access support. The University will tell you what information and evidence they need from you and will not pass any information on without your permission.

If you decide not to declare on your application form, or have not received a diagnosis, you can tell the University at any time throughout your studies by contacting the Disability Advice Team to talk through your options and what this means if you have any concerns about declaring.

Talk to friends and family about declaring.

Making decisions about who to tell and when can be difficult, so we have some questions here that will help you plan what you are going to do. 

Making a decision to tell the university officially about your autism is a simple one with obvious benefits and clear boundaries. Disclosing means you can access support. They tell you what information and evidence they need from you and they can’t pass any information on without your permission. You can tell them any time, but if you tell them as soon as you can, it’s better for everyone. 

With other groups of people and individuals it’s less clear, and the right path for you is something you need to work out for yourself. 

Questions to think about 

Here are some questions that might help you to think about it. 

• When are you going to tell people? 

• Who are you going to tell? 

• How are you going to tell them? (in person, on the phone, via email/text/social media, in a group, on their own) 

• How much are you going to tell them? 

• Can you trust this person? 

• Does this person have your best interest at heart? 

• Do you mind if they tell other people? 

Additional information and links 

If you would like to learn more about the Disability and Learning Support service, you can read our post here. 

This article was contributed by the Leeds Beckett Disability Advice Team