Did you find universities discriminatory?

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I mean, towards folks like us with ASD/HFA?
Even when you explained the label to any uni staff (or students), it fell on unsympathetic ears, or they pretended to understand, gave a flippant attitude, etc?

The unfortunately reality is, at least I found (back in the '90s before I had a proper label but knew I was "special"), is that universities still carry an institutional bias, they have an unspoken expectation that students don't have any "mental illness" or psychiatric disorders, unless it's something pedestrian i.e. depression from a break-up or failing a course or being away from home. Because those are emotional occurrences of "normal" people.

I can tell you that I was excluded from social activities under phony pretenses when I knew the real motive and felt like I was being patronized, and had someone (unknown) complain to campus security that I was weird or they felt uncomfortable around me and didn't want to be on campus around me, even though most of the time I was just minding my own business (I guess some guy who eats alone, reads alone etc gives off that "creepy" vibe based on some archetype that '90s campus safety videos conjured up...sigh.) luckily, they didn't go so far as to ban me from campus, which apparently they can do w/o a legitimate reason b/c it's considered "private property" and there's no human rights violation if I didn't have a diagnosed condition or was a (religious) minority or what have you.

But I can say that I was lucky to make a handful of accepting friends, and get my diploma with good grades, despite the adversity.
Cynically, I can see others being treated poorly by university powers-that-be when it comes to reporting things like harassment or bullying (should that still occur in institutions of higher learning...), engaging in the same victim-blaming that we got in public school or trying to date and having some histrionic female blow things out of proportion when no harm was intended, or having requests to be put in a separate quiet room for exams denied.
We can only hope these institutions will become more enlightened in the coming decade...

Not discriminatory. Indifferent.

Then again, I went to uni before I was diagnosed, and even before AS was accepted as a diagnosis, so I didn't know at the time that I was 'supposed' to need help.

Which university?

You can't just lump them all together

What is the definition of "discriminatory"?


Seriously


reasonable accommodation

Vague and subjective

University professors seem to very quickly decide who the good students are, and on very superficial grounds. In their mind, these are the students most likely to move up, become grad students, etc.

And this is in addition to the institutional priorities of publishing (or perishing!), bringing in grant money, and committee work. With teaching itself as a very secondary priority.

In fact, teaching classes like Geology 1 or Government 1 are often considered chores, even though such classes can be and occasionally are good classes.

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I think we as a group and a community can potentially help some by kicking around ideas and figuring out how to game and maneuver through what is a very sub-optimal system!

And I think accomodations for sensory issues is eminently reasonable.

Not at all.

I would have understood being discriminated against for my Asperger's. Obviously, someone with a disability is more difficulty and expense than someone without; it's unfortunate, but it's true. Frankly, in general, I don't think universities are nearly discriminatory - perhaps discriminating - enough, though I mean principally things like ability here.