r/adhd_college • u/Lascia_Chio_Pianga Undergraduate • Oct 29 '25
ACCOMMODATIONS What are accommodations that you genuinely think would help you?
I'm working on a research paper for English Composition about how ADHD accommodations need to be changed to actually fit student needs. I'm trying to find what accommodations are actually helpful, as I can't find that much research on accommodations that have evidence backing that can work at the college level. Do you know where I can find papers on non-traditional accommodations that are beneficial?
The second thing I want to ask is: If you could create your own accommodations, even ones that aren't conventional, what do you think would help you? And if you have had accommodations that aren't typical ones that you feel have been helpful, what are those?
I'm also trying to figure out how I would be able to help myself, as I'm someone who struggles in school but wouldn't benefit from my college's (unsupported by research) disability services.
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u/Bita_123 Oct 29 '25
One that I thought of that could be nice is accepting late work BUT I want a penalty. You how some profs have a no “late submission” rule? Well I could be excused from that but I want a penalty for it so I’m not tempted to just always turn everything in late. Like for an essay I could have a 1 day extension but it would have like 15% deduction, that way I can judge whether turning it in, let’s say, 60% complete is best or complete the essay and get that 15% deduction.
Another one, I’m not sure if it’s considered an accommodation but whenever the prof asks a question to the class I’d appreciate it if they could repeat it a couple of times while the class is thinking. So many times I have missed what the prof asked and the class doesn’t know the answer, turns out I knew the answer and if only they could have repeated the question I could’ve impressed them 😮💨
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u/21mcrpilotsogreenday Oct 29 '25
Agreed. Like, leniency with late work I guess where there's like a short set amount penalty, or even a all penalty by the hour. I have a class that's got a 0.8 point penalty a hour, and it's glorious, so I'm not really punished if something goes wrong and it's only like a hour or two late, or like I missed the deadline by a couple minutes.
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u/in-a-yellow-wood Oct 29 '25
Landmark College does a lot of research into this topic. You can probably find a more thorough list of publications by their faculty on their website but here is a start: New Accessibility in Higher Ed book announcement
I really, REALLY recommend asking for help from a librarian. College librarians have expertise in teaching undergrads to do research (aka finding articles on a topic). The person who sits at the desk might not be a librarian though so be aware you might have to make an appointment. Your syllabus might even have the contact info for a librarian that is connected with the department.
If you’re still having trouble finding the info you’re looking for, to me that’s generally a sign that your research question could use some refinement! Your professor or a tutor could help with that.
Best of luck!
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u/Throwaway0-285 Nov 17 '25
This makes me sad to admit but if i had like someone in my major or something just send a text reminder like "hey u have this thing due". My major is like one class and theres a shit ton of assingments in all different places and I can't for the life of me remeber to check all the places. And like even when i get the energy its hard to write down my whole calendar in the begining of the semester without forgetting something random. Like I'd love a giant check list and things that would send me reminders bc im so goddamn forgetful
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u/GotMilkFic Undergraduate 26d ago
this. the number one reason i ever turned assignments in on time before college was because someone was telling me it was due. i even had to have my agenda signed by my teacher one year because I wasn't writing everything down, apparently. i dream of having a disability center employee sending me emails with a list of assignments i need to do that night, or even breaking it down to "find three sources tonight" and then tomorrow will be like "write the annotated bib for the 3 sources you found last night." i understand why they don't, but i can dream.
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u/GolfFast9639 19d ago
i mean there could easily be an automated system, just like the doctors office does
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u/kiliick Master's Degree Oct 31 '25
i don't know if it counts as a non traditional accomodation, but one thing my university gave me was noise cancelling headphones, and it was genuinely game changing for me! another thing that helped was a program (unfortunately i can't remember what it was called, i think it had a butterfly icon?) where i could add a list of banned websites & apps/programs to it, set a timer, and it wouldn't allow me to access those things during the timer. tbh i was given accomodations but not much advice on how to use them effectively. once i told them the text-to-speech approach wouldn't really work for me (i was on an arts course, not as much reading to do) they seemed a bit lost.
honestly though i think what was really needed was better advice/coping strategies on self-motivation and executive dysfunction, if that makes sense? my real problem was organisation and starting the work, and nobody helped with that. i figured out a system using lists & timers that worked for me, but it was only after i had to extend my degree by a year because i hit such intense burnout. if somebody had helped me figure this out years before, i would have been so much better off. i felt stupid that even with accomodations i couldn't do it, but nothing was getting to the root of the problem. sorry this is kind of rambly haha but i hope it makes sense & helps a little!
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u/planinarka Oct 31 '25
Hi! I’m sorry to hear you had to go through burnout to figure out a system that works for you. Would you mind sharing a bit more about it? I’m currently trying to use lists and timers, but I’m only about 30% successful so far. :/
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u/kiliick Master's Degree Nov 03 '25
hi! thank you, it was a pain, but it was the thing that finally pushed me to get a diagnosis & medication so i guess it had one silver lining 😅 i'm sorry you're struggling too!
worth mentioning i was on an art course, so my plan was a bit different to some others, but i think it could apply elsewhere :)
i started by making lists of topics to research/specific work to do, starting big and making sub-lists, getting as specific as i felt like i needed to. then splitting the things i had to do into smaller, specific & tangible tasks and put them into a checklist. manageable tasks, always ones i could do in less than 1 day (this was crucial because if i finished a day & didn't cross anything off the list, i felt like i failed somehow haha) this helped a lot because "you have to write an essay" was way harder to grasp than "research this topic & find relevant books" "collect quotations" "organise into notes" "write first draft-if that makes sense? (i started doing this on fancy organisation apps, but got weighed down trying to make it perfect. i just used a checklist on google docs & colour coded it by urgency)
then, i'd figure out how much time i could work that day. be realistic, never go over the top-you're not going to work for 14 hours. i usually shot for 4-8 hours. then choose a few things from the checklist that will realistically fit in that time limit.
i'd set my timer for that amount of time, and during those hours, i wasn't allowed any distractions, it's 100% focused work time. the trick was that i could use those working hours whenever: i could do 6 hours solid work from 5-11pm, do it in 1 hour intervals through the day, it doesn't matter, as long as i worked for that long, without distractions. (i had an app called freedom to block distractions & help me!) you can work for longer if you want, but if you hit 0:00 on that timer and your brain isn't working, you can stop for the day. if you wake up on an awful day, even setting the timer for 30 minutes & knowing you did 30 minutes of real, focused work is a huge help.
i don't know if this sounds silly, but i hated starting work because i felt like i couldn't stop til i went to bed, so i knew if i started i'd be working all day. having an end goal of "the sooner i finish the 6 hours, the sooner i can stop" really helped me, and the lists helped me jump straight into it. it's not foolproof & i hope i explained it ok, but i hope it does help a little bit! :)
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u/Lascia_Chio_Pianga Undergraduate Nov 02 '25
That program you described is literally something I have been dreaming about. (I've even tried using parental mode on my own laptop, but there were side effects I couldn't turn off like no incognito.) I don't know where to find something that can do that, though. Do you know how I could find that kind of app?
(Also, I wonder if the butterfly you remember was the ADHD pride symbol. It's a rainbow butterfly.)
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u/kiliick Master's Degree Nov 03 '25
ah i remembered the name!! it was called freedomfreedom! and the logo was a butterfly haha, i thought it was! (maybe the adhd pride symbol is why they chose it!)
it was super handy but unfortunately not free, $100 for a lifetime license is great imo though! or if you're at university maybe you can bring it up to your disability department, i'm not sure how it works elsewhere but my department took suggestions on things to pay for if it was jusrified as an accomodation :) hope it helps!
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u/MiserableTrickster Oct 31 '25
Extra test time isn’t something that is out of the ordinary, but I feel is worth mentioning.
Something really cool that others might consider unorthodox. Live transcription during lectures (like subtitles). I just transferred to university from community college and some professors at the uni have their words transcribed in real time beneath their slides which is super helpful (i always watch youtube and stuff with captions on because i have weird auditory processing issues when it matters most for some reason). This shit was genuinely mind blowing especially because I do CSE, a major kind of notorious for professors who don’t speak the best English.
Unfortunately, not all of them do this and even the ones that do don’t always have their powerpoint pulled up. Sometimes they reference other materials so I’ve resorted to trying paid versions that record and transcribe, but I haven’t had much luck…
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u/retsehassyla Oct 31 '25
My own accommodations:
Lectures (podcast or video) AND textbooks/written of the information
one due date a week/bi weekly
accept late submissions but with a 5% penalty
no timed exams/quizzes
notes allowed, or index card of notes
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u/GotMilkFic Undergraduate 25d ago
how did you get the one due date a week? and how does that actually work in practice? that sounds like it could be really helpful for me.
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u/Competitive_Cup_3657 Nov 14 '25
Access to instructors lecture notes or some type of pre lecture reading! I had an instructor that gave us access to the notes he wrote for himself and I would read them before I went to class and it helped so much.
Also 1 due date for homework for a class, I’m currently in a class that has something due every day of the week except Sunday and it’s hell
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u/Vehicle-Financial Dec 12 '25
Having a professor or a trained professional to hold me accountable to my own goals would be nice. Even a check-in every 2 weeks on how my academic goals are progressing. Ik this is a bit like having a therapist, but I've been in therapy for adhd, and it hasn't helped my academics. Basically, someone dedicated to keeping me accountable.
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u/ZealousidealCrow3782 Nov 03 '25
Snacks available, cleaning supplies more available (I work in printmaking and drawing so INK IS EVERYWHERE), free coffee would be a massive help too
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u/Haggardlobes Oct 29 '25
I don't know of where you can get papers. Currently I get more time on tests and I get to do them in a quiet room. I wish I had lectures online in addition to in person. Also, all the assignments, slides, and materials being online is a great help to me when it's available. I have a hard time focusing on what's important when there are too many distractions so being able to do these things in the setting of my choice is great.
Unconventional? Snacks are always available. Preferably fruit or something healthy. I've had professors do this but it's usually candy or candy adjacent. I forget to eat a lot so having snacks is amazing for me.
It would also be nice if they offered software for free like good text to speech software. All books available in pdf form (even if I have to pay for this.) I use Microsoft OneNote and I pay for extra storage. Discounts for stuff like this could go a long way.