My ASD S was fortunate to have a single bedroom in a 3-person suite all 4 years of college. (He didn’t have to ask for it. That was how all the dorms at his school were set up.) S doesn’t socialize, and is not tolerant of “strangers” in his space. ( It worked out–S graduated with honors a few years ago.)
You may not have enough room to do this, but when my S had to live in a double room after having a single (he loves his own space), we hung up curtains around his bed area to give him some more privacy. It wasn’t perfect, but it did help him feel more separated. The room was really large though.
@atomom That sounds like a perfect mix of both worlds. I wish more schools had suite style with single rooms for those kids who want/need it
@Aug2019 Good luck with the journey. Wishing you well on the honors dorm
^^I will say that my daughter with the suite style room paid a LOT more than her sister in the old standard double with the bathroom down the hall. The ‘suite’ daughter’s meal plan was also more expensive, but the paid $5000 more than her sister. That’s a big difference. Suite daughter did have the traditional double option at her school and I think it was about $2000 per semester less, but 96% of freshmen did live in the freshman village, which was all suite style, and she really wanted to live in the village.
We really thought for a long time about whether we could justify the extra expense but I think for my daughter it was worth it. She was not a princess and had shared a room and bathroom with her sister for most of her life, but she needed a lot of sleep, she’s a neatnik and a minimalist, and having her own personal space helped her adjust to college. Most of her roommates were slobs and left all their stuff all over the suite.
Thanks @readthetealeaves - fingers crossed!
Have you contacted housing/disability services? My s is Autism Spectrum Disorder-Asperger was no longer a diagnosis when he was diagnosed, but if it were I think he would have been identified that way. I filled out paperwork and provided documentation to his school and he qualified for a single with bathroom, but only one on campus and currently occupied. If he does not get that room, he was also interested in a LLC and was told that even though those rooms are not singles, they would not assign him a roommate if there. My s didn’t think he would have problem with shared traditional bathroom, although also has colitis and a recent flare up has caused him to reconsider. I like the idea of single room in LLC because it would give him space to get away but also expose him to student of similar interest. You could as if he could have a situation like that if qualified. Maybe someone with more knowledge on disability ADA rights would know if the school might even be required to provide double as single if documentation proved that it was the better option. We were told that the single with bath in my s school was not near the LLC, so I can understand where if he ends up in single he would not be able to participate in LLC… which is a bummer, but the options were presented and seemed reasonable.
Thanks @1Lotus. S was accepted into Honors program at his college which gives him housing with that group of students. Probably a plus for him. We will definitely be in touch with housing and the disability services offices in the next two weeks to sort out what his options are re: single/double. If he does end up with a roommate it will be another of life’s “rich experiences” and even if it’s not a good match - I’m sure my S will learn something from it.