Autism Friendly Initiative
ATU Sligo are working with AsIAm to become an Autism Friendly campus
There are 8 principles of an autism friendly campus:
- Encourage and enable autistic students to transition and participate in ATU Sligo’s programmes.
- Support and build capacity to equip autistic students to meet the academic challenges of everyday life at IT Sligo.
- Support and build capacity to equip autistic students to meet the social challenges of everyday life at ATU Sligo.
- Seek to establish an autism friendly operational environment, for both on campus and online students.
- 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 community at ATU Sligo.
- Establish channels so that autistic students can have a voice in various aspects of life at ATU Sligo.
- Increase the employability of autistic graduates through a range of initiatives that will develop their soft-skills, supporting their transition to access employment, training, or other educational options.
Our journey has only recently begun, but some of our main updates are listed below.
Linda Mulligan was appointed as the Inclusion Support Worker in September 2021. This role is to support our neurodiverse student body. This role was made possible through funding by the iNote project in ATU Sligo.
Linda Mulligan can be contacted at inclusionsupport@nullitsligo.ie.
Autism awareness training has been provided to staff and further events will be held across the year. Autism Awareness Month in April 2022 will include a campaign by the Students Union.
The sensory environment, navigation of physical spaces and engagement with digital interfaces can all pose challenges for students on the spectrum so audits will be carried out to highlight these challenges. Please see below for links to complete Sensory Audits yourself!
Focus groups were held to explore the needs of students. They identified to need for an Autism Friendly Space to be integrated across the campus.
A Working group involving staff from all across ATU Sligo and autistic students meets to further the ’autism-friendly agenda’.
Students have been invited to become ambassadors for the autistic community at ATU Sligo
Pathways to support students in potentially being assessed for an autism diagnosis have been established .
ATU Sligo have partnered with Specialisterne Ireland to support students in gaining employment .
Some neuro-affirmative books available to borrow from the ATU Sligo Yeats library
- Autism in Adults, by Luke Beardon.
- NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity, by Steve Silberman.
- Unmasking Autism by Devon Price (published 7th April 2022)
- Autism and Neurodiversity Self Advocacy Handbook : Developing the Skills to Determine Your Own Future, by Barb Cook and Yenn Purkis.
- Spectrum Women: Walking to the Beat of Autism Paperback, by Barb Cook
- The Neurodiversity Reader. Milton, D., Ridout, S., Martin, N., Mills, R. and Murray, D.
- Avoiding Anxiety in Austistic Adults by Luke Beardon
Sensory Audit
We want to hear from you!
Please let us know what challenges you experience and solutions you might have through the surveys we have linked below. This could be anything from the way certain lights affect you, to noise or even smells.
If you have 8 minutes and would like to complete a more detailed submission please complete the Sensory Survey.
If you would prefer to fill in a shorter Sensory Alert please use this form.
Autism Friendly Space
We want to know what is important to you in an autism friendly space. Please fill in this short survey and let us know what you would like to see as a space available in ATU Sligo.
Ambassadors for the Autism Friendly Initiative
If you are interested in becoming an Ambassador for the Autism Friendly Campus Initiative, or would like further information, get in touch.
Autism and Uni ATU Sligo Toolkit
Autism&Uni helps young adults on the autism spectrum to gain access to Higher Education and to navigate the transition successfully.
The Toolkit gives students information and strategies for overcoming the challenges they typically encounter during the transition to University.
Contact
DARE, Disability Support or Autism Supports
Shelley Brady
Tel: +353 (0)71 9137355
Email: disability@nullitsligo.ie
Inclusion Support Worker (ISW)
Linda Mulligan
Tel: +353 (0)71 9135535
Email: inclusionsupport@nullitsligo.ie, or mulligan.linda@nullitsligo.ie