Social Programming:

• Holding social programs with high-turnout benefits all residents in the residence hall, including residents with autism. They provide continued opportunities to meet other people in the residence hall that do not depend on an invitation. R.A.s may want to consider hosting programs that are catered to the interests of their residents, including their residents with autism, such as a video game night program with snacks (Ackles, Fields, & Skinner, 2013). It is important to both tell residents with autism about these programs and when they are happening and to encourage them to attend.

• Residence halls can also be where college students make lunch and dinner plans, and some students may find themselves frequently left out of these conversations. Consider creating opportunities for all of your residents to go to the dining hall together. Gavin Henning (2007), a speaker who had trouble with disclosing his disability said, “It would have been helpful if the resident advisor, noticing that I wasn’t hanging out with other residents, had occasionally invited me to dinner with other floor members. This might have helped me open up to the others earlier than I did” (p. 28).