Supports in US colleges?

Post Reply New Topic

Was just wondering if anyone has any experience with getting supports in college with an offical ASD DX but no learning disabilities. I've never been tested for disabilities and was wondering if I'd be able to get supports with only an AS dx or if I would have to be tested, before receiving accomodations. I know it is probably school specific but was wanting general experiences and opinions. I have contacted the educational support office at my school and am waiting for a response.

You go to disability centers, talk to the people, give them a diagnosis, etc.

How it work for me (bipolar disorder)

Offical diagnosis?  Yes...

Have a doctor who is WILLING to write that you need SPECIFIC accommodations. Just because you have Aspergers or Bipolar disorder doesn't automatically give you accommodation services.

Be prepared to fill out a s**t load of paper work at disability services.

And wait for the paperwork to churn through.

I didn't find it helpful. I had to take my tests a day before everyone else, it was a totally different test, and get my test back a day latter than everyone else. My accommodation was extended test time. Had to go to disability services, have a monitor in the room with me, and take the test. Horrible. Bordered on not worth it. I dumped the service the next year.

What accommodations are you looking for?

I am a computer science major in college and many of my required classes are mathematics (Calculus 1, Calculus 2 and Discrete math). However, math is like a foreign language to me! So I was thinking extended time for tests/ assignments, getting assignments early (I don't yet know if my prof is one who gives an assignment list at the beginning of the semester, or one at a time etc). I am thinking I may have dyscalculia but have never been tested and would probably have to go to Chicago (two hours away) in order to get tested. I know I have to go through the school's Educational Support Office for any kind of accommodations, but was just wondering if I would specifically have to get tested for learning disabilities before I could get things like extra time for assignments. Since the college still has not gotten back with me, I was wondering what other people's experiences are.

I have accommodations in college, but I do have learning disabilities and ADHD on top of Aspergers. Here's what I have for academics:

-extended time on exams. I have a slow processing speed that was diagnosed though a neuropsych evaluation and receive double time.

-reduced distraction environment for exams. This is because of ADHD symptoms.

-alternate format books. I get my books in digital format so I can use a screen reader. I have a slow reading speed, again diagnosed through a neuropsych evaluation.

-a notetaker. I have difficulty sometimes pulling out the relevant information that I need to write down in lecture. I am also slow at writing it down and I often either forget what I was writing or miss the next thing the professor says. The relevant information difficulty stems from my Autism.


To receive these types of accommodations I had to submit to the school a recent neuropsych evaluation. I believe this is the way with most colleges, but I think it could vary from school to school. I know that you can receive supports from just a diagnosis of Aspergers, but I'm going to hazard a guess that you would probably need to have a neuropsych evaluation that shows you have Aspergers related difficulties that could impact academics, or you might just need a neuropsych evaluation with just a diagnosis of Aspergers.

Hope this helps!

I get some accommodations for various things. It really depends largely on why you want accommodations. Accommodations are directly linked to areas of difficulty, so when you are saying you would like support for ASD, what is it that you need support with? What is difficult for you because of ASD and how could they help? At my school we went through by area and came up with solutions for specific issues, but there were no set accommodations for certain conditions.