Some areas of difficulty for residents with ASD may include:

• Hygiene

  • No student should have to be known as that person with poor hygiene

  • Students with ASD may not even be aware that they are not sufficiently maintaining good hygiene. Usually a rooommate complaint about their roommate smelling, and thus making the room smell, because they are not showering is how the issue comes to a R.A.'s attention.

  • Poor hygiene habits can create problems in other areas of the resident's college experience- frequently roommate relationships. Nobody wants to live in a room that has an unpleasant smell. Often, roommates do not feel comfortable talking about the issue and do not want to tell their roommate that they need to shower more frequently, so the problem goes unresolved (Wolf et al., 2009). Resentment and frustration can build up until other unrelated issues that arise escalate into a big roommate conflict.

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• Time Management and Organization

  • Learning to manage the free periods of time involved in a college schedulle is an area of difficulty for many college students, and can be especially difficult for students with autism

  • Students with autism may also struggle to stay organized and keep track of all the assignments they need to do, especially if they are not getting as much academic support as they did in high school (Wolf et al., 2009). 

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• Sleep Issues

  • Sleep disorders are common in people with ASD

  • Residents with ASD may require more or less sleep than peers, or may be accustomed to particular conditions such as having a really cold or really warm room to sleep in (Wolf et al., 2009).