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Steph06

Steph06

Active Member
Hi! I'm Steph.

I'm in grad school, just got diagnosed last year, and starting to make sense of everything.

Anyone have any experience dealing with accommodations and getting through school? Would love to hear your experiences and look forward to connecting with all of you!
 
Welcome Steph :)

I can't say I've had too much trouble with accommodation, though that comes down to being lucky enough to have people I can rely on. I am studying though, so may be able to help with advice; depends on what kind of help you need. What exactly do you want advice about?
 
Vanilla said:
Welcome Steph :)

I can't say I've had too much trouble with accommodation, though that comes down to being lucky enough to have people I can rely on. I am studying though, so may be able to help with advice; depends on what kind of help you need. What exactly do you want advice about?
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I disclosed to my university disability services and they seemed very confused and insisted they'd never had to accommodate anyone in my program on the autism spectrum before. That really surprised me because I'm in a health professions program and i don't think autism is really rare around this population.

They kinda threw up their hands and told me I could try to advocate for myself.

I have to meet with my deans this week and I mostly just need written exams instead of oral exams. I'm really nervous about disclosing the condition and need for accommodations to the deans though.
 
Steph06 said:
I disclosed to my university disability services and they seemed very confused and insisted they'd never had to accommodate anyone in my program on the autism spectrum before. That really surprised me because I'm in a health professions program and i don't think autism is really rare around this population.

They kinda threw up their hands and told me I could try to advocate for myself.

I have to meet with my deans this week and I mostly just need written exams instead of oral exams. I'm really nervous about disclosing the condition and need for accommodations to the deans though.
Click to expand...

Oh...sorry, I've never really done that before. I'm not sure what rights you might be entitled to in that scenario. I'm not sure if help is available in your area, but if you can find an autism/ AS advocate, they might be able to advise you.
 
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Steph06 said:
Hi! I'm Steph.

I'm in grad school, just got diagnosed last year, and starting to make sense of everything.

Anyone have any experience dealing with accommodations and getting through school? Would love to hear your experiences and look forward to connecting with all of you!
Click to expand...
Welcome
 
Hi, Steph! My autism didn't really affect my school career (though I didn't find out I was on the spectrum until I was halfway to my bachelor's degree). I did have extra time on tests because of a mild learning disorder, though.

What you'll likely need to do, as Vanilla said, is find someone who can advocate for you. If you can't, you'll have to spend much more time explaining how autism affects you.

Best wishes, and welcome.
 
Hi Steph and welcome :)

Great to hear you're a student as well. It might be a better experience for you since you have disclosed your diagnosis, so staff are generally happy to make any necessary arrangements for you, if only to make the school look good (mine are really hot about this 'diversity' thing). What arrangements they'll be able to make depends entirely on the school. It's not unreasonable to ask if it's okay to find a quiet room to work in, or if you can wear earplugs, etc.

In regard to accomodation, it can be a little difficult. My university has on-site halls of residence for up to 100 students, reserved for foreign students and the physically disabled, and the rest are encouraged to rent privately in groups. This was generally an awful experience for me. I live with my grandmother now, which isn't ideal, but better than the alternative, since it's cleaner and quieter. You might find it best to rent your own place if possible, or enquire at the college if they can help make any arrangements for suitable accomodation.

I hope that helps a bit!
 
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