College and the Hidden Curriculum: Some Extra Struggles for Autistic Students

College can be hard for everyone at this point in our world. I consult with individual faculty and I’ve yet to chat with even one who is not on the verge of burnout and/or despair. I taught my last live classes in Spring 2026, and my undergrad students were struggling more than I’d ever known them to in my 22 years of higher ed teaching.

Autistic students have all of the current mess to sort out along with everybody else, plus some bonus struggles. Yay! (/sarcasm) I wanted to wish everyone a good academic year, for real. AND I thought I’d be able to share some tips.

Please do click through to the social media posts linked below and share your own thoughts on these strategies and any others you want to share to help one another.

I’ve chosen three forms of struggle, thinking about semester startup. There’s nothing groundbreaking here, but it might be helpful to the reader to consider these things anew.

#1 neurodivergent student struggle: needing clarification on the assignment

This one probably feels something like, “What EXACTLY am I supposed to do here?” It can often come back to non-specific wording in the assignment guidelines. I mean like: what do they mean by analyze or discuss? How deep should I go to critically evaluate this thing?

Autistic students can spend a lot of time deciphering assignments. You know what? Just ask the professor. I taught undergrads for 22 years, and not one time did a student even seek clarification that I wasn’t genuinely glad they asked for it. So just ask, for real.

And if you benefit from specificity then ask with some specificity, because “I don’t get it” isn’t going to help you. They will likely point you back to the syllabus or assignment guidelines. Ask your specific questions though:

• What are the most important things you’re looking for with this assignment?
• What is a reasonable range of word count?
• Do you expect source materials quoted verbatim or applied only?
• Can I see an example that shows the depth to which I should respond to this prompt?

Ask what you’re not clear about. What you’re seeking are the bumpers for the bowling lane. (Does that metaphor work anymore?)

 

#2 neurodivergent student struggle: task initiation

Cool. So you’ve got clarification as needed. Now you’ve got to get started on it, right? This probably feels like, “Yeah I get it but I can’t start?”

Okay. Task initiation is a common barrier for folks with ADHD as well as for autistic thinkers. It can be related to executive dysfunction, which can interrupt that flow from knowing what to do into actually starting to do it.

You probably already have strategies for this. Before classes really get going and you risk being swamped with the workload, you might want to bring those “task initiation strategies” that work for you to the forefront. I mean build them into your daily and weekly routines.

Outsiders think we’re procrastinating but executive dysfunction is a different animal.

One strategy that works for some students is this: Determine the first step, and I do mean ONLY the first step. Then do that one first step. Keep yourself from trying to map out the entire thing because that can then seem overwhelming and then you get nothing started at all. Just literally do the first step.

If it’s a paper, it could be opening a document and naming it the assignment’s name and formatting the document for this particular assignment. Save it. Cool! You’ve got your container done, and you’ve begun the task.

If it’s mathy, your first step might be transcribing the task onto whatever work paper you use for mathy things. I personally like doing math on blank white unlined paper, so I’d copy my mathy task onto the top of a fresh sheet. Done, and I’ve begun the task.

Using a body double can also help with task initiation. This is when you work alongside someone, and it can be a virtual thing. Sometimes such a relationship is mutually beneficial. I know professors who benefit considerably from participating in “writing hunkers” and that’s when they all gather in a room for an hour or two during which they all agree to write their respective things.

 

#3 neurodivergent student struggle: finishing the thing

You’ve clarified expectations and you’ve got started. Can you knock this out and get it done?

A common barrier for autistic students is what can look like perfectionism to an outside observer. It could relate to rejection sensitive dysphoria or to something else, but how do you get that assignment done and handed in?

One strategy for this can be to decide early on what “done” means for you. Because you know what? A “done” paper that doesn’t entirely deplete you, and that you can hand in on time, even if it’s a B+, is probably fine. It’s more fine than you handing in nothing at all because you cannot stop fussing with it. Right? A B+ would be preferable to a zero grade.

Decide what constitutes “done” before you get into the weeds too much. It can help stop you from spinning and circling back to every little thing. Also, if you’ve ever deleted your entire paper in the 11th hour, throwing away all of your work because you think it’s not good enough? Were you able to magically produce something better before the thing was due? Probably not, you know?

And please remember that grades are not assessments of you as a person or of your intelligence. Grades can only ever reflect points earned on a rubric.

 

College is Full of Unwritten Rules

It is. The so-called hidden curriculum is real, and it is more hidden from some students than from others. When should you email a professor? How much detail should you include? Is it okay to ask for clarification? What does “class participation” mean for real in this class? What should we do when we cannot meet a deadline?

The truth is that most students do not know any of those answers. They have either asked or someone told them. This is how socialization happens, and how the rules about what we can say and do get passed on.

Here again, I’d advise asking direct questions. You probably have an advisor who can answer or direct you to the person who can better respond to your question. If you’re connected with disability services, you can ask them questions. This is how the hidden curriculum gets revealed – by asking other students and/or faculty and/or advisors so you can know the rules and feel better about your position in this oft overwhelming system.

In my experience, the vast majority of college faculty and staff care deeply about students. I feel okay suggesting that you assume kindness on their part as you venture out to strive to get the support you need.

How about you? What tips and strategies worked for you as a student? Any experience with the suggestions I’ve shared here?

I wish you all an excellent academic year.

Erika Sanborne is a longtime researcher and retired educator who writes about autistic life in schools, workplaces, relationships, and bodies that do not always fit the systems around them. Her work has a focus on making confusing expectations clearer and helping neurodivergent people feel less alone in what they already know is hard.

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Want to discuss this topic?

* There is this post on bluesky and this thread on facebook *