• Skip to content
  • Skip to footer
  • Accessibility options
University of Brighton
  • About us
  • Business and
    employers
  • Alumni and
    supporters
  • For
    students
  • For
    staff
  • Accessibility
    options
Open menu
Home
Home
  • Close
  • Study here
    • Meet us
    • Open days
    • Virtual tours
    • Upcoming events
    • Applicant days
    • Meet us in your country
    • Chat to our students
    • Ask us a question
    • Order a prospectus
    • Our campuses
    • Our four campuses
    • Accommodation options
    • Our halls
    • Helping you find a home
    • What you can study
    • Find a course
    • Full A-Z course list
    • Explore our subjects
    • Our academic departments
    • How to study with us
    • Undergraduate application process
    • Postgraduate application process
    • International student application process
    • Apprenticeships
    • Applying through Clearing
    • Transfer from another university
    • Fees and financial support
    • Undergraduate finance
    • Postgraduate finance
    • Our funding and support options
    • Supporting you
    • Your wellbeing
    • Student support and guidance tutors
    • Study skills support
    • Careers and employability
  • Research
    • Research and knowledge exchange
    • Research and knowledge exchange organisation
    • The Global Challenges
    • Centres of Research Excellence (COREs)
    • Research Excellence Groups (REGs)
    • Our research database
    • Information for business
    • Community University Partnership Programme (CUPP)
    • Postgraduate research degrees
    • PhD research disciplines and programmes
    • PhD funding opportunities and studentships
    • How to apply for your PhD
    • Research environment
    • Investing in research careers
    • Strategic plan
    • Research concordat
    • News, events, publications and films
    • Featured research and knowledge exchange projects
    • Research and knowledge exchange news
    • Inaugural lectures
    • Research and knowledge exchange publications and films
    • Academic staff search
  • About us
  • Business and employers
  • Alumni, supporters and giving
  • Current students
  • Staff
  • Accessibility
Search our site
Architecture students working on a project
Studying here
  • Find a course
  • Subject areas
  • Choose Brighton
  • Applying to Brighton
  • Fees and finance
  • Visit us
  • Applying to Brighton
    • Applying to Brighton
    • Undergraduate
    • Postgraduate
    • Advice for students
    • Advice for parents and carers
    • Schools and colleges
    • Student contract
    • Ask a question
    • Sign up for updates
  • Advice for students
    • Advice for students
    • Covid vaccine mandate – information for students on health courses
    • Estranged students
    • Students from Outreach schools
    • Students with BTEC qualifications
    • Access students
    • Transferring from another university
    • Part-time students
    • Mature students
    • Students with children
    • Care leavers
    • I am a student from the EU
    • Advice for students applying to uni in 2023
    • Students with disabilities
    • Students with autistic spectrum conditions
    • Students with mental health issues
    • Students with dyslexia or specific learning difficulties
  • Students with autistic spectrum conditions

Students with autistic spectrum conditions

We understand that some students with autistic spectrum conditions (ASCs) can find some aspects of university life and its new routines challenging. We try to work with applicants and new students to plan and prepare for this transition so it can feel as comfortable as possible.

We are here to help you adapt to university routines, understand your course requirements, develop self-help skills and support you as you adjust to living away from home.

When choosing your course, consider the ways you study best, and think about the coping strategies you can use in academic and social situations.

Ask us a question – we are here to help

FAQs

  • Key things to do when you apply
  • What support is available?
  • What are my accommodation options?
  • Can I get extra financial support?

Key things to do when you apply

You can tell us about your ASC at any time, but the sooner you do, the better we will be able to support you. If you indicate in your application that you have an ASC, we will contact you to discuss your needs when you are offered a place.

To qualify for ongoing support, your condition must have a significant effect on your ability to carry out daily tasks such as attending seminars and lectures, memory and concentration. You will need to provide evidence of this from your doctor or psychiatrist to access support.

If you do not feel comfortable telling us about it in your application, please contact us in confidence so that we can make sure you get the support you need. Although support from a Learning Support Coordinator can be provided confidentially, this will limit the adjustments we can make to the learning process.

What support is available?

You will have a Learning Support Coordinator (LSC) who will be available throughout your course to help you and your department. They will:

  • work with you to explore what impact your disability might have within the context of your academic course so that support can be tailored to your needs.
  • issue a Learning Support Plan (LSP) to outline any adjustments required for your teaching or assessment methods (e.g. extra time)
  • offer advice and support when applying for Disabled Students' Allowance or other disability-related funding
  • help to set up support such as specialist mentoring, study skills tuition, assistive technology training and sign language interpreting
  • provide disability support advice to ease the transition to student life, signposting to other university services where appropriate.

Where possible, usually before you start your course, you will be offered an advance meeting with your LSC. This meeting gives you a chance to discuss your specific requirements in relation to the course and the induction week timetables.

This meeting will help you to:

  • understand how support is organised for you
  • understand who is here to help you, and what you need to do
  • learn where to get personal care support from external agencies (including Social Services) if you need it.
Students chatting

What are my accommodation options?

Our halls of residence are not warden controlled, but they do have 24-hour security staff and residential advisers on site. Halls of residence can be quite lively, which might not suit you if you need a very quiet living space.

We have a limited number of ‘quieter’ flats available for ASC students if you feel this might help.

We can’t guarantee you a place in halls but we will carefully assess your application taking your condition into account.

You will need to provide a letter from your doctor or medical practitioner which sets out the reasons you need a university residence place, and a supporting letter from you explaining how your condition affects your day-to-day activities.

We can help you to find suitable properties to rent if you prefer to live privately.

Can I get extra financial support?

For UK (home) students

If you are a UK (home) student, you could be eligible to apply for Disabled Students' Allowances (DSAs) to help you pay for extra costs incurred on your course as a result of your disability.

The DSAs can help to pay for things such as travel, a note-taker or reader, study skills help, specialist equipment and other course-related costs. The support you are eligible to receive depends on your disability and not on your household income.

If you receive specialist equipment (e.g. a laptop, software etc) through DSAs, you will be required to pay the first £200 of this cost, but the university's DSA Reimbursement Fund can assist students whose household income is £25,000pa or less.

The application process for DSAs can take four or five months so it is important that you apply as soon as possible.

See the gov.uk website for more information on DSAs.

Healthcare courses

The application process for most healthcare courses is through Student Finance England, as above. However, there are a number of exceptions, where students should instead apply for the NHS Bursary Disabled Students Allowance. This works in a similar manner to the regular DSA but acts as a separate scheme. The courses that follow the NHS Bursary route are:

  • Medical students in your 4th year and 5th year (if you intercalated) or 5th year (if you didn't intercalate)
  • Social Work MSc students

If you are unsure which route to follow, please contact our team and we will try to help.

For students from other countries

If you are not from the UK you will not be eligible to receive the Disabled Students’ Allowances. However, we will do everything we can to support you and help you find funding to pay for equipment and support workers.

To help with this process, please investigate the following options before starting at Brighton:

  • If you have a sponsor, ask if they can contribute money to cover disability-related expenses. Some scholarships offer funding to cover such costs.
  • You may be eligible for a grant from your own government, so contact your education department to ask what support they can provide. We know that the Eire, Jersey and Guernsey, Sweden, Netherlands, and Thailand governments provide support, though others may also.
  • Finally, you may be eligible for support from non-governmental organisations in your home country.

If additional funding is not available, we will work hard to meet your needs in the best way possible, so please get in touch as soon as you know you are coming so that we can begin to help you.

Back to top
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • TikTok
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn icon

Contact us

University of Brighton
Mithras House
Lewes Road
Brighton
BN2 4AT

Main switchboard 01273 600900

Course enquiries

Sign up for updates

University contacts

Report a problem with this page

Quick links Quick links

  • Courses
  • Open days
  • Order a prospectus
  • Academic departments
  • Academic staff
  • Professional services departments
  • Jobs
  • Privacy and cookie policy
  • Accessibility statement
  • Libraries
  • Term dates
  • Maps
  • Graduation
  • Site information
  • Online shop
  • COVID-19
  • The Student Contract

Information for Information for

  • Current students
  • International students
  • Media/press
  • Careers advisers/teachers
  • Parents/carers
  • Business/employers
  • Alumni/supporters
  • Suppliers
  • Local residents