Autistic students may worry excessively about disrupted routines or mismatches in their sensory predictions. As autistic people more frequently perceive the world as unpredictable rather than adapting to new situations, anxiety is likely to be enduring.

Stressors to autistic anxiety can include communication differences between autistic people and society or needing to mask autistic traits. Additionally, anxiety may also be onset by alexithymia i.e. difficulty identifying and describing emotions.

When an autistic person feels anxiety, they may seek reassurance, avoid situations, overthink, be stuck in their worry, melt down, engage in repetitive movements (stimming), hyper fixate on routines, run away, or self-harm.

Anxiety in autistic students can specifically create difficulties in managing the demands and pressures of university life, such as maintaining a balance between studying, student life, and daily living. For example, autistic students may have difficulty socialising and communicating with others, self-advocating, being intrinsically motivated, regulating their sensory experience, and completing tasks that exhaust their executive functioning.

Tips for managing anxiety

Self-soothing

• Stimming, rocking or create a self-soothing box

• Engage in low-stimulation-specific interests

Accommodating the environment

• Use noise-cancelling headphones

• Wear comfortable clothing or sunglasses

• Find places to study that suit your specific needs

Decompressing following social interaction

• Consider things that charge your social battery

• Minimise unstructured social interaction (maybe by joining clubs and societies)

• Don’t feel pressured to join in with social situations that you are not comfortable with

Keeping a diary

• Making a log of what makes you anxious

• Find and stick to a daily routine and schedule

Mindfulness – focusing on the present moment

• Pay attention to external surroundings

• Immerse yourself in an activity

• Be aware of body sensations and breathing

References

This article has included information from the following sources:

Autism Research Group & West Sussex County Council. (2018). An Evidence Based Guide to Anxiety in Autism. In www.city.ac.uk. Retrieved August 1, 2024, from city.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/557201/Anxiety-in-Autism-Guide-021219.pdf

Autistica. (2024). Anxiety and autism. Retrieved August 1, 2024, from autistica.org.uk/what-is-autism/anxiety-and-autism

Hillier, A., Goldstein, J., Murphy, D., Trietsch, R., Keeves, J., Mendes, E., & Queenan, A. (2018). Supporting university students with autism spectrum disorder. Autism, 22(1), 20–28. doi.org/10.1177/1362361317699584

Kuder, S. J., Accardo, A. L., & Bomgardner, E. M. (2020). Mental Health and University Students on the Autism Spectrum: a Literature Review. Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 8(4), 421–435. doi.org/10.1007/s40489-020-00222-x

Van Hees, V., Moyson, T., & Roeyers, H. (2015). Higher education experiences of students on the autism spectrum: challenges, benefits and support needs. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 45(6), 1673–1688.