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Originally Posted by FSUZeta
Interesting that you wanted to participate in recruitment and join a sorority despite your autism. Do you have Asperger’s? I have partnered with students with Asperger’s for group projects in college. They would not have been interested in joining a social Greek org. They were def more comfortable in small group settings, esp one on one.
To address your question about tailoring sorority experiences to individual needs- how on earth would that work in chapters of 300+? Are theses students catered to in their classes? As best I can tell, all students had to meet the same class expectations at my school.
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Everyone longs for social support and interaction in some fashion or amount, autism or not. It is asperger's/"high-functioning" autism that I have.
Having asperger's doesn't make me not want love and friendship like everyone or most everyone on earth does, though I do need breaks from noise/people/etc. and more often than many people do.
Different people with asperger's have different levels of social interaction, social desire, and social comfort levels. Some people with autism don't want to be bothered by anyone at any time, not one-on-one nor with a group. Other people with autism want some social activities, then want to retreat home to a quiet space afterwards. Some people with autism want one-on-one interaction while some people with autism find one-on-one interaction harder than group interaction because of individual eye contact being hard. Group settings can be easier since there's no one-on-one eye contact in all scenarios. Other people with autism have other needs or desires. And some want to be in social groups or greek life because they want to feel like everyone else or fit in... when they/we don't fit in much in a variety of ways in life.
Yes, some classes/colleges do offer support services for those with disabilities. I know someone who is deaf and was provided an ASL interpreter. I'm not sure who paid for interpreters. Another had the university shuttle help her get to class as she was a wheelchair user. Colleges also offer private testing rooms for those with disabilities in need of it.
My question about tailoring sorority experiences is wondering if they have any sort of supervision for, say, a student with autism who is known to run (into streets, across lawns, etc.) if overwhelmed. Or a deaf student who needs an ASL interpreter. Or those who have a hard time finding houses or has mobility needs, is there a shuttle or some sort of consideration? Not everyone can live or get around independently, depending on need level, so some students with disabilities might need some level of support to get to or participate in some activities.