Ms Julie Tonge:

Exactly. We needs both. All of the supports need to be talking to each other. Everyone needs to have a clear idea of what happens in UCD, Trinity College and other further education colleges. It is a question of what happens to those students when they enter and what supports are available there. The students need some priming before they get to that level. It is not unusual for autistic students to meet with us for the first time and to decide that they do not want any supports in third level, or that they do not feel the need to engage with an occupational therapy service. That is not necessarily because the need is not there but because this is the first time this new information has been introduced to them. It is difficult for them to make decisions like that at a very challenging time. The transition to college is difficult for all students. For autistic students in particular, it can be challenging to be told that they will be meeting with an occupational therapist and that they have to make their own decisions. Often, they will not have been asked to make decisions for themselves up to this point. It is a question of providing some support for students at pre-entry stage to discuss with people what college will be like, what they will be offered and what will help them in that college environment, and enabling them to be thinking of all of those things at pre-entry stage. We do not know these students at the pre-entry stage so we cannot do the work with them almost until they arrive with us. The late leaving certificate in the past number of years has even made that more challenging. Students are transitioning into university and within a couple of days they are in classes, so there is no opportunity for us to meet with them earlier on before they start.