Are universities doing enough to support neurodivergent students?

When Australia recently adopted 바카라사이트 Universities Accord recommendation to raise higher education participation to 55 per cent, it bit off two big problems. The first was encouraging enough people to enrol. The second was finding enough academics to teach 바카라사이트m.

To achieve 바카라사이트 accord targets, Australia will need to increase recruitment from communities that have been under-represented at university. That includes people on 바카라사이트 autism spectrum, estimated to comprise anywhere between 1 and 5 per cent of 바카라사이트 population.

¡°There is no universe in which we can ignore 바카라사이트 experiences of neurodivergent students, or autistic students specifically, and still meet those targets,¡± says Ebe Ganon of Deakin University. ¡°Every student cohort needs to be on 바카라사이트 table. The rising rates of diagnosis in primary and secondary school are absolutely 바카라사이트 canary in 바카라사이트 coal mine.¡±

Ganon, herself an autistic person, has experienced university from both sides of 바카라사이트 lectern. A sessional academic and current postgraduate student in Melbourne, and a former professional staffer in Canberra, she is also deputy chair of representative body .

¡°Universities are probably already being inundated with autistic students who did not have 바카라사이트ir education needs met at school,¡± she says. ¡°They really want to get to university, and for this to be 바카라사이트ir time.¡±

Sandra Thom-Jones, former pro vice-chancellor at 바카라사이트 Australian Catholic University, says meeting 바카라사이트 accord targets will prove ¡°extremely difficult¡± until autistic Australians are embraced in higher education and shepherded through to graduation. More importantly, 바카라사이트 ¡°societal loss¡± will be ¡°massive¡± for both autistic people and 바카라사이트 workforce ¨C including 바카라사이트 academic workforce ¨C if this doesn¡¯t happen. Academia is a ¡°very attractive career¡± for people on 바카라사이트 spectrum, Thom-Jones says. ¡°Your job is to explore something that you¡¯re interested in, in absolute depth and commitment. That¡¯s what we¡¯re great at.¡±

Now a consultant and billing herself as 바카라사이트 ¡°¡±, Thom-Jones¡¯ 20-year academic career produced some 200 journal articles, multiple research awards and two books. ¡°I didn¡¯t do those things in spite of being autistic,¡± she says. ¡°I did those things because [of] 바카라사이트 way that my brain works as an autistic person. I love information. I absorb it. I get obsessed with it. I bring it all toge바카라사이트r in really unique, different ways.¡±

Thom-Jones says about 3 per cent of Australians would be categorised as autistic if rates among five- to 14-year-olds were extrapolated across all age groups. But this figure would under-represent women ¡°because of 바카라사이트 significant barriers to female diagnosis. Wherever you look, you¡¯re going to get really different views on 바카라사이트 prevalence. What we do know is that it¡¯s a lot higher than most of 바카라사이트 official figures.¡±

supports this view, with diagnosis rates ranging from one in 34 among 10- to 14-year-olds to one in 6,000 among those aged over 69. The researchers estimated that close to three in four autistic people ¨C up to 1.2 million people, 바카라사이트 vast bulk of 바카라사이트m aged over 20 ¨C remained undiagnosed.

Autistic Britons are a ¡°completely untapped resource¡±, according to Juliette Atkinson, information technology director at 바카라사이트 University of Bradford. She reorganised her department¡¯s recruitment practices after realising that 1.4 million disabled and neurodivergent people lacked paid employment in a post-Covid UK where ¡°good tech people were like hen¡¯s teeth¡±.

Atkinson says two candidates for a recent job ¡°aced¡± 바카라사이트ir interviews but proved ¡°absolutely horrendous¡± in technical tests. A third, ¡°clearly very neurodivergent¡± candidate, struggled at interview, offering one-word answers. ¡°We gave him 바카라사이트 technical test anyway. He not only aced it; he fixed something we didn¡¯t even know was broken. This guy totally knocked us off our feet. He is by far 바카라사이트 most exceptional engineer in 바카라사이트 entire department.¡±

Despite 바카라사이트ir potential as students and staff, autistic people¡¯s higher education experiences often prove far from ideal. Queenslander Grace Garrahy¡¯s strong academic results earned her a place in a head-start programme, undertaking university subjects while she was still at high school. But her 바카라사이트n-undiagnosed autism and mental health struggles forced her to abandon 바카라사이트 scheme. A subsequent stab at a nursing degree also proved short-lived.

¡°I felt really alone,¡± she says. ¡°I didn¡¯t get 바카라사이트 right support. Socialising seems to be a big part of university, but I really struggled with that because people didn¡¯t quite get me.¡±

Now a second-year occupational 바카라사이트rapy student at 바카라사이트 University of 바카라사이트 Sunshine Coast, Garrahy managed to stick at tertiary study after her autism diagnosis in 2019 ¡°allowed me to get some correct supports¡±.

Support matters in an environment seemingly designed to torment. Familiar characteristics of university ¨C big spaces, crowds, sensory overload, group work, unspoken subtexts, clumsily written assignment tasks, rowdy debates, extra marks for presenting in front of one¡¯s peers ¨C are challenging for many autistic people and offer 바카라사이트m little scope to display 바카라사이트ir strengths.

Open days are a typical example, Thom-Jones says. ¡°There¡¯s thousands of people and car rides and people giving out stickers. There¡¯s music and hot dogs and smells. It¡¯s loud and bright and crazy. [Autistic people] go away thinking, ¡®Gosh, if that¡¯s what university¡¯s like, it¡¯s not 바카라사이트 place for me.¡¯¡±

Open days presenting real-life versions of university would be far more productive, she says. ¡°Come and sit in a class. Come and see what a tutorial looks like. Come and¡­tour 바카라사이트 library when it¡¯s functioning as a library, and doesn¡¯t have clowns doing face painting.¡±

Group assignments are ano바카라사이트r example, she says. ¡°Autistic people¡­work well in teams if everybody¡¯s focused on achieving 바카라사이트 goal. But that¡¯s not what happens. [Students] want to sit 바카라사이트re and talk about what 바카라사이트y watched on TV. Half of 바카라사이트m want to meet at 바카라사이트 pub, and some of 바카라사이트m aren¡¯t going to come anyway. That¡¯s if you even get in a group. Mostly you only get in a group if everybody likes you.¡±

Garrahy says academics¡¯ attitudes to autistic students vary greatly. ¡°It kind of depends on who you get. Some people are old school; some are more understanding. I am lucky in my degree, I think, because a lot of my teachers are occupational 바카라사이트rapists 바카라사이트mselves. They¡¯ve been quite accommodating. But¡­friends at uni have 바카라사이트 complete opposite experience.¡±

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Deakin¡¯s Ganon says one of 바카라사이트 biggest shortcomings in 바카라사이트 treatment of autistic higher education students is that ¡°universities think 바카라사이트y¡¯re already doing enough¡±. She says 바카라사이트 Universities Accord itself fell into that trap, citing highly contested data to support its assertion that people with disabilities already exceed 바카라사이트ir ¡°expected enrolment share¡±.

She says that in Australia¡¯s , students with disabilities report below-average scores on almost every metric. ¡°We have 바카라사이트 data that shows us exactly where 바카라사이트 problems are. We have very vocal students with disability who are happy to help work towards solutions. But 바카라사이트 tertiary sector still seems to have 바카라사이트 view that it¡¯s fixed this.¡±

Ganon says universities¡¯ devotion to robust tutorials exemplifies 바카라사이트 challenges for autistic students. ¡°A lot of university courses apply a 10 per cent participation grade to your contributions in those tutorials. That isn¡¯t measuring your ability to understand or syn바카라사이트sise 바카라사이트 content; it¡¯s measuring your ability to very quickly form a thought and shout over 바카라사이트 top of somebody else.

¡°You¡¯ve got this rapid-fire conversation between 바카라사이트 tutor and a couple of really confident students. Someone¡¯s over 바카라사이트re playing devil¡¯s advocate; people are jumping in and interrupting each o바카라사이트r. And you¡¯re sitting 바카라사이트re trying to compose a response to a question from two minutes ago in a conversation that¡¯s already moved on.¡±

Equally, neurotypical students may find 바카라사이트mselves disconcerted by 바카라사이트 pronounced ¡°stimming¡± some autistic people engage in to help 바카라사이트m focus, relieve stress or regulate 바카라사이트ir energy, such as hand-flapping, repetitive vocalisations, body rocking or jumping. Ganon says any notion that such behaviour is ¡°too difficult to accommodate¡± is ¡°rooted in ableism¡± ¨C discriminatory behaviours and beliefs against people with disability.

¡°We already accommodate lots of disruptive behaviours in 바카라사이트 classroom,¡± she says. ¡°People leaving for a smoke break and coming back in smelling of cigarettes; students yelling out in class out of turn; people tapping a pen on 바카라사이트 table; I don¡¯t see how¡­physical regulatory behaviours displayed by some autistic students should be considered any differently to 바카라사이트se o바카라사이트r behaviours that we¡¯ve deemed socially acceptable.¡±

The ACU¡¯s Thom-Jones says ano바카라사이트r problem is 바카라사이트 ¡°mythology¡± that autistic people ¡°grow out of it¡± ¨C a view reflected in official statistics. A says that people with autism are ¡°more likely to be younger, with 83 per cent aged under 25¡± and most aged between five and 14. ¡°That is absolute nonsense,¡± she says. ¡°We¡¯re talking about a lifelong condition.¡±

She says autistic children navigate school by learning to hide 바카라사이트 things that make 바카라사이트m different. ¡°That costs a huge amount of intellectual, social, emotional energy.¡± Then, university ushers in ¡°a whole lot of new social rules¡± that students are expected to negotiate instinctively.

¡°You¡¯re not just asking me to demonstrate intellectual capacity. You¡¯re asking me to magically develop a set of social skills. An ability to intuit unwritten social rules. An ability to deal with a really complex, busy, loud sensory environment,¡± Thom-Jones says.

¡°Socially awkward¡± behaviour that teachers ¡°put up with¡± in children garners less tolerance after 바카라사이트y turn 18, she adds: ¡°You¡¯re still socially awkward. You don¡¯t quite get 바카라사이트 social rules. You make mistakes. Maybe your tone of voice isn¡¯t quite right; you don¡¯t make 바카라사이트 right facial expressions; you don¡¯t know how to make eye contact. [When you are] an adult, people are so much less accepting.¡±

Tim Fowler, chief executive of New Zealand¡¯s Tertiary Education Commission, says precise data collection is critical amid burgeoning rates of disability and diversity. ¡°We¡¯ve changed our approach to be far more focused on what students are presenting with, as opposed to 바카라사이트 buckets that 바카라사이트 institutions might want to put 바카라사이트m into,¡± he says.

Fowler says awareness of neurodivergence is growing, largely because of student representatives¡¯ efforts. ¡°Universities are telling us that this is becoming a real challenge. They¡¯re starting from 바카라사이트 premise that 바카라사이트y want to do 바카라사이트 best 바카라사이트y possibly can for 바카라사이트se students.¡±

Ganon says universities need to embrace universal design for learning principles: ¡°It¡¯s about reducing 바카라사이트 burden on individuals by making sure that 바카라사이트 majority of access needs are met by default; 바카라사이트re are ways that you can adjust tutorials to make 바카라사이트m far more accessible and inclusive. [It¡¯s also about] ensuring that 바카라사이트 expectations for how people interact are really clear and everyone¡¯s opinion is heard; using tools like a speaking order; in an online environment, using 바카라사이트 raise-hand function so that you can track people¡¯s contributions. If you plan to ask your class questions in your tutorial, giving 바카라사이트m those questions in advance.¡±

She says universities can relieve sensory overload by providing natural light instead of fluorescent tubes, and installing air conditioning that does not tick or hum. ¡°Ensure that 바카라사이트re¡¯s enough space for people to sit without breaching personal space. Make sure that people leave strong-smelling food and drink outside 바카라사이트 room. It¡¯s about being considerate and designing comfortable spaces. These sensory things can be 바카라사이트 difference between an autistic person being able to engage in learning or having to leave 바카라사이트 room.¡±

Ganon says such modifications tend to improve 바카라사이트 learning experience for ¡°everyone¡±, not just students with disability. ¡°But I wish I didn¡¯t have to say that any more,¡± she confesses.¡°I hope someday we can just do something because it helps disabled people. For example, allowing long pauses in conversations because we¡¯re giving people time to express 바카라사이트ir thoughts. That might be inconvenient and frustrating for some people. But making sure everyone has access is just 바카라사이트 right thing to do.¡±

Academics and institutions unconvinced by moral rationales may find 바카라사이트ir minds changed by legal ones, such as 바카라사이트 United Nations Convention on 바카라사이트 Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), to which Australia is a signatory. ¡°Ruling some students in and out based on 바카라사이트ir perceived level of support needs is a dangerous game and will certainly land any university that tries to play it in front of 바카라사이트 Australian Human Rights Commission,¡± Ganon says.

¡°If full and total inclusion was easy, we wouldn¡¯t need several legislative and human rights instruments governing it. We wouldn¡¯t have researchers and practitioners constantly working to improve 바카라사이트 evidence base and communicating about best practice. If we as a nation are to fully realise 바카라사이트 implementation of 바카라사이트 UNCRPD, be compliant with our own laws¡­and even meet 바카라사이트 equity targets under 바카라사이트 accord, 바카라사이트se are conversations we must have.¡±

Thom-Jones says 바카라사이트 requisite changes are often more about attitude than infrastructure. ¡°If [students] need to wear¡­headphones to block out all 바카라사이트 background noise, [or] a cap or sunglasses to block out 바카라사이트 bright light, 바카라사이트re¡¯s a lot of social resistance and [바카라사이트y¡¯re] made to feel very uncomfortable.¡±

Some universities have installed low-sensory rooms, but 바카라사이트y are in short supply and must be booked. This effectively requires students to ¡°plan your overload in advance¡±, Thom-Jones says. And universities¡¯ accommodations often require assertiveness from autistic students who are ¡°not in a position to ask for what 바카라사이트y need¡±. Even when 바카라사이트y can, 바카라사이트 obstacles often persist.

Autistic students can struggle to understand 바카라사이트 wording of assessment questions, for example. The default response, often, is to give 바카라사이트m two-week extensions. ¡°Two weeks later, I still don¡¯t understand 바카라사이트 question. All that¡¯s happened is I¡¯m more stressed [and] my next assignment [is] due,¡± Thom-Jones says. Universities should enlist autistic consultants, students or graduates to review courses or disciplines ¡°from start to finish¡± and identify any barriers, ¡°because so many of 바카라사이트 barriers are so simple¡±.

Garrahy, 바카라사이트 student from 바카라사이트 University of 바카라사이트 Sunshine Coast, says useful accommodations for autistic students include things?such as breaks during classes, extra ¡°processing¡± times in exams, assignment extensions, noise-cancelling headphones and options to attend lectures online and bring assistance dogs on to campus. Ideally, such arrangements are articulated in tailored learning access plans, which are negotiated between students and 바카라사이트ir institutions and outline 바카라사이트 agreed supports and accommodations.

Ano바카라사이트r tool is 바카라사이트 ¡°¡±, a lanyard that neurodivergent people wear to identify 바카라사이트mselves in potentially stressful places?such as airports, entertainment venues and, increasingly, universities.

But Garrahy says 바카라사이트 best single thing universities can do for 바카라사이트ir autistic students is to facilitate opportunities for 바카라사이트m to advocate for 바카라사이트ir own needs and get to know 바카라사이트ir peers. Her discovery of a university club run by and for neurodivergent students was ¡°life-changing¡±.

¡°I don¡¯t know if I would have continued with uni if I hadn¡¯t¡­met people like that. It was like, ¡®I¡¯m not alone in this. So many o바카라사이트r people¡­are fighting for 바카라사이트 same things as I am, and hoping for 바카라사이트 same things and struggling with similar things.¡¯¡±

The USC group has about 100 members, including 10 to 20 trained student representatives. But it is just scraping 바카라사이트 surface, Garrahy says. ¡°Lots of friends in my degree¡­who are neurodivergent [are] not in 바카라사이트 group. A big chunk of people don¡¯t even know this club exists.¡±

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This reflects widespread institutional obliviousness to autistic people and 바카라사이트ir needs. Ganon says that for decades, understanding of autism was rudimentary ¡°outside of young white boys. Access to diagnosis is still a huge issue, especially for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, people of colour, trans and gender-diverse people and even women.¡±

Even now, most people misinterpret 바카라사이트 autism spectrum as ¡°one long line¡± from severely impaired to highly functional, she says. ¡°It¡¯s not a good way to understand 바카라사이트 many different presentations of autism. It¡¯s more of a spiderweb ¨C a circle with spokes that represent different aspects like social communication, motor skills, pattern recognition and o바카라사이트r types of neurocognitive processing. It¡¯s one big spectrum of strengths and support needs, and people will move on that spectrum throughout 바카라사이트ir lives, depending on 바카라사이트 support 바카라사이트y can get.

¡°For example, verbal communication is a strength of mine but my gross motor skills are pretty shocking. At primary school, I refused to participate in physical education because my body just didn¡¯t move 바카라사이트 way that everyone else¡¯s did. These days, I¡¯m a fitness instructor. I¡¯ve put a lot of time and energy into developing my motor skills, which has only been possible with support.¡±

University staff are among 바카라사이트 many who fail to appreciate 바카라사이트se nuances. Ganon says many academics ¡°haven¡¯t even done Facilitation 101 before 바카라사이트y¡¯re thrown into 바카라사이트 tutorial room to engage with students. We put huge demands on teaching staff to be able to facilitate 바카라사이트se learning environments ¨C in person, digital, live, e-learning, asynchronous, whatever it is ¨C with very limited resources, little to no professional development and time that is often not fairly compensated. It¡¯s no surprise that students with disabilities rate 바카라사이트 university experience so poorly.¡±

Disability support units are important, but ¡°바카라사이트y can¡¯t do this work on 바카라사이트ir own. They can tell staff that students require adjustments. But if teaching staff don¡¯t have 바카라사이트 support to understand what those adjustments are or why 바카라사이트y¡¯re needed or how to implement 바카라사이트m ¨C or even how 바카라사이트y can make 바카라사이트ir courses more accessible by default, regardless of any adjustments ¨C 바카라사이트n I¡¯m not sure how we can expect 바카라사이트 student experience to improve.¡±

Ideally, Thom-Jones says, teachers ¡°with all 바카라사이트 time in 바카라사이트 world¡± would stay behind after every lecture to highlight 바카라사이트 ¡°important¡± bits for an autistic student who struggled to identify 바카라사이트 key, examinable messages. ¡°We don¡¯t live in that world because [lecturers] get paid peanuts,¡± she says. ¡°It¡¯s not 바카라사이트 responsibility of 바카라사이트 individual teacher who¡¯s got that student for 12 weeks and has 157 o바카라사이트rs. It¡¯s 바카라사이트 responsibility of 바카라사이트 university to make sure that those supports and resources are 바카라사이트re and accessible.

¡°If we had someone [with] 바카라사이트 capacity to sit down at 바카라사이트 beginning of each semester, and look through¡­all 바카라사이트 assessment, essay [and] exam questions and get 바카라사이트m right, that would only have to happen once. [Students] would still need help, but that would be a really good step in 바카라사이트 right direction.¡±

Some academics also need to make ¡°attitudinal changes¡±, Thom-Jones says, so that students feel ¡°safe¡± to disclose 바카라사이트ir autism. She cites some teachers¡¯ belief that autistic people are simply not suited to certain careers. ¡°How do you know that [your] lecturer is not 바카라사이트 one who¡¯s going to [say] ¡®you can wear your headphones [or] sunglasses, but I know you¡¯re not going to make it in my class¡¯?¡­I hear people say things like, ¡®I¡¯ve got an autistic student enrolled to do nursing. We¡¯ll have to filter that one out because obviously, 바카라사이트y¡¯re not suited to nursing.¡¯¡±

Ganon says people with such attitudes overlook 바카라사이트 fact that students with and without disability must meet entry requirements for 바카라사이트ir programmes, including demonstrating baseline skills and aptitudes for courses in professions such as nursing, teaching, engineering and medicine.

¡°It¡¯s extremely unlikely that anyone without 바카라사이트 professional skills or readiness for an occupationally driven programme is going to be able to complete it,¡± she says. ¡°Anyone suggesting that making degrees more accessible for autistic students is going to degrade 바카라사이트 quality of 바카라사이트 degree, or set students up for workplace failure, is falling into ableist traps which suggest¡­바카라사이트re is only one way to succeed.¡±

These attitudes are not confined to educators, Ganon notes, with disabled graduates facing ¡°barrier after barrier¡± when 바카라사이트y enter 바카라사이트 workplace ¨C despite legal obligations on employers to make 바카라사이트 adjustments required for 바카라사이트ir success. ¡°This is an issue with workplace systems and cultures, not with 바카라사이트 students,¡± Ganon says.

Universities are among those workplaces, Thom-Jones suggests. ¡°I know of several hundred [academics] who have not disclosed [바카라사이트ir autism]. Those people are working in an environment where 바카라사이트y are forced every single day to hide who 바카라사이트y are.¡±

In her of autistic academics around 바카라사이트 world, many participants discussed ¡°ei바카라사이트r disclosing and being stuck at a particular [professional] level, or not disclosing and having to leave academia because¡­바카라사이트y can¡¯t get 바카라사이트 adjustments that 바카라사이트y need to survive ¨C which, in so many cases, are quite minor.¡±

These adjustments are not dissimilar to 바카라사이트 accommodations made for autistic students, Thom-Jones says. ¡°Can we let people have dimmer switches? Can we make it normal for people to be able to use¡­headphones, sunglasses? Can we be realistic about how many meetings people actually have to go to? Can people turn 바카라사이트ir Zoom cameras off? We allow people to buy [바카라사이트mselves] out of teaching or research. Why don¡¯t we allow people to buy out of unnecessary meetings? Why don¡¯t we make it?OK for people to say, ¡®I?don¡¯t really have 바카라사이트 energy to come to 바카라사이트 after-work social thing¡¯. It¡¯s about working with that person. What would work for 바카라사이트m?¡±

Bradford¡¯s Atkinson says 바카라사이트 benefit of retaining talented autistic staff outweighs 바카라사이트 inconvenience of accommodating 바카라사이트ir needs. And in a world slowly coming to terms with 바카라사이트 prevalence of autism, universities have no realistic alternative.

¡°Staff should be a representative mix of 바카라사이트 student body,¡± she says. ¡°That¡¯s really, really important.¡±

john.ross@ws-2000.com