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Student Health, Counseling, and Well-Being

Autism Support for Families/Caregivers

Transitioning from primary and secondary school to university is a challenging yet rewarding process. For some, it can be an exciting and liberating time, while others can experience it as overwhelming and extremely difficult. Routines and support options change significantly for individuals with autism. The more direct and hands-on support that autistic individuals receive in primary and secondary schools changes to a less direct, self-advocacy-driven approach in university settings. This significant change can lead to difficulties in decision making, and disrupt routines that have been established throughout your child’s life. You and your child are facing new adjustments. This webpage is intended to walk you through some helpful information to better understand your child’s transition to SCU and increase your knowledge of support systems and resources on campus that can aid in your child’s success.  

 

Understanding transitional stressors for autistic university students

Your student is embarking on an exciting journey here at SCU, whether they are living on or off campus. Environmental, academic, social, and systemic factors can all lead to adjustment stressors for your child.

  • Academic Stressors and Changes to Routines
    • Operating in a fast-paced, 11-week quarter system (for undergraduates and graduate students - 16-week semesters for SCU Law Students)
    • Adjusting to and balancing competing academically demanding courses
    • Changing teaching styles across different professors
      • Limited guidance and encouragement of self-determination (e.g., significantly less direction on assignments)
      • Unclear or ambiguous instructions for assignments
      • Classroom environmental distractions including sensory information
      • Class registration (course schedules changing from quarter to quarter)
  • Academic Accommodation needs
    • Seeking out and receiving academic accommodations for classes
    • Scheduling and coordinating accommodation resources (e.g., alternative testing spaces, time adjustments for exams or presentations, coordinating and communicating with instructors/professors about academic accommodations)
  • Social stressors
    • Constantly changing schedules each quarter can make it difficult to form and establish routines and new relationships (e.g.,  changing class schedules, conflicting schedules with classes and social clubs/activities/events, etc.)
    • Adjusting to more independent self and social discovery (e.g., discovering new opportunities with social clubs, socializing with unfamiliar people such as peers in classes or neighbors in residence halls)
    • Emotional and cognitive dysregulation
      • Heightened distress exacerbated by environmental, sensory and/or social factors
      • Negative thought styles that include negative self-talk, negative self-attributions, and unhelpful assumptions
      • Strict expectations about self, others, and situations
      • Distractibility and difficulties with attention due to overstimulation
    • Navigating social cues from a broad range of culturally diverse students (local, out-of-state, and international students)
    • Challenges finding social activities and overcoming the “missed opportunity or missed timing” mentalities
    • Navigating social activities that are less environmentally or sensory inclusive
  • Environmental and university systems stressors
    • Leaving familiar environments such as home and community to attend SCU
    • Living with roommates, around unfamiliar people, and/or managing environmental noises that one has less control over
    • Interacting with new individuals from diverse backgrounds and cultures for the first time
    • Having to navigate several different university offices and policies
    • Independently seeking out support and guidance from university offices, staff and/or faculty
  • Activities of Daily Living
    • Changes to dietary and lifestyle routines, including personal hygiene
    • Self-driven and self-guided time-management and task organization
    • Potential changes to sleep habits and quality of sleep

These adjustments are quite challenging for everyone as they transition to college; however, for autistic and neurodiverse students, these stressors are often more so, and with greater negative effects. Your child may have relied on you and other adult figures throughout primary and secondary schools with the support of IEPs and 504 Plans; however, when your child enters into college, the laws and regulations for their academic support change.

  • Encourage self-advocacy - using some of the resources on this page to encourage your student to reach out for support will be crucial when navigating topics such as:
    • Seeking therapy/counseling support from CAPS (We’re free and confidential)
    • Academic and/or housing accommodations through the Office for Accessible Education (OAE) or Housing. 
    • Engaging with tutoring and other academic support resources within the Drahmann Center
    • Engaging with social and community building experiences such as student clubs, campus events, events within the residence halls (if living on campus)

Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the right and privilege to review your child’s education records, request resources and services on their behalf, seek establishment of academic accommodations, and other disclosures related to their academics transfer entirely to the student. This can be daunting for both the student and family. Parents and caregivers are often the ones advocating and engaging on behalf of the student. However, according to FERPA, once the individual is 18 or enters into a post-secondary institution, the student is deemed responsible for the rights and privileges afforded by FERPA. This means that parents, unless they have legal and/or medical responsibility for the student, are unable to receive information from the university unless the student’s consent has been documented with the university. As a parent or caregiver, your role in this process likely will change as well.

Social Engagement is Academic Success

Your student has chosen SCU as their intellectual home for the next several years. Your bright student is likely eager and dedicated to achieving their academic success. While their studies and academic work are important, far too often students disregard the importance of self-care. It is quite common for many of the students we see here at CAPS to inform us that they have skipped meals, forgone sleep, and disregarded social opportunities for the purpose of gaining a few extra hours of studying or completing academic tasks. While the motive is admirable, it leads to burnout and reduced cognitive and emotional functioning. Research has shown that students who engage in these processes often experience intense anxiety, depressive symptoms, social isolation, poorer physical health outcomes, and reduced cognitive processing. Fears of failure, not being good enough, and negative comparisons of self to others are the usual cited themes from these students. Fears of disappointing parents and family are among the top cited concerns (Wehman et al., 2014).

Parent and student doing homework together

How you can support your student?

Encourage your student to strike a healthy balance of academic, social, and personal life. Your student has learned throughout their life that grades are important, academic success is important, and having a career is important. While these things are true, it is also true that having friends and loved ones is important, learning to take care of oneself is important, and living in a healthy way is important too. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to striking a balance of academic, occupational, social, and personal life. Each of us finds our methods through trial and error, but supporting your student and normalizing these parts of their lives while your student is at university can make a significant difference in their overall wellbeing.

For most students with ASD, parents and caregivers are often the first stop for support seeking, guidance, and direction, at times forgoing difficult, yet achievable, tasks due to discomfort or unfamiliarity. As compassionate and dedicated supporters of your children, it is difficult not to immediately take up the mantle of advocate, defender, and provider for your child. However, your commitment and passionate hard work have gotten your autistic child to this point: an adult with ASD, who is beginning their adult life at a university. College is a time for autistic adults to become more independent and less reliant on their parents and caregivers. For caregivers and parents, there is a fine line between providing support and “doing for” their children. We recommend that parents and caregivers keep in mind the shift towards more independent and self-advocating empowerment.

  • Be empathic
  • Gently challenge and encourage problem-solving
  • Normalize their concerns while reminding them of their strengths and abilities
  • Encourage them to engage in healthy or non-destructive coping strategies, e.g.:
    • Talking to friends
    • Drafting email responses, writing out their thoughts
    • Engaging with hobbies and interests
    • Encourage them to get started with CAPS
    • Considering problem-solving strategies
  • Office of Accessible Education (Academic Accommodations)
    • This office is responsible for establishing disability related accommodations for academic and student housing needs. OAE’s purpose is to ensure compliance with federal and state civil rights statutes that protect SCU’s disabled community. OAE also offers executive functioning coaching and support for students. Students must self-initiate the process for accommodations. Once the process is initiated, OAE staff work with the student to determine what equitable and accessible accommodations can be made for the student’s academic needs. It is important to note that OAE strongly encourages self-advocacy for students. Students need to remain in continued contact with OAE throughout the entire accommodation process. Be prepared with disability documentation and be patient, as the accommodation process can take some time to institute.  More information about OAE

  • Office of Residence Life (Housing Related Concerns)
    • This office is responsible for overseeing the eight Residential Learning Communities (RLCs) and one upper-division community. The Office of Residence Life employs nine Resident Directors (RDs). RDs are full-time professional staff who provide oversight for an assigned residential community ranging in size from 240 to 550 residents. They assist community-facilitators (CFs), student staff who also help keep and uphold housing guidelines and rules, as well as university policies. The Office of Residence Life can support students who are struggling with adjustments to campus living, navigating roommate conflicts, encouraging community engagement, and assisting students needing housing accommodations. More information about the Office of Residence Life

  • Drahmann Center (Academic Advising and Tutoring Services)
    • The Drahmann Center is home for undergraduate academic advising and provides academic support in collaboration with assigned faculty advisors. They are equipped to discuss the process of advising and registration, Core Curriculum, major, and minor course planning. In addition, they also provide academic learning resources and tutoring services. More information about the Drahmann Center

  • Center for Student Involvement (Student Organizations and Community Events)
    • Center for Student Involvement is a center on campus that promotes student engagement through outreach, events, and programming for students. The Center for Student Involvement also helps oversee and coordinate student organizations and clubs. This office can be a great resource for students to seek out potential community-building resources. More information about CSI

  • Bronco Student Health Clinic through Sutter Health (Health and Primary Care Services)
    • Students can receive medical services from the Bronco Student Health Clinic, located in Sutter University Square Care Center, at 1111 Washington Street, adjacent to campus. Medical services offered at the new clinic include the following:
      • Primary Care
      • Common Illness Care
      • Lab and X-ray
      • Minor Injury Care
      • Vaccinations
    • More information about the Bronco Student Health Clinic
  • CAPS and Therapist-in-Residence Services (Mental Health Services)
    • Counseling and Psychological Services and the Therapist-in-Residence offer individual, group, and crisis counseling services as well as clinical case management services for students at no cost to the student. CAPS and TIR services are free and do not have established session limits. Our services are confidential, and services are provided by licensed and pre-licensed mental health professionals, including psychologists, social workers, professional clinical counselors, and marriage and family therapists. Our TIRs offer clinical services embedded within the residential learning communities (RLCs). TIRs offer free, confidential in-person check-ins. These check-ins can be scheduled on the same day, the next day, or the same week (Monday - Friday). TIRs also engage in outreach and programming to promote mental health and community building. More information can be found about CAPS and TIR services

Anderson, C. (2018, May 9). College on the autism spectrum. Higher Education Today. https://www.higheredtoday.org/2018/05/09/college-autism-spectrum/ 

Autism Society. (n.d.). Navigating college life with confidence: A resource for autistic students. https://autismsociety.org/navigating-college-life-with-confidence-a-resource-for-autistic-students/ 

College Autism Network. (n.d.). College Autism Network. https://www.collegeautismnetwork.org/ 

Wehman, P., Schall, C., Carr, S., Targett, P., West, M., & Cifu, G. (2014). Transition from school to adulthood for youth with autism spectrum disorder: What we know and what we need to know. Journal of Disability Policy Studies, 25(1), 30–40. https://doi.org/10.1177/1044207313518071