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Embracing neurodiversity means a few things: On one hand, it means making classes accessible so that any student who is willing to put in the effort, can flourish. A few years ago, I wrote a pair of articles (see parts 1 and 2) about what professors can do to make their labs more inclusive to neurodiverse students. On the other hand, it means making sure you as a student get your own access needs met.

College may be the first time you’ve had to navigate bureaucratic systems to get assistance, navigate healthcare to get diagnoses, or it may be the first time you’ve considered you might be neurodivergent in any way, as many conditions don’t fully manifest until early adulthood.

Luckily, you can get assistance in many ways if you know where to look: formally, through the disability office in your school, or informally in a range of ways. 

Let’s start with formal accommodations.

College accommodations are not the same as those in high school

In college, accommodations for students with disabilities fall under the Americans with Disabilities Act or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. In both cases, the laws put the onus on the student to make sure their needs are met.

This situation is different from K–12 education, where the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act puts the onus on the school and the teachers.

This means you must be your own advocate in college. So you have to know what you need and how to get it.  

Another difference between high school and college is what accommodations can do. In K–12 education, it is possible to modify the curriculum for a student. Conversely, college curriculums cannot be modified. Only access to the material can be modified.

For example, a professor probably can’t tell you that you don’t have to take a certain test or read a certain text. What they can do is make the test and the reading more accessible to you. They may allow you to use assistive devices, have extended time or a quiet room for the test. For the reading, a professor may make a text more accessible by providing an audio recording or making sure it’s usable by screen readers.

How to receive accommodations

Each school’s protocol is a little different, so take the time to find out how your institution works. The steps to accommodations might involve emailing the disability services office, setting up an appointment, filling out an online form or all of the above. Common things students may have to provide include documentation of a medical diagnosis, a neuropsychological report, school records and a self-report of past accommodations you received. 

This process typically requires a meeting where you’ll be asked to suggest the accommodations you need, like extended time on assignments, a reduced distraction environment for tests, notetaking assistance, sensory breaks, recordings of lectures or priority for classes at certain times of the day. So, be prepared! Afterward, you’ll receive an official letter of accommodation for your professors.

Mariel Pfeifer

, an assistant professor at the University of Mississippi, who studies the experience of neurodivergent students in STEM, recommends that students register with the disability office early on, so they have all your documentation, even if you aren’t sure you want to use accommodations. , an assistant professor at Thomas Jefferson University, who studies the experiences of neurodivergent undergraduates in STEM agreed.

Both shared that once you’ve registered with the office, it is easier to gain accommodations, should you need them, even if you want to have the experience of not using accommodations first to test out what you really need. Waiting until an emergency or crisis situation will make it much harder to get the paperwork done and get the accommodations fast. 

Stephen Podowitz–Thomas

“Accommodations are not retroactive,” Pfeifer explained. You can’t ask to take a test again with different accommodations, it can only apply to the future, so being able to get them when you need them is important.

Learn about yourself

Podowitz–Thomas said that it is key for students to use college to learn about their needs because this knowledge will help you after college too.

He emphasized the importance of metacognition, or understanding what you are thinking and experiencing.

“It’s hard to say ‘why is this challenging?’” he said, but deeply reflecting can teach you what you need. “There can be a lot of emotions facing challenges and facing failure but being able to process and learn what you need, and how to translate that to self-advocacy” can be transformational, he said.

Podowitz–Thomas also noted that even though it is essential for students to learn about themselves and self-advocate; however, advocacy doesn’t get faculty off the hook for doing their part to make classes as accessible as possible. It’s a two-way street, he said.

Other support

There are additional ways to set yourself up for success in addition to the disability office. 
As you learn about your needs, you learn how to help yourself, Podowitz–Thomas said.

For example, you may learn that planning ahead really helps you. If you get assigned a group project, you can take your self-knowledge and ask your teammates to reply to scheduling emails promptly.  

You can also talk to your professors, if you feel comfortable, to come up with strategies together. 

Some ideas to make a classroom more accessible include:

• Being told ahead of time if Zoom meetings or classes will have breakout rooms or discussions
• Moving your seat away from loud equipment
• Allowing a longer time for verbal responses
• Being allowed to walk around

Professors aren’t magic, and not everything can be accommodated in a large, dynamic classroom. However, they usually want their students to learn, and most are willing to do whatever they can to help students. 

Outside the classroom, most colleges have centers for learning, usually based in the library. These are treasure troves of study skills and study help. While not specifically targeted to neurodivergent students, they are valuable free resources. 

You can also look into one-on-one peer mentoring programs. 

While it takes real effort and courage to learn about and advocate for yourself, it’s effort well spent. A bit of time can help make sure you get the most out of college and set yourself up for a fulfilling career.