Neurodiversity on Campus
This is an anonymous survey because I do not want anyone to be in any trouble for anything they might share about their experience. I know that I do not know enough about neurodivergent experiences on college campuses, but I know that if I'll ever manage to make any kind of effective change on any campus, I need to understand much more deeply than I do.
     No one will ever see a word of your answers except me. My intent is to more deeply understand the neurodivergent community to which I've only just realized I've always belonged. I was diagnosed with ADHD at 21 and finally put together that I'm autistic within the last year (I'm turning 35 this year). My understanding of neurodivergent experience is therefore limited to myself. But my own experience has taught me that it's up to us neurodivergent folks ourselves to bring in the changes we need. Help me do that! I sincerely appreciate your input!!!
Sex [asking bc neurodivergence looks significantly different for girls and women and I'm especially concerned to address sex-based inequities re: neurodiversity.] {Edit: my apologies for the crudeness of the options, and for previously overlooking the 'other' option (which I had thought I had switched on but had not).} *
Race/Ethnicity? (And, for nonwhite folks especially, how does/has your race/ethnicity impacted your experience of neurodivergence?)
Education level: *
How many years total of higher education total? (Projected, if you're working toward your degree.)
Current or former student? *
Did you graduate from the last higher-education program in which you were enrolled?
Clear selection
Have you obtained a formal diagnosis for ADHD or autism or other labelled forms of neurodivergence, and how old were you when you were diagnosed?
Do you have any comorbid conditions (mental or physical) that have impacted your experience at school, or that you anticipate will impact your quality of life after your degree(s)?
If you have not sought a formal diagnosis, are you seeking one? (Alternatively, if you have obtained a formal diagnosis, are there any ways in which you regret the diagnosis?)
[full disclosure: I ask in large part because I only have a formal diagnosis for ADHD, not autism, but I heard that many countries wouldn't accept me as a migrant worker with a formal autism diagnosis, so (if that's true) I'm glad I haven't. But so many profs have told me to register with the disabilities resource center for accommodations (= extra exam time, which I personally do not need), but those services require formal diagnoses, whence my question.]
When did you first recognize your neurodivergence? Was it self-discovered or did someone tell you? Were you accepting of it or did you initially reject it?
Have you ever been placed on academic probation? How many times, and in progress toward the same degree or different degrees?
Did you switch schools or programs while you were working toward a single degree, and how many extra years did that add? (Eg, I dropped out of Michigan State after a semester and a half right after high school, went to a private art school in Chicago for 3 semesters, left that over-priced mess, worked at a grocery store for two years, and then went back to MSU for four years to get my BA, which leads to the next question...)
Out of a suspicion that neurodivergent students are being especially hard-hit, would you mind sharing your student loan debt? If you're still actively accumulating debt, how much do you anticipate owing before you've obtained the highest degree you're seeking?

[Since I'm asking you; mine is like ?? 90K...ish? oof... 🫣 lol... Also I'm not asking idly: if my suspicion proves true, then I'll start agitating for FAFSA calculations and federal financial aid offerings to account for the disparity, and I'll encourage others to do likewise.]
Did you register with accommodations offices at your institution(s)?
Clear selection
Is/was extra time on exams enough of an accommodation for you?
Clear selection
If you did register, what accommodations were you offered, which did you use, and were they enough?
Was the accommodations office accessible to you?
Did the staff seem to understand your challenges? Are there opportunities for you to be heard? Do you feel that they were/are listening? Were they supportive of you individually? Basically, what is your impression of the accommodations office you dealt with?
If you did not register with your campus accommodations office, why not?
What are your thoughts about a mostly-remote or entirely remote program? Good for you or not, and why? Be as specific as you can and as detailed as you like.
What are your thoughts on a residential college within a university specifically for neurodivergent folks (whether formally diagnosed or self-identified)?

[I'm asking because while I recognize how impactful that could be for neurodivergent folks like me, I also recognize that that could result in our further isolation directly and indirectly because the campus would be that much less neurodiverse, so that many fewer people would have experience with neurodivergent folks, perpetuating the isolation. I am curious how you feel about something like an honors college but for neurodivergent folks.]
What other accommodations do you wish were available to you? Please be as specific as possible.
Have you experienced neuro-prejudice on campus? From students? From staff? From professors? Inside or outside of class? How has it impacted your life? Be as specific or general as you like.

[I ask not to collect trauma-stories (my own is more than enough) but to understand more fully all of the ways in which neurotypical-biases impacts the lives of other neurodivergent folks. (Since this is such a sensitive question and I'm a perfect stranger, please know that I will respect your experiences and treat them with the respect your experiences deserve, and I genuinely appreciate whatever you might choose to share.)]
Finally, what do you most wish your professors understood about you, neurodivergence, neurodiversity, ADHD, autism, how to support you, etc.?

Please, be as descriptive as possible: my ultimate goal with this question is a presentation in which we neurodivergent folk speak our experiences to university staff (profs, etc)—ideally the kind of presentation that would allow neurodivergent professors and staff to recognize their neurodivergence. Your input on this question, and the previous as well, will inform whatever presentation I do create.
Just kidding, one more question: What should I have asked you but did not? (And, please, what's your answer?)
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