Neurodiversity is a term used to describe differences in brain function, and as an umbrella term for conditions such as ADHD, ADD, autism, dyslexia, Tourette’s, OCD and others. If you’re a neurodivergent student currently studying at uni, or considering university in the near future, it’s worth reading about others’ experiences – particularly if you’re worried about certain aspects of uni life. It’s important to say that there is no single neurodiverse experience at university, however, there are commonalities that occur within the neurodiverse community and this article aims to help not only normalise them, but minimise their impact. Using my own experience as a neurodivergent uni student in Sheffield, it will discuss how your university can support you and how you can best look after yourself too!
Unfortunately lots of neurodiverse people struggle throughout childhood and adolescence with rigid environments and a widespread lack of support and awareness from education systems and support services leaves thousands of neurodiverse people either misdiagnosed or without diagnosis at all.
University support for neurodiverse students
That is what makes university such a promising time because it is the first place for a lot of neurodiverse people in which they are listened to, supported and most importantly, accommodated for. I strongly urge anyone who is seeking a neurodiversity assessment, or support with an existing diagnosis, to research which universities will support you with this.
Learning support plans
In my experience, the University of Sheffield has been brilliant place for a neurodivergent student. Regardless of whether you are diagnosed or not, they will schedule a meeting with you before term starts, online or in person and accommodations will be made to make this as easy as possible for you – I know someone who had their meeting in person with all the overhead lights off and both the student and the DDSS (Disability & Dyslexia) support worker sat on the floor because it made the student more comfortable. To access this support, all I had to provide was a ‘working diagnosis’ from a healthcare worker (the uni’s website had all the info on eligibility and how to access this).
In this meeting they will discuss how best the university can support and accommodate you, which is all written up into a LSP (learning support plan). This plan is then sent to all of your lecturers and seminar tutors ahead of time, once you have approved it.
The LSP may include spaced deadlines, as a lot of the time assignment deadlines are all within the space of a few days – if it’s useful for you to have them at least a week apart this can be written into your LSP. Another example includes stipulations regarding group work or presentations. Although my experience of the support workers at Sheffield has been amazing, it is always worth doing some research ahead of time to make sure you get the most of your meeting.
Alternative accommodation
Before you start at the University of Sheffield, and I’m sure other universities offer this too, you can arrange to be shown around the campus with the tour tailored to your timetable and your specific route between accommodation and classes. It can also include other places you may find useful, such as libraries, communal areas or sports facilities. These are just a few examples of the accommodations neurodiverse students may benefit from before university even starts.
Arguably most importantly, the university can provide you with an Autism or ADHD assessment (usually within 12 months).
Looking after yourself
As I previously mentioned, every neurodivergent student will experience things differently. Here are some tips I’ve personally found useful – some may work for you, others might be totally opposite, so pick and choose!
1. Recharging
This is the most important for me personally. My social battery takes a lot longer to replenish than those of neurotypicals. Receiving my diagnosis during first-year really helped me to accept this as part of my brain functioning, rather than an inherent problem with myself. Recharging at university versus at home can be quite different, my house is always quiet – just me, my mum and my brother as opposed to living with 10 people – thus learning how to adapt to this was really important for my well being.
My top tip:
If you’re a neurodivergent student at university, allow yourself to recharge before your battery is completely depleted. There is so much pressure at uni to be going out and socialising all the time, but quite often that isn’t sustainable for neurodiverse people. You are not alone at all if you don’t enjoy clubbing as a neurodiverse person, plenty don’t and there is no reason to force yourself to go. You will find people and social activities you enjoy! Read one student’s reasons for skipping Freshers’ Week due to simply not being into that whole scene, and reassuring you it’s totally fine not to.
Whether you are comfortable disclosing this with your friends and housemates or not, you are always entitled to take some time to yourself and skipping a night out or social occasion – this absolutely does not make you ‘boring’ despite a few people saying that to me in first year – and can be the difference between completely burning yourself out or resting and recharging. Looking back on first year, as much as I loved the majority of nights out and pub trips, there were a few where I pushed myself to go and ended up leaving early and not enjoying myself. Listen to your body and how you feel!
This is an important thing to consider if you have a particularly busy schedule, make sure to factor plenty of ‘recharging time’ in.
So what exactly does recharging look like?
For me, it really depends on how depleted I am. Sometimes lying in bed and watching a comfort series or colouring for an evening is all I feel up to. Other times spending a couple of hours on my own walking or journaling is a better option. Ultimately, the most important thing to recharge me is my environment, making my uni room a peaceful and calm place (definitely recommend noise-cancelling headphones to achieve this). When packing for university make sure to consider what helps you to avoid sensory overload, for me, bringing warm lighting is an essential!
You will find what works best for you, the first step is just being kind to yourself about needing that time and finding friends that accept you needing your downtime especially during the first term when you are adapting and processing a whole new environment and lifestyle.
2. Decompressing
This is similar to recharging but it feels less optional to me. Recharging can kind of be done as and when you need toto top your battery up (unless you are completely depleted), whereas decompressing is absolutely essential for me. I find after a day at uni and walking home I often feel really overstimulated – not just as a consequence of masking and socialising a lot, but also from the sensory weight of a busy day and concentrating on lectures etc. To help with this, it’s always worth reaching out to your university – whether it be your personal tutor or support services – and finding out about what quiet spaces they have available on campus.
The first thing I will do when I get home is immediately shower and get changed. Whatever outfit I have been wearing out will not be as comfortable as my loungewear and I always feel a bit hot and frazzled after walking home. Alternatively, speaking to family and home friends may help you to unwind and offload how you are feeling. Finding a habit like this for yourself can make a world of difference and seeing it as a way of showing up and looking after yourself can be a really important mindset shift.
3. Routine
Now for some neurodivergent people, trying to establish a routine actually causes more stress and frustration than it does peace. But for me, routine is essential for me to function. Before university my routine was exactly the same and had been for a long time so moving to a new city, with new people and new commitments and responsibilities completely changed that. Establishing a new routine that balances uni work, socialising, working, exercising, hobbies, societies and recharging is no small feat. I recommend trying apps like TimeTree and Notion to help organise your time and stay on top of deadlines.
The hardest part of it for me, is accepting that you cannot timetable your life completely and things will be unpredictable sometimes. Therefore, as important as having a routine can be, being flexible with it and with yourself is very important to ensure you enjoy student life! For me, making sure I have time to go to the gym regularly is really important to me. In first year, I found it hard to balance going to the gym in the morning after nights out and with early morning uni classes. Therefore, having set days to go is useful and being able to reschedule with yourself is important.
4. Friendship
Finding a community is often one of the biggest hurdles for neurodivergent people as it involves putting yourself out there and spending time socialising with unfamiliar people in unfamiliar environments. However, it can be the difference between loving uni or surviving it. This only emphasises the importance of steps 1 and 2 (recharging & decompressing) in order to fuel yourself to attend societies and events throughout university to give yourself the opportunity to meet like-minded individuals. Lots of universities have neurodivergent societies which may be a good place to start!
University is an opportunity to meet people you never would have had the chance to ordinarily and friendships are so different to those during school. There will be people you relate to and find common ground with! Find more about how you can make friends outside of your halls to expand your circle.
I’m a second year Politics and International Relations student at Sheffield, I am particularly passionate about social justice, reducing inequality and international affairs. Outside of academica, I try to make the most of every day and like to keep myself very busy! I enjoy writing about student life, particularly top tips for new students and mental wellbeing.
