This page discusses talking about your autism with your university, which is often called making a disclosure.

What do we mean by disclosure?

Disclosing something simply means making it known. In this context, disclosing means making the university aware that you are autistic.

A disclosure happens any time you choose to tell someone that you are autistic. You might choose to directly tell your friends, or a lecturer, so that they understand you better.

By disclosing your autism to the Disability and Neurodiversity team, the university will work with you to understand your needs and put support in place for you if it’s needed.

Is it important to disclose?

Some students may not tell anyone they are autistic during their time at university, even the university itself. Not disclosing makes it difficult for students to get the support they might need.

City St George’s needs to know that you have an autistic spectrum condition in order to make reasonable adjustments. These are changes to the way teaching and assessment are done in order to make them more accessible for disabled students. This can be extra time in an exam, or access to quieter spaces for assessments, or longer library loans.

When I disclose, who will find out?

Any disclosure of a disability, including autism, to the Disability and Neurodiversity service is treated confidentially.

Your Disability & Neurodiversity Advisor will discuss with you what, if any, information needs to be shared, and who it needs to be shared with. Student Health and Wellbeing will not tell the other students on your course.

Information about disability is only shared with the staff who put the adjustments into practice, or with those who would benefit from being aware.

For the support ; it is essential to agree to this information being shared.

What happens when students don’t declare?

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

Research suggests that students who were diagnosed before or during university 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 university prior to completing their course told Autism&Uni it was because they now realise that they needed support with some aspects of university. 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. City St George’s 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: Harassment and bullying | Student Hub | City, University of London

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 Autism&Uni that getting support as early as possible made settling into university a lot easier.

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 Autism&Uni 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 and wellbeing was affected.

Fern: I think it is good to disclose as university is much bigger than school and so there is nobody making sure everything is ok and you are managing. (read the whole article here)

Contacting Student Health and Wellbeing to talk through your options and what this means if you have any concerns about declaring.

Talk to friends and family about declaring.