Before You Start Autism Uni Toolkit Dublin City University

Leo Migdal

-Dec 13, 2025, 11:34 PM

before you start autism uni toolkit dublin city university

Tools and tips that will help you with choosing your course and applying to university. Tools and tips to help you make the most of your first year in DCU. Find services and facilities for autistic students at our university Recognise key buildings on the campus and familiarise yourself with room layouts as well as how to get to and from university buildings. Learn from other autistic students' experiences of higher education Find out more about the many routes into university, whether it be DCU or elsewhere.

DCU has become the world’s first designated autism-friendly university through a collaboration between DCU, AsIAm and Specialisterne Ireland (a specialist consultancy that recruits and supports people with Autism). But what does that mean? DCU provide accommodation for incoming first years on both the DCU Glasnevin & DCU St Patricks Campuses. There are also a number of off-campus purpose built student accommodation options near DCU. DCU offers a range of services and supports for all students with a disability, specific learning difficulty or long term medical condition. This service is coordinated by the Disability & Learning Support Service.

Choosing where to go to college can be extremely daunting. What makes DCU stand out from other universities? Beyond being the World’s first Autism-Friendly University there are many reasons why you should choose to study at DCU. Find out more about the Nine Principles that our autism-friendly initiative is built. Campus life can get pretty hectic. Here are some tips to help you find a moment or two of calm.

Autism & Uni is a toolkit of resources and advice for autistic students entering University. If you are autistic and want to use a sensory pod contact disability.service @ dcu.ie or DCU's Autism Friendly Coordinator fiona.earley @ dcu.ie. There is a pod on every campus. DCU has become the world’s first designated autism-friendly university. We are committed to supporting and celebrating our DCU Autistic community. We will be adapting the environment to make it more autism-friendly, raising autism acceptance through training and webinars.

We aim to ensure that autistic students and staff have equal access to participate fully in all aspects of university life. This article focuses on the importance of healthy habits for wellbeing. The article provides useful tips and information regarding physical wellbeing, diet, responsible alcohol use, exercise and sleep. There is also information on the medical clinic and injury clinics in DCU provided. When you start university, you will encounter many new experiences. Some you will enjoy, others you may not.

Adapting to a new environment can be challenging to some students. This article focuses on how to build the foundations of emotional balance and mental wellbeing. It will guide you through making a plan to make small changes that can increase your emotional resilience (ability to adapt to stressful situations) and mental wellbeing. You may be looking forward to living away from home and building your independence or it may feel like a very daunting task, or a mix of both. All the above are normal and understandable. It may be that you are looking forward to learning in depth about your chosen subject and hoping that you may find some like-minded people at University.

Whatever it is that has brought you to DCU, those early weeks are likely to bring up many different emotions, both positive and negative. Common challenges can include: To meet the challenges we face in life, we need to keep our bodies and minds healthy. A simple model for this, based on Marsha Linehan’s research, is the PlEASE model: treat Physical illness, balance Eating, use Alcohol responsibly, balance Sleep, and get Exercise. Dublin City University was recognised as an autism-friendly university by AsIAm, Ireland’s National Autism Charity and Advocacy Organisation, in 2017. The designation marked the conclusion of an 18-month research project.

Research findings by DCU showed that autistic students in third-level often experience greater levels of difficulty settling in and adapting to university life than do their peers. Frequently cited issues were discomfort in noisy environments; difficulties in managing schedules, deadlines and workload, challenges in participating in group work and unease in new social situations and extracurricular activities. To achieve the autism-friendly university designation, DCU must address eight generic principles that were established as part of the research study. To read the full report click here. One of the principles is: Encourage and enable autistic students to transition and participate in university programmes;

So the opportunity to participate in the Autism&Uni project was a timely one as it specifically addressed transition. We had created a lot of resources which were on our main webpage, but the volume of information can make it difficult to filter. The structure of the Autism&Uni toolkit is clear and concise. It really helped us collate information specific to new students in an autism-friendly way. It highlighted gaps in our information and also information duplication. The pages “student voices” and “professional interviews” were particularly welcomed by us as we have a strong autistic student voice in DCU.

We used video and transcript to get student and staff perspectives from the NeuroDSoc and dcu.ie/disability. This is something we will continue to develop. Congratulations on earning your place in DCU! We hope you feel a warm welcome into our DCU community. This webpage acts as a toolkit will hopefully provide you with the tools and tips needed to succeed in your time here in DCU. In DCU you’ll be able to study subjects that really interest you, and you’ll be able to find people who share your passions.

Student life is about more than just lectures. You’ll have the chance to explore new hobbies, meet people from other cultures, and take part in campus life. You’ll have a range of ways to take part, whether it’s through joining a club, volunteering, playing sport or getting involved with the student union. You may not feel like being involved in lots of activities beyond your course – sometimes getting coursework done and spending time with classmates can be more than enough to keep you busy. However, if you have time and energy there is bound to be an activity that you’d enjoy. This video was created by AHEAD, an independent non-profit organisation working to creative inclusive environments in education and employment for people with disabilities.

Learn more about AHEAD and the work they do here. When you have an offer of a place at DCU you will receive access to Discover DCU, DCU’s online transition and learning skills programme. Discover DCU is a series of 8 short interactive courses designed to help get you settled in and introduce you to the tools and skills you need to succeed at university. For more info and to access Discover DCU, see here. Each student has their own set of needs when it comes to attending lectures, studying or sitting exams. Students on the autism spectrum may experience particular challenges relating to their sensory environment, communication or task completion.

Sometimes, it can be hard to find the words to communicate this to university staff. DCU have an online profile form specifically for autistic students which offers you the chance to share the small things that may have a huge impact on their ability to engage fully with student... Consider sharing it with staff from the Disability & Learning Support Service by completing the online form. There are approximately fifteen short questions. Click here to start writing your personal profile. Choosing where to go to college can be extremely daunting.

What makes DCU stand out from other universities? Beyond being the World’s first Autism-Friendly University there are many reasons why you should choose to study at DCU. DCU is one of the best young universities in the world as ranked by the Times Higher Education Top 100 Under 50. We are the only Irish university to have featured in this league table every year since the rankings were first published. We have a proud tradition of world-class academic excellence, research and innovation. From foundation and language programmes and online degrees to respected undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, Study Abroad and Erasmus/Exchange opportunities, DCU has a clear study path for every student.

By choosing one of our many Bachelor or Master’s degrees you will gain great work and life experience as many of our degrees include workplacement or a consultancy or research project with industry. At DCU we focus on the quality of the learning experience for each student. With a strong focus on academic excellence, we ensure that your degree is highly regarded, both nationally and internationally, and that you will leave university equipped for success in all aspects of your life-... We strive constantly to improve the quality of our degree programmes and this has been recognised in many external reviews. ‘DCU can fairly claim to be at the cutting edge in terms of academic quality improvement.’ – International Review Panel that carried out an Institutional Review of DCU in 2010. The underlying ethos of the toolkit is that students can use it in their own time, do research about issues concerning them, and come back to it when particular difficulties arise.

The toolkit is freely available for universities to adopt and adapt. Built on an open-source platform, the toolkit is available in English and can also be translated into other languages. We can help with the initial set up and give advice on how best to support your autistic students. Here’s what others have said about the Autism&Uni toolkit: “The toolkit came pre-installed with content. We then adapted and further extended the content to make it fit the Trinity context.

It was easy to integrate our existing resources, e.g. videos, infographics and text copy from other sources. Toolkit content is organised in a logical manner, focusing on direct calls to action.” Declan Treanor, Director of Disability Service Trinity College Dublin “As a large Russell Group university, we have a well-developed website with a lot of information on it. However, the sheer volume of information can make it difficult for students to navigate and adapting the Autism & Uni toolkit has allowed us to ‘distil’ what is most important for this group of... For universities to adapt – give your autistic students the best possible start.

Before You Start Autism Uni Toolkit Dublin City University

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