Greetings Earthlings! 🙂

To kick off Autism Awareness Month, this week I’d like to discuss a place that is very dear to my heart, Dublin City University (DCU) where I completed my masters just after my diagnosis. What’s unique about DCU is that in 2018 it became the world’s first designated autism friendly university. While it wasn’t designated an autism friendly university until after I had graduated, I always felt fully supported by the college and staff in my educational pursuits.

So how exactly does a university qualify as autism friendly?

DCU collaborated with ASIAM and Specialisterne Ireland on an 18-month research project to develop 8 principles to define an autism friendly university:

• “Encourage and enable autistic students to transition and participate in university programmes
• Support and build capacity to equip autistic students to meet the academic challenges of everyday university life
• Support and build capacity to equip autistic students to meet the social challenges of everyday university life
• Seek to establish an autism-friendly operational environment
• Seek to combat the stigma around autism and recognise the diverse experiences of those with the condition
• Develop understanding and relevant knowledge and skills within the university community
• Establish channels so that autistic students can have a voice in various aspects of university life
• Increase the employability of autistic graduates through a range of initiatives that will develop their soft-skills to support their transition beyond university”

With these principles at their core, DCU offers students the following autism friendly facilities:

• Sensory pods on campus for breaks
• Five rooms are set aside in campus accommodation specifically for autistic students
• Virtual maps with a specialized AI chatbot to help you find your way around campus
• Designated quiet spaces, soundproof pods and recommendations for less busy walking routes to campus
• Materials and resources for autistic students including sensory tips and advice
• Disability service supports such as occupational therapy and exam accommodations
• Social supports allowing autists to connect with other neurodivergent students
• Autists are encouraged to email feedback to the college on ways to improve the 3rd level autistic experience
• The college also runs a 3 day summer program specifically for autistic students to give them an introductory experience of third level education to help ease their transition

Autists are actively encouraged to email feedback to the college on ways to improve the third level autistic experience to ensure that the university keeps improving in it’s autism friendly initiatives. In addition, the college also runs a 3 day summer program specifically for autistic students to give them an introductory experience of third level education to help ease their transition.

On another note, the Nubar on the Glasnevin campus is famous for it’s chicken goujons- a beige staple for many autists! I took a trip up to campus last week and went up early just to see if the tenders were just as good 10 years later and can confirm that they are delicious 🤌🏻

This is an amazing initiative and many other universities in Ireland have followed suit in becoming autism friendly or setting up initiatives to become more autism friendly than they currently are. Similarly at an international level, universities in the UK, Canada and Australia are also following DCU’s example.

Hope you enjoyed this post dear Earthlings! 🙂

Have a lovely weekend!

Aoife