University advice and support.

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I'm going to keep this as a short rant as I'm angry enough to go off on one about this but I would like to hear whether anyone else had has similar experiences.

5 weeks ago I made an appointment with the university disability advice and support centre as despite previous contact with them and my course tutors I was still having problems with my course.
After the centre postponed it several times I finally saw my disability co-ordinator yesterday which is already not good enough as that's equivalent to about an eight of my year's course.

I have pursued an assessment via my skeptical doctor and have been partly assessed by someone who also showed their skepticism throughout, but cannot return as I found it too traumatic.
It could also only apparently continue with the participation of my mother who is also in ill health so i don't want to distress her either.

In January I was assessed by the university mental health adviser who verbally confimed that she believed that I was on the autistic spectrum.
I knew she couldn't make an official diagnosis or refer me for external assessment but I thought that they considered my difficulties enough reason to provide me with the support which I do.

Yesterday I was told that she hasn't even mentioned autism in her written report and although they will err on the side of caution by referring me for counselling and specialist tuition which I don't even need, without a diagnosis they aren't obliged to do anything.

It seems that if it's not official, it doesn't exist.
I feel as though I'm being considered a fraud when all I want is to be able to finish my course.

All I can say, or should say for now, is that I got sad, then I got mad

They can't do anything without an official diagnosis, unfortunately.

They can, because otherwise they wouldn't have referred me for counselling or specialist tuition.

Without going into too much detail, my tutors do not understand that you cannot always expect people with AS difficulties to behave as if they're NT, in the same way that you cannot expect someone in a wheelchair to behave able bodied.
They have done this to the point at which I also feel that they are now also being passivly aggressive in order to discourage me from continuing with my course.

All I need is for my tutors to learn what autism is, what best practice for working with AS students is and follow it through.
it would take very little of their time but would make such a difference to my academic life.
I know a diagnosis is required for certain support which should go to those who genuinely need it but it's not as if this requires any funding or a drastic redirection of resources.

You may have to explain it yourself. I know that when I did so to one of my profs, he became much more understanding about how to deal with me. We're actually becoming friends now - though it may be too late for my academic career.