Social accommodations for autistic students

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About the lack of support for people with Asperger's or other disabilities?

I don't mean academic accommodation. I mean, in the U.S., all universities and colleges seem to be full of programs to support other minorities, like African-Americans, gays, and even women (law school for example). But there's nothing like that which even acknowledges that autistic or those with learning disabilities even exist. In some cases, these minorities even get a designated "mentor" to help them socially. How much more do WE need something like this!!

There should be similar support for an umbrella of non "NT" that includes Asperger's, autism, ADHD, and maybe other, similar things.

If I were to bring this up to my law school dean, how would I go about doing it?

I sometimes say that I'm having a difficult time and try to explain what peculiarities of mine cause it. However, I'm not sure if I want to be known as an autistic student, though some may already be aware of it thanks to all the stimming.

I wouldn't bring it up to the law school dean directly. I'd talk to the counseling department first and see what they can do. Most counseling services at universities are free for students, so even if you don't really want counseling you can just schedule a session to discuss what sort of support you think the program needs and what can be done about it (of course tell them that's what you're there for going in). If you talk to the dean you'll probably get a politician answer and nothing will be accomplished.

I'm actually going to request an official "social mentor" as a "reasonable accommodation" for my disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act. There are lots of faculty, administrators, and even some students who could serve this role and would likely be happy to do so. I know several faculty members who specialize in autism. I'm also planning to request this as an accommodation when I work for a federal agency in D.C. next summer.

According to my law professor who specializes in the Americans with Disabilities Act, I'm likely to get my request in some form since law school is a "trade school" whose purpose is to prepare students for practice as lawyers, so the accommodation requested is very integral to the purpose of the institution. And it's very reasonable, cheap, and easy to implement. Not only that, they have similar mentors for some other minorities, including gays. So there's plenty of precedent for it, too.

I think this is something I might get, or else I'll file my first lawsuit under ADA and an Equal Protection claim under the U.S. Constitution seeking to classify autism as a constitutionally-recognized disadvantaged minority group that requires equal treatment with other minority groups.