By. Quincy M. Simmons

Not long ago, neurodivergent students were often pushed away from higher education rather than supported within it.

“The transition from high school to college “was a jump from structure to free fall”, according to 2009 SUNY Ulster Graduate, Brian Liston. College broke his safety net—forcing him to advocate for himself and accommodations. He discussed the harsh realities of learning to manage his time, workload and daily regiment whereas in high school, everything was laid out for him.

 As someone on the Autism Spectrum, he said there was little to no representation of advocacy or affinity groups during his undergraduate experience. From this, he understood the education system wasn’t built around neurodivergent folks like himself.

College has always been a challenge for anyone wishing to pursue higher education, especially the neurodivergent population—but the story of who gets to be here is beginning to change.  

Within the past five years, there’s been a 30.1% growth of neurodivergent students enrolling in higher education institutions in New York, according to the New York State Education Department. Neurodivergence is a term encompassing various neurodevelopmental and learning disabilities such as autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyscalculia, OCD and Tourette’s syndrome. The question is, why now?

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“As a result of the reduced stigma and availability of support, individuals who are neurodivergent are recognizing college as an option whereas it wasn’t in years past,” said Emi DiSciullo, Assistant Director for Neurodiversity Initiatives at SUNY New Paltz’s Disability Resource Center (DRC). During the 2024-25 academic year, 728 neurodivergent students registered with the DRC.  

“The mindset of a degree is something good to have in your back pocket,” said 2023 SUNY Delhi graduate, Jordan Corvin. Corvin has high-functional autism and endured difficulties with his speech and writing. He also notes it was chaotic in terms of loud noises in his residence hall, fostering social interactions, and advocating for himself. “Being away from home caused me immense stress and pressure. I didn’t have the direct support I once had,” he said.

Corvin chose to pursue higher education to shelter him from the rigors of adulthood. Initially, he graduated from Delhi with an associate’s in electrical construction. From there, he was given a choice: go into the workforce or continue his path in higher education.

Despite these hardships, Corvin earned his bachelor’s in construction management. Now, he’s a Heavy Equipment Operator. While he acknowledges college shaped him into the person he is today, there are still issues higher education should rectify if they wish to keep this influx.

Outdated Classrooms, Modern Minds

Many colleges have adopted the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) which addresses the wide variation in learners—including learners who are neurodivergent or from different cultural backgrounds. UDL provides multiple formats (text-to-speech options, audiobooks, flexible seating, etc.) that benefit all students. It shifts from fixing a problem to removing barriers in the curriculum itself.  However, it’s been criticized for overlooking sensory and specific needs.

“College is an overwhelming sensory environment…places like the residence halls, dining halls, and fitness center can be stressful for neurodivergent students to maneuver through,” notes Dr. Jane Brown. UDL’s “one-size-fits all” approach doesn’t replace the need for individualized accommodations, it leaves students feeling isolated and reduces engagement for students relying on direct instruction rather than accessing content differently.

“All those multisensory modes are all part of the universal design for learning…that’s always been encouraged with faculty to teach in in multi modes,” she said. Neurodivergent students seek environments that reduce sensory inputs and help prevent overwhelm.

Brown argues there’s been an overfocus on academics causing students to neglect environmental and social factors that affect themselves and their learning. “College is about a whole lot more than the classroom. Students should get more education on life rather than the books,” Brown said. This lack of socio-emotional contributes to the  30 – 40% unemployment rate among neurodivergent adults.

Accommodations or Obstacles?

“Accommodations are the floor, not the ceiling,” says Emily Doffing of the Disability Research Education and Mentoring (DREAM) program. The DREAM program is part of the federally funded National Center for College Students with Disabilities (NCCSD) based at the University of Minnesota. DREAM serves as an online virtual disability cultural center for students to connect with other students, with the NCCSD staff as advisors.  

Dr Michelle Meyer, a professor in SUNY New Paltz’s Psychology Department, notes “there are the systemic acknowledgments of neurodivergence, and that’s where you get the DRC and classroom accommodations…but beyond those usually federal or state mandated requirements, most faculty don’t get training around handling neurodivergence,” she said.

“There’s just a lot of creative ways to expand accommodations the way it’s physically done now,” Doffing said. There should be training for professors to integrate alternative grading or alternative assignments that “gives students more autonomy on how they want to learn,” she said.

Meyer and Doffing agree that the controversy over accommodations are attributed to the lack of their meaning federally. Federal funding cuts in 2025 have created pressure on the State University of New York (SUNY) system with a loss in $79 million due to National Institutes of Health (NIH) cuts. These include access to assistive technology, support staff, and vocational rehabilitation services—services critical for students with disabilities transitioning and maneuvering through higher education.

The 2025-26 New York State budget included $10 million to expand services for SUNY students with disabilities. However, the SUNY Chancellor has argued that state funding cannot fully fill the void left by federal reductions.

As Doffing notes, “disability rights are resistance to the ableist structure,” and with anti DEI legislations and federal cuts in full effect, “it takes resources and people power to get these things to be done,” said Meyer.

Gaps in Mental Health Support

“Part of neurodivergence comes with social and emotional expectations. These are important skills for them to foster during adulthood,” said Kenneth Mims founder of the Neurodiversity Education Research Center (NERC).

As an alternative to college, NERC partners with the Science Prep Academy to launch Project SEARCH. This is an internship program that is “designed to facilitate a successful post-high school transition to the workforce for young autistic adults,” according to their website. This program not only builds their work ethic but their emotional acumen. They offer Neuro-Affirming ABA Therapy which helps “strengthen the social and emotional skills they need to grow academically and socially, preparing them for the workforce,” according to the website.

Mims feels higher education should prioritize more mental health services and staff training catered towards neurodivergence.

Dawn Danner, director of the Uniquely Abled Program at Hudson Valley Community College, created and facilitated an optional workshop to HVCC faculty in March 2026. In her workshop, “Setting the Stage for Neurodivergent Success,” she discusses neurodivergent masking, an act of suppressing neurodivergent traits to appear neurotypical. “They mask their disability, they mask their natural tendencies to stim or to move or to fidget, whatever it might be, because they feel like they will be judged,” she said.  

Recently, Danner met with a student who was falling behind in his classes. “I reached out to his professors, and we set up a plan to get him caught up as he usually gets good grades,” she said.

During the conversation with the student, he confided in Danner that he was experiencing personal problems with an ex-girlfriend that caused him immense stress and anxiety. She gave him some tips on how to cope with his mental health as well as referred him to the counseling services available on campus. While she acknowledged this type of support wouldn’t likely happen in a typical classroom, students wouldn’t feel the need to mask, which in turn reduces student’s learning capacity, focus and academic performance.

Masking serving as a healthy coping mechanism for neurodivergence is a myth. Forcing neurodivergent people to hide their traits to be accepted out of society often leads to burnout and further mental health struggles.

The Role of Educators in Student Success

A student found themselves falling behind in Cornell University instructor Florencia Ardon’s course. Not because they weren’t capable, but because their brain processed information differently. Living with an auditory processing disorder meant that even her lecture—filled with subtitles and moving at a steady pace felt overwhelming.

When the student reached out to her, it wasn’t to request an extension on an assignment—it was to drop the class because it felt inaccessible.

Ardon took this feedback in stride. “I spoke to the student and told them, you can come to class, we can have as many sessions before or after class…additional if there are any assignments that you don’t feel prepared to submit, just tell me and we can excuse them,” she said.

That conversation changed everything. The student stayed, completed the course, earning an A.

The structure of how higher education is set up is a barrier—no modification to the curriculum nor inadequate training for faculty and staff in approaching neurodivergence. Many educators acknowledge the difficulties of individualizing instruction at the college level due to student to teacher ratio.

This was one of the objectives of Danner’s workshop: discussing how faculty/staff can be solutions in current learning expectations and practices for neurodiverse populations.

During the workshop, Danner bought Play-Doh and fidget toys which she encouraged faculty to engage with. “They were very surprised by that, because, like, they were like. This doesn’t happen…I was like, I want you to be comfortable. Nobody likes listening to lectures, it’s not always fun,” she said. Things like this wouldn’t require any funding, but it helps make classrooms more inclusive and underwhelming. “You have the person with autism who’s going to really appreciate that fidget toy, but a neurotypical student probably will as well.”

However, there was a low attendance at her event. She hoped more for a bigger turnout as faculty and staff are responsible for setting the climate and precedent of the classroom.

At the Uniquely Abled Program, she’s able to provide more individualized support and attention. “Most of my soft skills lessons are with the full group, but if I notice that a student is struggling or falling behind, I can do a 1:1 time with them to refresh and provide extra time for understanding and processing,” she said.

Danner met 1:1 with a student who is applying for job and needed help with their resume. Although she had done several group lessons with the class on resumes, “we worked through it together and he was proud to have a completed resume in a short time,” she said.

In moments like this, the role of educators becomes clear—someone who has the power to reinforce barriers or remove them entirely.

Solutions

To universalize neurodiversity in higher education, institutions like SUNY New Paltz are ensuring neurodivergent students feel validated and supported in and out of the classroom. “Supporting Diverse Learners” is a new training launched by New Paltz’s DRC in attempt to narrow the gap between neurodivergent students and faculty. This training provides “information and strategies to promote an inclusive learning experience for all students,” Di Sciullo hopes this the will change how neurodivergence is understood and how it impacts the student experience.

Trainings like this emphasize the responsibility of educators in creating an environment and climate where students can learn effectively, feel safe and comfortable.

“I feel like a lot of people with disabilities struggle with learning books vs hands-on/visually…it’s all about what our strengths are,” said Corvin. In high school, Corvin enrolled in the BOCES program, an organization specializing in career and technical education (CTE). Being enrolled in BOCES helped him realize he was a hands-on learner. He enjoyed working with machinery and tools which inspired his pursuit of electrical construction/construction management in college.

Echoing Corvin, Dr. Brown believes students can explore things they enjoy through hands-on learning. While she appreciates schools’ adaptation of the internship model, “wouldn’t it be great if before you were shipped off to an internship, you were doing more hands-on learning in your education rather than just studying it”. She added, “when you enjoy something, you have more success at it—and then it becomes a routine.” Routines provide structure, predictability and stability for individuals who are neurodiverse.