“No one wants to understand me enough to make it better”: neurodivergent college students’ experiences & strategies navigating life at a Midwest university

The neurodiversity paradigm arose from the autistic community as a part of a self-definition process and in direct opposition to medical models of disability which continue to dominate education policy, practice, and research. Drawing heavily from fields such as disability studies, critical (dis)ability, and feminist scholarship, neurodiversity studies has contributed to the growing understanding of the experiences of neurodivergent (ND) folx in various contexts. However, the experiences of ND college students remain largely unexplored in higher education scholarship. This study leverages a critical narrative research approach grounded in neurodiversity and critical (dis)ability perspectives to contribute to the growing understanding of how ND undergraduate college students perceive and navigate their educational experiences while attending a large, research-intensive university located in the Midwest. The findings shed light on how ND folx successfully navigate a system which continues to center ableism and neurotypicality. Study participants describe utilizing masking techniques, humor, counter-narratives, and community with other ND folx to manage experiences of every-day ableism inherent in their interactions with faculty, peers, family, and in the structure of higher education. Participants also provide in-depth descriptions of ND burnout and the contributory factors to burnout experiences. Implications for policy and practice target the ways practitioners, administrators, and faculty can leverage Universal Design for Learning principles and anti-ableist pedagogies to center disabled experiences and perspectives while building neuro-inclusive learning spaces.