Assisting students with Asperger's Syndrome to transition more smoothly into academic life at university and into university accommodation

A pilot initiative was introduced early in 2012 to assist all students registering with Asperger's Syndrome to be paired with a participation assistant (PA) for up to 5 hours per week, to assist with the student's orientation, study skills and time management, accommodation adjustments, social adjustment and general assistance in familiarising the student with the university systems. The participation assistants were Australian National University students who were selected because of their interest and experience in the field of disability and/or mental health. As the needs of the students were broad, the DSC individualised the service for each student and what the participation assistant could provide. This initiative followed on from an experience in 2011 at ANU where male twins with Asperger's Syndrome living in the same residence were having great difficulty transitioning from home to university accommodation. The introduction of a participation assistant to help them at the residence, as well as with other strategies, was instrumental in retaining the students at university and particularly for their social integration into the hall. The increase in numbers of students registering with Asperger's in 2012 at ANU, prompted the idea to offer each of those students the option to pair with a participation assistant as a matter of course. Feedback to date has indicated that this initiative has been a remarkable success.