This paper is informed by a range of studies which have involved actively listening to students who have Asperger syndrome (AS) describing the sort of university support services they feel would be helpful. Manny Madriaga (working with Goodley, Hodge and Martin) has systematically followed eight students during their first year in various UK universities, and has learned from their insights. Luke Beardon and Genevieve Edmonds have co-ordinated a study in which over 200 people with AS have shared ideas about a range of support including university based services. Nicola Martin has also drawn on the experience of practitioners working with students who have AS in an attempt to identify a staff perspective on what good practice could look like.
The studies have revealed that students with AS commonly experience stereotyping and lack of empathy from other people, often arriving at university with previous experience of exclusion. Staff often have little prior knowledge and feel worried about their ability to help. In reality, reliable, empathic, anticipatory and logical services are most helpful. Students with AS are highly individual, often reinvent themselves at university, and feel euphoric about their achievements, having massively exceeded expectations. Greater independence and social inclusion over time is common, particularly when early support has been effective. Services can help or hinder students as they strive for autonomy. This study focuses on helpful approaches.