Bury St Edmunds man Thomas Howard launches parliament.uk petition calling for mandatory training for university staff on neurodiversity

An autistic man is campaigning for mandatory neurodiversity training for university staff in the hope that other students will have a better time in higher education than he did.

Thomas Howard, 27, from Bury St Edmunds, said he struggled to access the help and support required during his time at university and had been unable to complete his degree.

Thomas, who got his autism diagnosis halfway through university, has lodged a petition with the Government calling for mandatory training for university staff on neurodiversity, and more than 6,000 people have signed it.

His own independent survey of more than 50 people working in the education sector across the UK found 86 per cent of those in higher education wanted more training and awareness regarding neurodiversity.

While Thomas, who works in data analytics, has his own experiences, he said he was ‘fighting for future generations’.

He said: “Even if it just helps one or two people, that’s one or two people that wouldn’t then have these type of [negative] experiences and would have a better time in higher education and get their degree or at least have an overall positive experience at university.”

As well as feedback from staff, he has also been getting a lot of anecdotal comments from neurodiverse students, telling how universities failed to cater for their needs.

One comment reads: “This [petition] is so so important. I’m currently at a uni that has had no training on autism and it really shows. Me and the other neurodivergent people find it so difficult and aggravating.”

Thomas said his petition highlighted some of the ‘shocking’ statistics surrounding autistic students in the UK, such as 2.4 per cent of the student population having autism – and less than 40 per cent of these individuals completed their university course.

His petition reads: “These statistics, and heartfelt stories, show that training and awareness is urgently needed.”

He said while some unis were doing a ‘fantastic’ job at training staff and even students on neurodiversity in education, it was a ‘mixed bag’.