College Questions

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So I have a few questions about college. I will be starting next year and will be living in the dorms and will have to have a roommate. I guess I am looking for any suggestions, tips, or stories regarding your own college experiences.

A few specific questions or things I am wondering about are:
-what to bring with you
-did you tell your roommate about your AS and if you did when would you suggest doing that
-on your roommate questionare (survey about things you like/dislike, etc. so they can match your roommate) should you mention your AS
-when did/do you ask for accomadations

Now I am not sure if this is correct but I have heard that at some colleges you can get to move your stuff into your dorm earlier avoid the majority of the loud crazy moving in day.

what to bring with you: on my schools website there was a list of things to bring and not to bring. We also emailed and texted about what each of use were bringing. That way 2 fridges weren't brought and things like that.

Telling roommate about AS: I did not tell him because I am not officially diagnosed and I had forgotten about that I might have it. I did tell him that I have add at one point. I was flipping through a book he bought called the naked roommate and it says you should disclose to your roommate if you have any medical conditions. I think my roommate happened to have some AS tendencies by chance, not enough that there would be a need for a diagnosis.

Roommate questionaire for my college didn't have something about AS or other medical conditions.

when did you ask for accomendations: after it was too late and I didn't use them. I would say you should try to get that set up before school starts. And no one in your dorm will know of it. if in some way they do just blame it on ADD and need it for longer test taking time or something like that.

I might edit in some stories

edit: one thing that was cool was that are floor knew each other well. my hallway was just freshman, who had digital media type majors or engineering type majors. The first night when most other people went to parties we set up a movie night. Turned out that most of us weren't really into parties. There was a hypnotist show that we went to as a welcome freshman sort of thing that was really funny. A junior down the other hallway said he new how to do hypnotism. This led to a few tries before anything really worked. one time 7 people were hypnotized including me and there was a marriage ceremony. We had a bunch of movie and hypnotism nights that were really funny.

- Your college should send you a list, I personally recommend some games that you enjoy that could be played with new people. Bringing something like that down to the common room/ student center with a roommate can be a great way to meet people.

- I disclosed my autism with a very specific explanation of my particular needs/issues. Honesty about your needs and sensitivities is more important than information about your specific diagnoses. There is a lot of variety within the Autistic population and a lot of misinformation/prejudice about us out there. Be sure to be very specific about your individual experience if you disclose (which I think you should.)

- Do you have specific living needs in relation to your Aspergers? If so include them on your matching form. Your diagnoses in itself doesn't provide a lot of specific information about who you are or what you need because there is so much variety on the spectrum.

- Look on your schools website to see if they have a number for their office of disability services. If not call student services and get redirected. They'll tell you what you need to do. You may need to have some documentation filled out by your doctor. Sooner rather than later is best. You want this to be all settled and ready to go before classes start if possible.

Call your school to see if they offer any type of early move in accommodation. I moved a lot of my larger items in the day after move-in, the stairwells were less crowded but there also weren't people around to help which there were on official move-in day.

Have you had a chance to visit your campus yet? If there's a summer orientation or something like that, I'd strongly recommend going. They may have some structured activities there to help you meet people. If you get along with someone you meet there, perhaps you could request to be roommates. Otherwise, you're rolling the dice. (I was lucky in that my roommates were generally nice guys, although I don't think my college even looked at the questionaires.)

If nothing else, going up there beforehand will at least give you a better sense of what the rooms look like, and what you can fit. Generally speaking, I'd recommend bringing a laptop rather than a desktop computer, a microwave, mini-fridge, and a small TV, among other things. (Your college will probably send you a list of suggestions.) But it really depends on the size of your dorms, and they do vary greatly.

As for the AS questions... I would not tell your roommate until you've gotten to know him/her for a while. However, I would suggest you check your school's website for services for students with disabilities. There should be a phone number where you can call them directly and ask what services they provide, and what documentation they may need from you. You should do this before the start of the semester.

Also, if you need any accommodations in the classroom (like extra time on tests, for instance,) talk to each of your professors after class on the first day and let them know. This will also give you a chance to meet your professors, which is extremely important to do in college. In addition to determining your grade, they can write you letters of recommendation which will help you get a job, and they may offer advice or even advocate for you if have any trouble adjusting.

So basically, my advice to you is try to get along with your roommates and your professors, and everything else will fall into place. Congratulations and best wishes on your journey.

I wouldn't tell your roommate about your AS unless it has bothered or surprised people in the past. If you think you might act in a way that needs explanation, then tell the roommate. Otherwise, don't...they might keep that label in their head and treat you awkwardly.

I admire you for living on campus; I actually based my college choice on NOT being required to live in the dorms as a freshman (which basically eliminated about 98% of schools ). It's such a shame that they think every student is a partying monkey whose energy comes from interacting with other humans.