Making Student Life More Inclusive

Meet Your Autism Support Champions

The UWE Student Life Team is committed to ensuring our events are welcoming, comfortable, and accessible for every student. To better support our neurodivergent community, we are introducing a range of new initiatives and a dedicated support duo to help you navigate campus life with confidence.

Visual Cues and Sensory Support

We are implementing several new systems to help you manage your event experience:

• Connection Wristbands: At our events, you can pick up coloured wristbands. These serve as a visual cue to others that you are neurodiverse or specifically looking to make new friends, taking the guesswork out of social interactions. The purple bands indicate that you are looking to make friends. [Insert picture of purple band] The sunflower bands are to indicate neurodiversity or other hidden disabilities that you would like others to be mindful of. [Insert picture of sunflower band].
• Traffic Light Zones: Going forward we will occasionally be colour-coding some of our event spaces. Areas will be clearly marked to indicate sensory levels, helping you easily identify which zones are high-energy and loud, and which are calm, low-stimuli retreats.
• Identifiable Promotions: Look out for special-coloured borders on our social media posts and event posters. These markings distinguish neurodivergent-friendly events from our standard programming, so you know exactly what to expect before you arrive. [Insert picture example borders here]

Meet Your Autism Support Champions

Social anxiety shouldn't be a barrier to enjoying university life. We have appointed two "Autism Support Champions" within the Student Life Team who will be present at future events. Meet Sama and Suramya.

You can easily spot us by our unique armbands or our purple lanyards.  We are here to provide a friendly face if you feel uncomfortable, overwhelmed, or simply want some company without the pressure of approaching unfamiliar groups.

Reach Out to Us

If you ever feel too shy or anxious to attend an event by yourself, please don't hesitate to email the Student Life Team at studentlife@uwe.ac.uk in advance or Instagram at uwe.studentlife. We are happy to arrange support or meet you beforehand prior to an event to ensure you feel settled.

We look forward to seeing you at our next event!

Sama & Suramya