Veröffentlicht am: 02. June 2024 | Geschrieben von: A. Halter

Just under two weeks ago, the roundtable “Diversity in thinking: neurodiversity in everyday study life” took place. Follow along as speakers talk all things accommodations, all-nighter paper writing, excellent analytical skills, field trips, and suggest improvements for the uni.

The roundtable kicked off with an introduction by Ricarda and Gina,  the hostesses of the podcast “IRRSINNIG”. They present the  following historical milestones as the motivation behind the event: 

On occasion of the National Action Days for Disability Rights (15^th May 15^th June), celebrations are taking place all over the country in honour of  the 20-year anniversary since the Federal Act on the Elimination of  Discrimination against People with Disabilities entered into force in  Switzerland (DDA, 2004). Check out the events here. But 2024 marks a  second milestone: this year is the 10-year anniversary of Switzerland’s ratification of the UNO Convention on the Rights of Persons with  Disability with the goal, among others, to secure equal human rights to persons with disabilities (CRPD, 2008). 

The topic of the roundtable is neurodiversity at the University of Bern. The term’s broad definition is “neurobiological diversity”. Under this umbrella  term, human brains belong to either of two categories: neurotypical brains,  or ones that are neurodivergent, meaning they have differences in their thinking that can fall under the categories of ADHD (Attention Deficit  Hyperactivity Disorder), dyslexia, hypersensitivity, the autism spectrum,  etc. Roundtable participants from the neurodivergent dinner association  draw attention to the fact that this list is not definitive, and that the term  “neurodivergence” is constantly being broadened to account for more  variants.

Four members of the Neurodivergent Dinner are taking part in the  roundtable. This monthly dinner is run by the community for the  community and aims to provide a safer space for people who identify with  the term “neurodivergent”, regardless of whether they’re questioning,  medically or self-diagnosed: all are welcome. This includes students of all  Bernese tertiary education institutions, for example, the University of Bern,  the PH (Bern University of Teacher Education) and more, as well as their  alumni. The association also organises other events for students to meet  like-minded people, exchange experiences, and participate in fun activities (Neurodivergentes Znacht, 2024).  

After the introduction of the association, the members representing the  group introduce themselves by name, type(s) of neurodivergence, and  special interests:

Andrea, 23, is the founder of the neurodivergent dinner. She has ADHD  and strongly suspects she’s on the autism spectrum as well. Her special  interests include social justice and, as of recently, gardening. 

Marc is an assistant at the University. He studied law, has autism, and is interested in politics, history, – loads of topics! He hopes to bring the  perspective of a person who is already working to the roundtable.

Charis studies social sciences and is currently writing her bachelor’s thesis.  She is especially interested in neurodivergence in women, how it shows up  in their daily life, and the brain structure of neurodivergent people. 

 Louis is majoring in archaeology at the University of Bern. He describes  his special interest as usually being “the exact topic which I’m not studying  in depth at that moment”. 

_{(Please note: a fifth speaker wishes to remain anonymous. Their info and  statements have therefore been excluded from this blogpost.)}  

Next, the speakers are asked to describe what makes them neurodivergent.  For Louis, it started with the very first written assignment in his studies. “I  procrastinated, didn’t know where to begin, and wrote the paper in one  night. Then I went straight to the counselling office of the university.” This  elicits a couple of laughs from the audience. Then, he explains how he was  diagnosed with both autism and ADHD but has recently begun to wonder if  it’s actually just autism without ADHD.

For Andrea, her strong sense of justice drives her to try and make the world  a better place. She describes herself as spontaneous, creative, thinking  outside of the box, and a problem solver who wants to get to the bottom of  everything.  
Stumbling across the term “neurodivergent” on the internet had been the  common experience among the group. While Andrea suffered an  exhaustive depression at the end of high school and experienced executive  function struggles, Charis points out that her diagnoses are ones that don’t  show up first thing on Google. “You know you’re neurodivergent, right?”  said a friend to her last year. Her reply: “Uh, no, how long have you known  this?”  

Louis got sent a long video on autism by a friend. It resonated and led him  to ask for an autism assessment during the last session of his ADHD  assessment. The long video helped, he remarks, while he finds that he often can’t really relate to short-form video content. 
The podcast hostesses lead into the topic of accommodations by critically  picking up on the word “disorder” in the diagnoses’ titles just mentioned – Who is disordered (in the German sense of “Störung”, “gestört”, or bothered)? And how? Food for thought… 

drainer. Multiple voices strongly criticise the university’s requiring a  student to disclose their diagnosis, as this violates the principle of medical  confidentiality (FOPH, 2020). At best, so the participants explain, they  knew to ask for specific accommodations, and the professors granted them  these without further hassle. At worst, the process was lengthy, they  struggled to find information about it and accommodation options, and  when talking to teachers, were simply told “no”. The accommodations process at uni is a controversial one, on top of being  a massive energy

Charis reads a story aloud from a survey conducted prior to the roundtable.  Students had been asked to share their experiences as neurodivergent Uni  attendants. In this particular story, a student complained about the  decentralised nature of the accommodations process. In their case, they  were instructed to go to their professors individually to find solutions for  each course, with the person in charge of accommodations saying: “We try  to keep the process as unbureaucratic and straightforward as possible.” Ironically, the student spent two days compiling an informative document  for their institute, as the faculty had no prior knowledge about or  experience with neurodivergence. While they were lucky and their  professors actively read up on neurodivergence, later on, uncertainty at  both the student and the professor level caused difficulty in coming up with accommodations, as well as knowing which ones were allowed within the  Uni’s vague framework. Finishing the story, Charis says that the wishes of the group concur in that there needs to be more awareness among

_{Image 1: L. to r.: Andrea, Charis, Louis, Ricarda & Gina}

students,  but especially professors, to reduce the organisational and energetic  workload on neurodivergent students, as well as minimise uncertainty and  the resulting stress.  

Next, Louis highlights the benefit of his studying at a small, open-minded  institute that doesn’t require the full formal accommodations procedure.  Yet, he explains, being granted informal accommodations involves figuring  out each course anew and not having a written agreement to rely on. In his  studies, field trips are part of the curriculum. He finds these very stressful  due to the amount people and lack of a place to retreat to for some peace  and quiet. On top of that, he continues, each of his courses are different (in  terms of structure, content, type and form of evaluation etc.), and he might  struggle with a particular aspect in one, but not have those difficulties in  another. He concludes that each semester, the process of talking to  professors individually has to be started anew. 

In Andrea’s case, her request for intermittent deadlines in the paper writing  process was turned down by a philosophy professor, for the reason that  they are the evaluating person, and therefore can’t see her writing in  advance. It doesn’t make sense to her. “To show just how easy it could be”,  she quotes, “I had another course where the corresponding professor said  “yes, no problem” to intermittent deadlines. Granted, that professor is in  the process of getting an ADHD evaluation themselves.” 

The discussion moves on to the question following question: “The  accommodations exist to overcome neurodivergent students’ system induced disadvantages and grant them equal access to studying. What are  your strengths, where can you bring something special to the table?” 

Andrea describes herself as being happy in her philosophy studies, as they  require an ability to pick problems apart and interpret them. Her strong  analytical skills are very useful here, although at times there are too many  possible interpretations which can lead to overwhelm. She struggles with  narrowing something down, like choosing a topic for a paper. “But when I  am interested, I can hyperfocus and spend ages on stuff, maybe even too  long, as I sometimes forget to eat”, and chuckles go around the room. The  audience seems to resonate with this experience. “I can be very productive  in a short time”, she finishes. 

As for Louis, he is excellent at finding gaps in the existing research. He can  often help friends in need and send over an entire stack of papers regarding  a specific topic.

Finally, the experience of students seeking accommodations at the systemic  level is discussed based off the aforementioned survey responses. Louis is  handed the microphone. He tells the story of someone who had no issue getting accommodations in their minor at the philosophical-natural faculty,  whereas in their major, at the philosophical-historical faculty, they missed  their appointment. “They were supposed to make another appointment”, he  says, “but again, it is precisely the neurodivergent students that do not have  the capacity, and who struggle with organisation and keeping track of a  schedule.” It is them, he continues, who are already struggling to deal with  everything else that’s on their plate, so its nonsensical to require people in  need of help to go through an additional, complicated process.  

Marc, on the other hand, has a positive story to share about someone  majoring at the English department: According to them, they found the  necessary information easily, the faculty was competent, and the student  felt understood. As for their minor in German studies, they had not initiated  the untransparent process yet and were slightly nervous about it. 

The discussion comes to an end with the group voicing the demands  they’ve come up with for the uni, as well as those submitted to the survey  by other students. They highlight barriers that neurodivergent students still  face and suggest improvements they hope to see in the near future. In no  particular order, these are: 

1. A quiet place to retreat to, especially at lunch time, when  neurodivergent students have to choose between eating something in  a loud, crowded place and risk overstimulation, or not eat anything. 

2. Depathologisation of neurodivergence at uni and within courses, meaning the description of neurodivergence through positive and  neutral aspects, and rejection of negatively connotated phrases such  as “delayed development”, “underdeveloped”, “below-average  skills” etc.  

3. When introducing themselves at the start of a new course,  professors should make students aware of the existence of  accommodations and encourage them to talk to them if needed. 

4. Clear guidelines and more accommodations suggestions: What  options are available? What accommodations does the uni not grant? 
(Always considering the individuality of each person’s disabilities  and situation). 

5. A single, ideally peer-run and central contact point where  neurodivergent students can access help and complete/delegate the  accommodations process. 

6. The making available of Uni-wide podcasts for students unable to  attend class due to mental and/or health issues, so that they may  catch up on the material to the same extent that students able to attend class are. No, using slides and literature is not equivalent to  hearing the professor’s explanations. Standardisation of the podcast  process can lift the burden off professor’s to do it periodically and  individually. 

7. Mandatory further training for professors about  neurodivergence.
It can be short but informative. Even a newsletter  would be cheap and relatively low-effort to implement, as most of  these demands are. Knowledge needs to be widespread. Because the  following statement holds true: Explanatory work is work, and costs  students energy which they can’t spare. 

The roundtable is opened to the  audience. Instantly, many hands  are raised, and an animated  discussion follows. The room is brimming with people eager to  share their experiences and  comment on the matters discussed. The representative  from the Office for Equal Opportunities speaks up: “The  matter of granting accommodations is a process  handled by each faculty individually.” As such, the  streamlining of the accommodations process seems  unlikely at present. But the  representative goes on to thank the  participants for their inputs, as  they have given her much to think  on. She has been taking notes  throughout the discussion. Other students comment on the demand of centralisation of the accommodations process and  highlight how important it is for  professors to be flexible. They  fear that centralising it would  undermine the individuality of  students’ needs. The consensus  remains, however, that the current  situation is unmanageable for  neurodivergent students and  professors alike. The forced disclosure of diagnoses to the University is the  next point that is hotly debated.  After some time, a woman raises  her hand. She introduces herself  as a professor of forensic (i.e.  legal) medicine and voices her  disbelief at the current situation of  mandatory diagnosis disclosure in order to receive accommodations.  She asks whether neurodivergent  people could benefit from having  a template to fill out when asking  for accommodations, and offers to  create one. People thank her, and  another audience member mentions the existence of a student-written template that will  be shared with people at a later  point. It is emotional to see a person of authority such as a professor this engaged in students’  wellbeing. There is energy and  drive for chance in the room. More personal experiences are  shared, and the productive discussion carries on. Perhaps  others present can feel it too, this  collective excitement at being  surrounded by people who are  alike, who understand. In a closing statement, a speaker  mentions that although the roundtable has spoken a lot about  the accommodations process,  there are a lot more issues to discuss around being neurodivergent at uni. “We briefly  spoke about our individual strengths and how they help us in  our studies. I’d like to add on that  the University is structurally  conceived with neurotypical  people in mind. The given  framework does not provide  opportunities for neurodivergent  people to live out their strengths.  A minority of neurodivergent  students is lucky and can apply  their strengths to their specific  studies, but for the majority of us this is usually not the case.”  Afterwards, the hostesses of the  podcast “IRRSINNIG”, the  speakers and the representative  from the Office for Equal  Opportunities thank each other  and the audience for the joint  effort of the event. The hostesses  remark: “For those interested,  we’re going to record a podcast [in German] where we delve  deeper into neurodiversity at uni.” The door is opened, and one by  one, hungry people file out  towards the apéro waiting on neatly arranged tables outside. Here, the conversation continues… 

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