kaijutegu:
Friends out there with mental illnesses, emotional disorders, anxiety issues, or any condition that might interfere with your school work:
I see a lot of posts about people being too stressed to go to class, complete homework, or take tests. Some colleges are super bad about letting you know your rights and about what resources are in place to help you out with your schoolwork. Even colleges with good resources can forget to actually let their students know about those resources! Your college will have a disability resource center or some similarly named organization that can get you a letter of accommodation. This letter and its conditions must be honored by your professors, no matter how much of a jerk they are. Please don’t be afraid to go get this letter- it will help protect you. If your chronic migraines cause you to miss classes, it will excuse your absences. If your test anxiety causes you to have problems with an online exam or in a room full of people, you’ll get extra time or a private place to take it. Are you self-diagnosed? They can still help. I’ve sent students there who have never had a professional evaluation and they’ve come back with letters granting them extra time on tests and on assignments. Many students don’t know what accommodations can be made. I’m currently working with a student who’s got ADHD and didn’t know that she was eligible for a lot of accommodations. Extra time on exams, take-home assignments, excused absences due to a reaction to a medication… the list goes on. Nobody during orientation told her that the DRC was for students who had psychological issues- it’s not just for physical disabilities.
Not all teachers, sadly, are understanding about mental issues. I’ve known instructors who are downright mean about test anxiety. A letter of accommodation from your school will make toxic professors respect the terms of your needs. Please don’t be afraid to go to them. Don’t be afraid to give these letters to your professors- they are legally obligated to honor them (thanks, ADA!) and if they do not, your school’s administration will come down on them like a ton of bricks if you complain. I know that it might sound scary, but please don’t be afraid to be your own advocate! There are people out there who will help you if you need it.
Bringing this back because summer’s winding down. Also remember that this letter will not tell your instructor your diagnosis. It will only tell us the specific accommodations you need! It is entirely up to you if you want to disclose your specific diagnosis to your instructor. (In the case of my student, she told me. I never asked or said that it was required or anything gross and invasive like that.) Some students will tell their instructor because of the nature of the accommodations, but this is never, ever, ever mandatory. If an instructor tells you that it is mandatory to disclose your diagnosis to receive accommodations, they are wrong. (Your DRC or whatever it’s called may require it to give you the letter, but that’s an entirely different scenario. They’re there to help you get what you need to succeed.) Once you give them that letter, they are obligated to help you out, so if you think you need accommodations, you should really consider going to your DRC and getting a letter! Your college orientation might totally gloss over this (I know mine certainly did), but it can really help you!
(Also, if you’re self-diagnosed, your DRC will probably require you to get an evaluation and some paperwork. This can usually be done through your school for free. If you’re in college and you have any mental health issues, there will often be completely free resources to get you the help you might want. I strongly encourage you to look into them- make the system work for you, not against you. Stay safe and look after yourself!)
As someone who’s had experience with accommodation letters from multiple angles, I can tell you this is really important.
Procedures do vary from place to place, but if you think it would help you it’s important to check it out. Basically you go talk to the disabilities center on campus, they tell you what documentation you need, you get it, and you work out accommodations. You then give the letter requesting accommodations to your instructor at the beginning of the semester, and if they aren’t cool with it you refer them to the disabilities center.
If you think an accommodation is something you need, ASK. It can’t hurt– you may not always need it but it’s there if you do. And instructors are generally pretty cool about it– it’s part of their job, and they get accommodation letters every semester– this isn’t anything new to them.
