I would like to know if people have used their diagnosis of either of these to get special services at American colleges/universities and has it been any use?
My husband is trying to decide whether to seek a dx.
(I am, too, but not as a student, so it's a different topic.)
I have asked about this on chat a few times, sorry to be repetitive.
Please provide useful details in your post if you would like to. I have specified American as I expect that the disability laws differ from country to country.
THANKS!
Surely that's not the way to do things. Only seeking a dx based on if you can get special services at university.
Surely that's not the way to do things. Only seeking a dx based on if you can get special services at university.
Why not? What else use is it?
If you already know what things about you make you autistic, you can deal with that, with or without a dx. The same goes for the language processing problems.
There are so many people mis-diagnosed or having had up to 10 or more different dx's in their life, that I feel maybe the only really useful use of a dx is to get services. I once thought I would get dx "just to know" if I was autistic or not, but ... would I really "know" any more surely than I do now? probably not.
I hope this makes sense. I am tired today and my own language processing isn't quite right...
I speak to professors individually about my sensory integration disorder, and my needs based on that. I'm open about being autistic, but I ask for accomodations as a person with sensory problems.
I speak to professors individually about my sensory integration disorder, and my needs based on that. I'm open about being autistic, but I ask for accomodations as a person with sensory problems.
Did you get a dx of that, or do they just take your word for it?
Dysphasia is so rare or unknown, that he will probaby need a dx to prove it's not just from being foreign.
I have an official diagnosis, but no professor has asked to see it.
I didn't have a diagnosis when I was in college, adn only recently self-diagnosed as AS. Anyway, I tried seeking couseling. They sent me to a shrink for ADHD testing. THe shrink told me my IQ was too high for ADHD and he couldn't help me. So if my IQ was so friggin high, why was I getting bad grades? I digress....
When I was taking Differential Equations (calcIII), my prof was this Chinese guy that I liked a lot and understood perfectly, although half the class thought he was speaking CHinese half the time, and they were always making fun of him. :roll: Anyway, I explained to him that I was having a really hard time concentrating on my exams b/c the other students were distracting me so much (pencil noises, breathing, coughing, fidgeting, etc.) He let me take my exams in another room by myself, no questions asked. I wished I had asked sooner b/c I waited until before the last exam. I brought my grade from a D to a B w/ that exam. I must have gotten 100%.
If you have a diagnosed disabilty, they HAVE to let you do this. If I had to do college over again, I'd definitely push harder for a diagnosis. My GPA wouldn't be in the sad state is, I'm sure!
I encountered massive problems getting any accommodations at all in college because I didn't have a diagnosis. If you have profs that will work with you, you might not need one, but otherwise...it can make your life miserable.
Does the college have a good psych department? Sometimes psych professors can be very helpful in finding university-student-specific resources. There might even be a doctor out there who would be willing to write a letter to the school requesting accommodations before going all the way through the diagnosis process. It might not hold up in a court without an ironclad diagnosis, but some schools just want to know that a doctor feels you need accommodations, and will then work with you. It depends on the type of accommodations, too.