I used to in another life be the reasonable adjustments guy. I studied the legislation, I read page after page of university websites, and I poured over support organisations. Then I talked to students, some who had made it through university and some that hadn’t. Their stories of lack of support and lack of needs being met did not relate to the legislation or glossy webpages I had seen. So the question is where is the disconnect?

There are what could be called horror stories of disability support being hidden behind a concealed door, or a PhD student being told that disability support did not support people at such a lofty level. The thing is when we sit in Neurodivergent student wellbeing meetings and seminars these are always portrayed as horror stories, the one extreme example - they are not. Time after time I have sat with people and heard of breakdowns in communication, if the communication starts in the first place. In order to close the gap between the legislation and the websites and the experience of students on the ground, something needs to shift.    

This shift is one that needs to occur on both an individual and an institutional level. Disability and Neurodivergence needs to be seen as a matter of course, built into daily university life. In the seminar rooms and in the module introduction lecture, talk about what students need. By establishing quieter and louder areas of the lecture theatre you establish a sensory space without demanding all the leg work is done by the Neurodivergent and/or Disabled students. It seems simple to build into the introduction student accessibility on a course-wide level, but I don’t remember the exam I was in nearly 20 years ago, I do remember vividly not being able to hear my thoughts over a student clicking his pen three desks over. Seeing lecture theatres and seminar rooms as sensory spaces and the starting point for student accessibility creates an environment where all members of the university impact and are impacted by accessibility making it a cultural construct rather than a paperwork chore. 

At the level of disability and student support make sure you are actually accessible. I have heard too many stories of receptionists sending students away without follow up meetings - lofty PhDs are still able to be Neurodivergent last time I checked. Front desk staff are often the first calling point for students, some of whom are distressed beyond belief and just need to be heard. Again this is where the cultural shift needs to take place, ensuring all members of staff have good quality training in Neurodivergence and Disability is vital. 

When building an accessible university just making classrooms accessible is not enough. Many students live, eat, work and sleep on campus or in university owned halls of residence. I have spoken to students who describe a day at university a kin to a body horror: sounds, smells, lights and knowledge bombarding your brain for hour after hour and then you come back home and you have an essay due but every fibre of your body is humming and your head feels like it might shatter -  the essay is due and all you can do is lie in the dark. Give options for quiet and louder spaces - some people need to feel the stillness and some people need the haptic feedback of drumming on their desk to think. Think about ways to improve lighting or have changeable settings for lighting - I don’t think I turned the big light on once in my final uni room. Sensory supportive environments are not just nice things to have, for many Neurodivergent students they are a make or break difference. 

Building a university that is accessible needs to be the work of everyone. By treating accessibility for Neurodivergent students as a core part of existing at university it becomes a part of university life. Creating a culture of accessibility, particularly sensory accessibility, supports not only the Neurodivergent students but the Neurodivergent staff members and if we are going to be realistic everyone else as well. I used to loathe that student with their clicking pen, now I just wish the exam hall had been set up for his needs and mine.