1. What can I expect in the first week?

You will probably find that the first few weeks of university will not be a realistic view of what life at university will be like.

Universities offer a 'Freshers' week' which will usually be a week prior to lectures and seminars starting. The week is primarily aimed at first year students and the Students' Union organises various events during the week. It will normally include a Freshers' fair, which is a chance for the university's clubs and societies to recruit new members. There will be set times of the day, and maybe evening, when you can go along and visit the students who run these societies, and they will probably have a stall displaying information about their society or club. 

Freshers' fairs can be quite overwhelming for new students because there will be lots of people around and lots of students trying to persuade you to join their clubs. The university may be able to provide you with details of the clubs and societies that you could join prior to the Freshers' fair so that you can decide which ones you feel may be of interest to you. You could write down some questions to ask, such as: How often do they meet? How much you will need to pay to join and at each meeting? How many other students are members already?

Be prepared for students pressuring you into joining their club or society when you may not wish to. Joining a club of interest to you is a good way of meeting other students with similar interests. It may be daunting for you to join a new club, but remember that it's OK to leave if you decide, after attending one meeting or more, that you no longer wish to be a part of the group. You could contact the student who runs the society and just explain that you no longer wish to be a member of the group; it is polite to do this rather than just not turning up to future meetings.

There are other things that you will need to organise in your first week at university. You may have already organised some of these things, so you could just check that you have done them:

• Register as a student of the university. You will be informed of the times and days when you are able to do this. You could ask which times tend to be the quietest, as there will often be long queues to register. 
• Register with the Students' Union. This may be part of the registration process: if not, ask where you can do this. You will receive a National Union of Students (NUS) card that provides you with entitlements to various discounts. You will receive written information explaining the conditions of the discounts and what they apply to.
• At some point, during your first week, you will have to visit the student finance office to confirm arrangements for student fees and loans. If your local authority is paying some or all of your fees, you could also just check with the finance office that they have received the funds from your local authority. As there will be a large number of students also arranging their fees, you will probably find that there will be very long queues. Jamieson and Jamieson (2004) suggest asking the disability support staff either for permission to go to the front of the queue, or to arrange a specific time for you when there will not be huge numbers of students also waiting. 
• You will need to also make sure that you have arranged your student loan and that you have received a cheque for the first instalment. Don't panic if you haven't received it yet. Contact the Student Loans Company and also talk to the staff in the finance office and the disability support staff.
• You will need to have a bank account for the funds to be paid in to. Is you already have a bank account and may find that, as you have become an undergraduate student, you will be offered a student bank account. You will probably see adverts in the media, where banks or building societies are offering students 'freebies' such as music vouchers, an MP3 player or a young persons railcard, when you open a student account. These offers may seem very tempting, but you will also have to find out about the other benefits of opening an account. The British Bankers Association has information on their website regarding bank accounts for students: http://www.bba.org.uk/media/article/bank-accounts-for-students  
• If you are living away from home, it is very important for you to register with a GP in the area. Some universities will have a medical centre on campus and you may be able to register with them. Otherwise, Student Services should have a list of local GP surgeries for you.
• If you are living away from home, find out whether you require contents insurance for your belongings. If you are in halls of residence, you may be covered by your parents' insurance. But this will depend on their policy so you must ask your parents to check this with their insurers. If you are living in other accommodation it is more likely that you will need contents insurance.
• All students who use or install television equipment, such as PCs with broadcast cards, set-top boxes, DVD players or video recorders to receive or record television programme services, are legally required to have a TV licence (www.nus.org.uk/en/advice/housing-advice/renting-a-home/television-licences/). If this applies to you, then this will need to be arranged. Some students choose not to get a TV licence, and face the risk of being caught and paying a fine of up to £1,000 and even the possibility of having to go to court. For further information, visit the following website: www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/for-your-home/students-aud1/?WT.mc_id=r107
• Hopefully, you will receive a copy of your timetable for lectures and seminars for your course. These will usually start in the second week of term but you will need to clarify this. In the first week, you could familiarise yourself with where the lectures and seminars will be taking place to help you prepare for your second week. 
• During the registration process, you will probably be told that you can register with the library at the university and also for emailing facilities. It is useful to do this in the first week so you are able to use the facilities when needed.
• Hopefully you will have had previous contact with the disability support staff or co-ordinator. Perhaps it would be useful to arrange a meeting for the beginning of your first week at university, to clarify the support you may need and to ask any questions you may have. Hopefully the support staff will be able to talk through with you the arrangements for the first week and for starting your course. You may also get the chance to meet your personal tutor and/or lecturers. If you require special arrangements such as print-outs for the lecture notes, then it would be helpful to talk to the tutors/lectures in the first week. If there has been good planning by the disability support staff, the lecturers and tutors will, hopefully, be aware of your support needs. If this is the case, it may just be a good idea to meet the staff briefly, so that they know who you are. This will make it easier for you when attending your first week of lectures and seminars. 

In the first week a lot of focus is put on students getting to know each other and events will be organised to promote this. You may find that fellow students make the most of this, and spend a lot time at the Student Union bar, or elsewhere, drinking and socialising. Diane, who is diagnosed with autism, describes her first few months at college as...

...exciting. Even though I didn't really make friends, I enjoyed the college atmosphere and I enjoyed people playing music loud because I often liked the songs they played (I liked rock 'n' roll). I also liked having lots of people around; it made me feel less lonely, although it was kind of stressful having someone in my room all the time. (www.users.dircon.co.uk/~cns/diane1.html 2005)

She also describes her experience as being scary as she had a room-mate and felt that they didn't talk very much. It is difficult to predict what your first week will be like and you may feel eager to make friends. Remember that most students will be nervous about their first few weeks of university and will want to make friends quickly. If you are living away from home and living in halls of residence or shared accommodation, it is likely that the students you are sharing with will encourage you to go out with them for drinks or elsewhere. You shouldn't feel pressured into going out if you don't want to and your fellow students are probably just trying to be friendly towards you.

You will need to think about whether you would like to tell your fellow students that you have an autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). If you decide that you would like to do this, think about the following: Who are you going to tell? Will you need some information about ASDs for them to read in their own time? How will you tell them? They may not know what an ASD is; you could help them to gain a better understanding by giving examples of how the condition affects you. For example, you could explain that people with ASDs find it difficult to interact and communicate with their peers, and suggest ways in which they could help you with this. For example, if you have problems making eye contact, you could say: 'Sometimes I won't make eye contact when we are having a conversation. Please don't think I am being rude to you by doing this, I just find that I can concentrate more on what is being said when I dont make eye contact.'

There is a wealth of information written about friendships and socialising. For more information, refer to the following sources:

• www.users.dircon.co.uk/~cns/
  a website for students with an ASD
• www.autismandcomputing.org.uk/marc2.en.html#education
  Marc Segar, a young man with Asperger syndrome, has written a survival guide for people with Asperger syndrome providing useful tips about friendships, living away from home, as well as advice about social expectations and study skills.

You may find the first week quite hectic but try and make a list of tasks to complete (such as registering with a GP), and another list of activities that you would like to do if you have time (such as finding out about sports at the university). Try and complete the 'tasks I need to complete' list in your first week.