Neurodivergence in Higher Education

George, Jamal and Jessika are three students at three different universities across the UK. George is autistic and has ADHD, Jamal is dyslexic and Jessika has ADHD. This article aims to give an insight into their varying experiences at university whilst being neurodivergent.

What does it mean to be neurodivergent?

The term “neurodivergent” came from the related term “neurodiversity.” Judy Singer, an Australian sociologist, coined the word “neurodiversity” in 1998 to recognize that everyone's brain develops in a unique way. Like a person's fingerprints, no two brains — not even those of identical twins — are exactly the same.

Neurodiversity is an umbrella term used to describe differences in the human brain in relation to a range of mental functions, such as sociability, learning and mood attention. These include dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD, autism, Tourette's syndrome and dyscalculia.

A report by Unite Students found that one in seven (14%) university students report having a specific learning difficulty (SpLD) such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, or ADHD.

In addition, 8% of students surveyed report that they are autistic.

George Simms was diagnosed with autism and ADHD in the summer of 2019 whilst he was a student at Durham University.

He said: "I had struggled at school to fit in and make friends, and would often get easily bored, but because my grades were always good, the school were never really concerned enough about me to look into why that was.

"Then I got to university, and suddenly lost the routine and structure that had held my life together up to that point. I no longer had my parents to support me every day or a school timetable with set punishments for skipping school or late homework etc, and I didn’t know how to function.

"I never went to class and started drinking more and more to mask the anxiety I had from the loss of routine and massive social pressure of trying to make and maintain new friendships.

"This continued throughout the whole year, and by the time I went home for summer I just couldn’t cope any more. I had a breakdown and organised to see a psychiatrist, which was the first time I really learned about ADHD and autism and how they affect people."

George's experience is all too common for neurodivergent people in the UK, reaching a breaking point and only then being able to receive the support that is necessary.

The Disabled Students' Allowance (DSA) is available to all students in the UK.

DSA exists to support and cover the study-related costs students have because of a mental health problem, long-term illness or any other disability.

The DSA can be incredibly important for students to access therapy and support via a computer, specialist equipment and even interpreters. However, the process of receiving that support is fundamentally flawed.

Jamal mentioned the "vigorous applications in order to obtain support," and gaining financial support from the DSA is exactly that. There are multiple steps, numerous forms, interviews and a stringent set of criteria.

Dyslexia and ADHD make filling out paperwork incredibly challenging. Dyslexia is a learning difficulty that primarily affects the skills of accurate and fluent word reading and spelling.

ADHD impacts people in a similar manner when it comes to the issues of focusing, managing distractions, and processing and retaining information.

Jamal found that during his time at Kingston University, the support he received was generally positive:

He said "My university has supported me when it comes to neurodivergence and has actually really been accommodating throughout my course. Maybe not so much with the financial aspect of my course, but definitely by understanding my limitations and allowing me time to develop a concept or idea."

George received some support, similarly to Jamal with a focus on giving him more time to complete assignments. However, George was also being given medication for his ADHD, something that is not available to dyslexic people:

George said: "Once I told the university about my diagnosis, they gave me extra time for exams and a policy of permanent leniency on essay deadlines, both of which were really helpful, because they allowed me to work in a way which suited me.

"They still put me on academic probation even when I’d explained that I was missing lessons due to mental health issues triggered by the ADHD medication, but generally they were quite supportive. I know there was more help on offer, but I chose not to pursue it – which definitely wasn’t helped by the pile of forms between me and it."

Jessika Brake was diagnosed with ADHD in April of 2022, halfway through her second year of university. She was diagnosed through the NHS Right to Choose pathway for ADHD, and Psychiatry UK assessed her.

After a psychiatric evaluation and clinical assessment, her psychiatrist confirmed her diagnosis and signed off on two letters she could send to her employers and education provider. 

Jessika is a high-achieving student who had always found solace in her success at school, however, during her time at university she struggled with a lack of structure and feedback, similar to George.

Her diagnosis allowed her to reach out to the University and find a way to get the support she had previously been lacking.

She said: “Once I provided my university with the medical evidence of my ADHD and the DSA report, the Disability Services Team got in touch with me and put together a Study Support Plan (SSP).

"The SSP outlined my support requirements and 'reasonable adjustments' to teaching and assessment. The DSA also assessed my study equipment, including the year and model of my laptop, as well as access to different software programmes. I was recommended a new laptop, assistive software, a printer, a headset, and a microphone.

“Having my SSP outline all the different requirements I have as a student with ADHD and having the Disability Services Team corroborate so well with my DSA report has left me feeling much more supported by my university.

"Before my diagnosis, it felt extremely difficult to perform well in my course and to produce the kind of work that I felt happy with. The deadline extensions, for example, have been vital in helping me produce work that I'm proud of and to do so in a way that feels less stressful and detrimental to my mental health.

"I believe my well-being as a student has improved a lot since having these adjustments in place, and I definitely feel like the teaching in my degree is more accessible.”

However, there are still imperfections in the support she received. Jessika told me that she thinks that the current model of standardised testing will always favour non-neurodivergent students.

She said: “I will say that there are still lecturers at the university that tend to overlook my learning difficulties and do not always make the necessary adjustments in their teaching. I have to be very mindful of unit owners when picking which units to study for the year, so that I feel sufficiently supported by the teaching staff.

"I also find that standardised tests are an unfair way to assess people's ability at university, offering no meaningful way of measuring progress and failing to be truly inclusive of others' specific learning difficulties.

"A test will always reflect a student's performance at a particular point in time, and this may be affected by disability-related factors, such as tiredness from hyper focus or poor sleep, or even physical and emotional side effects from prescribed medication.”

In university, whilst they may not be perfect, there are support structures now in place for neurodivergent students. Leaving the comfort zone of education can be daunting for any student but for Jamal, he feels that learning about his dyslexia has made the working world something to be excited about, rather than something to fear: 

“I’m not concerned about the support I may or may not receive when I leave higher education. The good thing about being diagnosed is you find out a bit more about yourself as a person and you learn little tricks and tips that help you navigate through the scenarios that you have been training for, for many years.

"I can go into any job in the creative field and regardless of if I tell them about my neurodivergence or not, I know I’ll be able to approach any task without worrying about any issues that could hinder my performance.

"I believe my diagnosis really is best suited for the industry I have chosen to work in.”

Image rights: Kingston University - https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2747382 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

University of Bristol - https://www.flickr.com/photos/panr/4980074736 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/ 

Neurodivergent picture - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Neurodiversity_Crowd_2.png https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ 

Dyslexia picture - https://pixabay.com/illustrations/dyslexia-learning-disorder-puzzle-3014152/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/publicdomain/ 

Durham University - https://www.flickr.com/photos/heatheronhertravels/21950866088 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/ 

Careers - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Careers_blackboard.jpg https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/