Have You Heard of the Aspie-Friendly Program for Autistic Students?

As part of France’s National Strategy for Autism (2018-2028), the Aspie-Friendly programme supports the inclusion of autistic students without intellectual disability in universities. In 2022, its scope expanded to other neurodevelopmental disorders, namely attention deficit disorder, with or without hyperactivity (ADHD), and DYS disorders (dyslexia, dysphasia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, etc.). An overview of Aspie-Friendly, now renamed Atypie-Friendly.

Inclusion at the heart of the programme

The difficulties faced by people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) don’t disappear once they finish secondary school. At university, they have to cope with changes in environment, noise, movement, complex timetables, and constant social interaction, among other things.

As a result, “autistic students enrolled in higher education are between ten and fifteen times fewer than one would expect,” notes Bertrand Monthubert, national coordinator of the Aspie-Friendly programme[1].

Launched in 2018 for a 10-year period, the programme aims to improve their inclusion in higher education and support them towards both professional and social integration.

Aspie-Friendly by the numbers

The Aspie-Friendly programme is built around 4 pillars: individualised student follow-up with study accommodations; training teachers and administrative staff about autism; developing educational innovations; and support towards professional integration. It also works upstream on anticipating the transition into higher education.

Through working groups, professionals address every aspect of a student’s life, taking a highly practical approach that benefits autistic students, but also other students. Thanks to a partnership with the French Ministry of Education, the programme can draw on the help of psychologists trained in autism.

By the end of 2022, and despite two years marked by the COVID-19 crisis, the programme had 26 member universities (Angers, Tours, Poitiers, Lille, Rouen, Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Nice, Perpignan, Toulouse…) and supported more than 500 students. Support jumped by 20% in 2022 alone.

Aspie-Friendly becomes Atypie-Friendly

In 2022, the Aspie-Friendly programme evolved to include people affected by other neurodevelopmental disorders, namely DYS disorders and ADHD. This shift aims to change everyone’s perspective on these disabilities, recognise them, and value this neurodiversity.

Renamed Atypie-Friendly in July 2023, this expansion of the programme is in a two-and-a-half-year pilot phase and will initially involve only 5 universities: Montpellier 3 Paul Valéry, Perpignan, Angers, Tours, and Lyon 1.

With a project financially backed by the Investment for the Future Programme (PIA) and the National Solidarity Fund for Autonomy (CNSA), “we will be able to strengthen our actions and put them to use for a larger number of students, so they can make the most of their talents,” says Bertrand Monthubert¹.

Alongside this initiative, the Ora Visio platform brings together professionals specialised in DYS disorders, ADHD and ASD, to help with everyday life. These can include psychologists, as well as occupational therapists or speech therapists.

[1] Source: https://handicap.gouv.fr/aspie-friendly-le-programme-daccompagnement-des-etudiants-autistes-luniversite-setend-aux-etudiants