Telling people about your autism at college is also known as ‘disclosure’, ‘declaration of need’ or ‘declaring a disability’. More information about what this means and why it might be important to you is available in this article.

What do we mean by declaration?

You might not consider your learning challenges to be a disability, but that’s how we recognise that you may have some additional needs and the declaration prompts us to make contact with you in order to explore any needs you may have and the support options available to you. Telling the college that you have autism does not mean that you have to tell everyone you meet if you don’t want to, and nor does it mean that you will be forced to accept support you don’t want or need.

Why is it important to declare?

Some students don’t tell anybody at college about their learning challenges. Not declaring makes it difficult for students to get the support they need, both officially and from their friends and the other people around them. At secondary school, you might not have received or even needed any support outside your family, and this may be the same at college. However, college is very different from secondary school and there is a wide range of support available. We need to know that you have an autistic spectrum condition in order to make any ‘reasonable accommodations’.  If you need extra time in your exams, a different location for exams, longer library loans and/or access to a quiet room, you need to tell the EDI Office. To find out more about the support available and to consider what, if any, adjustments are required to ensure you have the best possible college experience, it is essential to register with the EDI Office. Even if you decide not to declare prior to your arrival at CCT College Dublin or when starting your studies you can register with the EDI Office at any point throughout your studies.

When I declare, who will find out?

When you declare; either when you apply to the Higher Institute of Education (HEI) or directly to the EDI Office this is a confidential process. Your EDI Officer will discuss with you what, if any, information needs to be shared and who it needs to be shared with. The EDI Office will not tell the other students on your course; information is only shared with staff who are required to make adjustments, or with those who would benefit from being aware. Further guidance about how we manage your information can be found in our ‘Data Protection Policy’. In order to enable your lecturers to understand a bit more about you, and be able to support you; it is essential to agree to this information being shared. In addition to this, you may wish to speak to your programme lead about particular elements of the course and any concerns you have. Your EDI Officer will be happy to support you with this. You may also decide to share information with your peers where you think it may be helpful to understand a bit more about you, but this is entirely your choice.

What happens when students don’t declare?

The Autism&Uni research surveyed people with experience of attending and/or completing college, over 70% of those surveyed said they didn’t tell anyone they were autistic. Some students were not diagnosed until after college.

Research suggests that students who were diagnosed before or during college and declared their autism were more likely to complete their course and get good grades.

However, of the 70% of students we surveyed who chose not to declare, those who left college prior to completing their course, told us it was because they now realise they needed support with some aspects of college. Even though in general the students got good marks when they submitted work, they said that they struggled to manage without any support, especially early in the course.

Some students also felt that they were unintentionally bullied or excluded by other students, who may have been more understanding if they knew that they were autistic.

CCT College Dublin takes reports of bullying very seriously and encourages any student who feels they have experienced bullying or hate crime to seek support and/or report the incident.

Several of the students who left their course prior to completion and then returned to their studies later, said that they had a better experience because people knew they were autistic, and this meant they were able to access support and get on better socially. These students told us that getting support as early as possible, preferably from the start, made settling into college a lot easier as it is such an uncertain time, in spite of also being an exciting time.

Getting support in those first few weeks, even simple things like someone showing you around the campus and where your lectures will be held can be really important. In our surveys, lots of students didn’t tell anyone they were autistic until they were already really struggling, and in some situations, this meant that their work or/and wellbeing was affected.

It takes time to process applications for support and send information to the relevant people, so the earlier you can inform us the better. You don’t have to wait for exam results (e.g. Leaving Certificate, A level results or your national equivalent) or a confirmed place, you can contact us now – even if you end up going somewhere else.

In some ways, making a decision to tell the college officially about your autism has obvious benefits with clear boundaries. Declaring means you can access support. We will tell you what information and evidence we 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 us at any time throughout your studies by contacting the EDI Office to talk through your options and what this means if you have any concerns about declaring.

Talk to friends and family about declaring.

Here are some questions that might help you to think about declaring:

• Do you want to declare on your application?
• Would you like to talk to the EDI Office directly?
• Do you want to access support at the start of your studies? – if you do, you will need to engage with the EDI Office in good time before you start your course
• Do you want your tutors to know?
• Are there any other people within the college you would like to know (in order that adjustments can be implemented)?
• Would you just like to access support from the EDI Office but not tell your lecturers (this will prevent adjustments being implemented)?

This article was contributed by the Leeds Beckett Disability Advice Team and was adapted by CCT College Dublin (Email: edi@cct.ie)