4 answers
Jackson
Student
Tiverton, Rhode Island
1
Question
Asked
278 views
What advice do you have for disabled students on obtaining a degree?
I am a disabled and neurodivergent freshman in college. I've been struggling to complete my assignments on time due to my disabilities. I am wondering what advice the community here may have on navigating academics while managing health issues.
My current long-term career interest is to be a community college professor in either English or studio art. That seems like such a long path, though, as I am currently only able to attend part time.
Thank you for any guidance you may have.
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4 answers
Kelly Donnellan
Associate Professor
27
Answers
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Updated
Kelly’s Answer
Hi Jackson,
First, I want to say, you are not alone in this. I’m neurodivergent myself. I’m on the spectrum, I have ADHD, and I have a learning disability. I didn’t even know most of that until graduate school.
And here’s the important part: I’m now an Associate Professor, and I have three degrees.
So even though it’s challenging, it is absolutely possible to figure out a path that works for you.
I had to learn how to learn the hard way and I’m more than happy to share the strategies that helped me.
YOU CAN TAKE A DIFFERENT PATH
If you’re attending part-time, that’s okay. Your timeline does not have to look like anyone else’s. It may take longer, and that’s still progress.
Keep making forward progress towards your goal!
STRATEGIES THAT HELPED ME
1. Put EVERYTHING in your calendar! My motto: if it’s not in my calendar, it doesn’t exist!
I schedule:
- Classes
- Study time
- Meals
- Travel time
2. Set alarms for transitions. Task switching can be hard.
If I need to be somewhere at 11:20, I’ll set alarms:
- 1 hour before
- 30 minutes before
- 10 minutes before
3. Understand time blindness and use technology to assist with breaking down tasks. Being Neurodivergent, we can underestimate how long things take or avoid things because they feel overwhelming.
An app called Goblin Tools can:
- Break tasks into steps
- Estimate how long things will take
4. Back-time your deadlines
If something is due May 1st, aim to finish by April 29th. Build in buffer time so you’re not rushing at the last minute.
5. Schedule your work time
When you’re not in class, block out time for:
- Homework
- Studying
- Assignments
Treat it like a class.
6. “Vomit draft” your writing
If writing papers makes you feel stuck, don’t try to make it perfect in your head. Instead:
- Record yourself talking through your ideas
- Play it back and type it out
This technique helps your thoughts flow without judgment.
BE FLEXIBLE WITH YOURSELF
Some days will go well. Some won’t.
Progress might look like:
- Starting something
- Finishing one assignment
- Showing up
That still counts.
YOUR GOAL IS STILL POSSIBLE
Becoming a community college professor is absolutely a real path.
It may take time, and that’s okay.
FINAL THOUGHT
You’re not behind, you’re navigating something more complex.
You can absolutely reach your goal. Just keep going, one step at a time, one foot in front of the other. You’ll get there, and when you do, it's going to be wonderful ✨️ 😊
Home - Goblin Tools https://share.google/fd7dXRcwJtWUv5quG
First, I want to say, you are not alone in this. I’m neurodivergent myself. I’m on the spectrum, I have ADHD, and I have a learning disability. I didn’t even know most of that until graduate school.
And here’s the important part: I’m now an Associate Professor, and I have three degrees.
So even though it’s challenging, it is absolutely possible to figure out a path that works for you.
I had to learn how to learn the hard way and I’m more than happy to share the strategies that helped me.
YOU CAN TAKE A DIFFERENT PATH
If you’re attending part-time, that’s okay. Your timeline does not have to look like anyone else’s. It may take longer, and that’s still progress.
Keep making forward progress towards your goal!
STRATEGIES THAT HELPED ME
1. Put EVERYTHING in your calendar! My motto: if it’s not in my calendar, it doesn’t exist!
I schedule:
- Classes
- Study time
- Meals
- Travel time
2. Set alarms for transitions. Task switching can be hard.
If I need to be somewhere at 11:20, I’ll set alarms:
- 1 hour before
- 30 minutes before
- 10 minutes before
3. Understand time blindness and use technology to assist with breaking down tasks. Being Neurodivergent, we can underestimate how long things take or avoid things because they feel overwhelming.
An app called Goblin Tools can:
- Break tasks into steps
- Estimate how long things will take
4. Back-time your deadlines
If something is due May 1st, aim to finish by April 29th. Build in buffer time so you’re not rushing at the last minute.
5. Schedule your work time
When you’re not in class, block out time for:
- Homework
- Studying
- Assignments
Treat it like a class.
6. “Vomit draft” your writing
If writing papers makes you feel stuck, don’t try to make it perfect in your head. Instead:
- Record yourself talking through your ideas
- Play it back and type it out
This technique helps your thoughts flow without judgment.
BE FLEXIBLE WITH YOURSELF
Some days will go well. Some won’t.
Progress might look like:
- Starting something
- Finishing one assignment
- Showing up
That still counts.
YOUR GOAL IS STILL POSSIBLE
Becoming a community college professor is absolutely a real path.
It may take time, and that’s okay.
FINAL THOUGHT
You’re not behind, you’re navigating something more complex.
You can absolutely reach your goal. Just keep going, one step at a time, one foot in front of the other. You’ll get there, and when you do, it's going to be wonderful ✨️ 😊
Kelly recommends the following next steps:
Karin P.
Lecturer, Academic Advisor, Career Coach, Mentor
1221
Answers
Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany
Updated
Karin’s Answer
Hi Jackson,
Kelly gave good advice how to manage yourself. Also, get in touch with your disability office and inquire about accommodations you might be able to get.
I hope this helps! All the best to you!
KP
Kelly gave good advice how to manage yourself. Also, get in touch with your disability office and inquire about accommodations you might be able to get.
I hope this helps! All the best to you!
KP
Caitlin Collins
Occupational therapy assistant
3
Answers
Newton, Massachusetts
Updated
Caitlin’s Answer
I struggle with ADHD and understand how hard learning can be. Kelly and Karin gave great advice.
I suggest going to your school advisor to help you get in touch with the office for students with disabilities. They can provide you with resources and communicate with professors to provide you with accommodations.
Do not be discouraged to ask for help. Advocate for yourself. Some accommodations can be extensions for assignments.
The office can help provide you with more customized methods that accommodate your specific learning disabilities. Everyone learns differently!
I suggest going to your school advisor to help you get in touch with the office for students with disabilities. They can provide you with resources and communicate with professors to provide you with accommodations.
Do not be discouraged to ask for help. Advocate for yourself. Some accommodations can be extensions for assignments.
The office can help provide you with more customized methods that accommodate your specific learning disabilities. Everyone learns differently!
Jennifer Bloomquist- CIPP/US/E, CIPM
Risk Specialist for Privacy and Confidentiality Impact Accessments
23
Answers
Clarksville, Tennessee
Updated
Jennifer’s Answer
Hi Jackson,
I think it's important that you're looking into resources. I think the other advice you've been given is very good and want to echo it. I myself an AuDHD. I also left college with a license to teach secondary Spanish and English. I taught at the high school level for 3 years and didn't pursue a master's degree. You're correct that the coursework and degrees necessary for your career goal will take a good amount of time going to school part time because teaching at the community college level will most likely require a master's degree in the subject matter. I think part of what I would ask a counselor at your school is if their program suggests being licensed in your state to also teach at the secondary level for that career path because it would involve probably a semester of student teaching as a full-time student. I think different areas of the country treat community college teaching academics and experience differently. You might also need to be a TA to get experience teaching at the college level while you get your master's degree.
I say all of that to have you ponder a specific question: does your school allow for part time student teaching, part time observation, and does the school you're targeting for your master's degree allow part-time TA work so you get get experience teaching others at the college level so you'll leave with the right credentials and experience. If the answer to these is no, then I would ponder another question: Is your disability and support needs you have such that you can attend full-time during those particular stages if you have the right supports in place to be able to do so? Unlike bachelor's programs, a lot of graduate schools that have masters/doctorate programs have a time limit on how long the coursework is valid. I would map out how long it would take you to go through to make sure you can tackle it in the amount of time they allow. I think some schools are like maybe 6 or 8 years. After that, their early coursework "expires" and they have to redo it. Luckily, once you've gotten the qualifications to teach community college, a lot of community colleges and 4-year colleges have adjunct work that is part time. It's just getting through the student part to get your degrees that have the logistical challenges between full and part time.
I think the most important part of your journey might be to get as much time in front of students as possible, whether that be observation or teaching. For myself, it took 3 years post graduation of teaching to realize that I like the subject matter of Spanish and English more than I like classroom management of high school students. It took me that amount of time to realize that I wasn't teaching the subject. I was teaching high school kids. In the case of community college teaching, I would reflect on that same thing. Do you enjoy the act of teaching adult students more than the subject matter or at least as much as the subject matter?
If you come to the conclusion that yes, all of these things I've mentioned and others have mentioned are the right career path for you, then here are my suggestions on supports that might help, not knowing your specific support needs.
1. I would make sure your school knows what your support needs are so you get the accommodations you need both during your classroom work as well as during observation and student teaching. If you don't know what accommodations to ask for at each of these stages, maybe try to network with any community college professors in your area and high school teachers or 4-year college professors that are in your area to help you brainstorm.
2. As for completing your assignments on time, it's hard to give advice because I don't know if getting it completed is due to specific needs you have. For example, if you have a disability that affects executive function, that may require different supports than a disability that causes burnout for extended periods, a disability that needs you need to use things like text-to-speech to get through the reading or writing assignments. Text-to-speech is great for a lot of things, but it takes some people a lot longer to get through all the reading materials because it can be slower than what the professor assumes your reading speed to be. If all of these and/or more are your support needs, then I would start with trying to understand what the biggest obstacle is to getting the work done so that the thing you need the most support to accomplish is what you tackle first. Here is some brainstorming of what you could do and/or some of what I do:
a. PDA - Try to frame things you're being told to do as options rather than proclamations. If an assignment is due on X date, try to break it into smaller tasks and frame it like "I'm choosing to do part A today, part B tomorrow, part C the next day," etc. When we have choice, demands are easier to digest, in my opinion.
b. Planning/Organization - Experiment with different software or online tool options that can help with due dates, breaking things into chunks of time rather than the whole task at once, etc. to see what works for you. If you also have ADHD and reading that feels like snakes slithering up your spine because you've tried that your whole life (my issue), then building breaks into your schedule can help, or at least it helps me. Knowing I can work for X amount of time and then part of the task to actually take a break as also part of my work gives me a way to look forward to the project I'm trying to accomplish because the breaks aren't respite. I make them part of the work itself. I hope that makes sense.
c. Task Switching - If you have back to back classes, back to back classes with trying to work, or back to back assignments that you only have a certain amount of time to do, I'd talk to your professors and/or employers and maybe ask for an accommodation to be given permission to cut out of the last 5 or 10 minutes of class with that material being given in writing in advance that you'll miss. That extra 5 or 10 minutes between activities can really help to change gears. I actually have a manager in my current job who tries to do that with our entire team because it's an accommodation that benefits everyone. So, for example, instead of meeting A being at 10:00 and meeting B at 11:00, she asks that we schedule meeting B to start 5 minutes late or meeting A ends 5 minutes early. Doing this also helps people to get restroom breaks in between scheduling.
d. Fatigue - This is a tough one - Give yourself grace because there's not a way around this one that I've found. I personally crash every weekend and probably once or twice during the week after work where I have to give myself permission to give everything to work and then use the support system at home to help with other responsibilities around the house because I can't do both. If possible, get help with those types of things while you focus on school such as cooking, cleaning, etc. if those supports are available to you. Trying not to mask at school might help with the fatigue, but dropping the mask has pros and cons. You'll have to choose what works for you. Personally, this is the biggest reason I left the teaching profession. I couldn't unmask as much as I needed to in order to function. Teaching full time meant for me that I had to mask for an entire day every day + hours outside my work day for school functions. I don't know how that works with community college teaching or maybe being an adjunct, but this is where networking with other neurodivergent people who are actually college professors and asking for help might be your biggest asset. They might have suggestions about how they are their authentic self and manage to excel in their jobs. For me, I just couldn't juggle that, but you're not me. Give yourself grace navigating this one.
The neurodivergent teachers I had, especially those on the spectrum, used humor to be themselves while teaching. Students accepted them for who they were specifically because of their quirkiness and how it could meld into making the classroom environment fun. For me, I tried to do that too. It worked in a lot of ways, but I couldn't swing doing that with executive functioning challenges at the same time. I could do one or the other but not both with back to back classes.
I was also teaching on a block schedule. I found that especially challenging because I wasn't getting breaks for most of the day, not even bathroom breaks except for 3 times a day due to how long the classes were. My advice here is if the school will work with you, try to student teach or observe in an environment that either is or is not on a block schedule, whichever would be better for you. The breaks in the day on a 6 or 7 period day as opposed to a 3 or 4 period day were night and day for me, especially if my planning period fell late in the day.
e. Note taking, lesson planning, assignment planning, etc. if you have a handwriting disability, dyslexia, dyscalculia for math courses, etc. - See if the school has technology that can help with those things or do some research online. I'd make sure and communicate with the professors for you classes if you use these so they understand you're getting a support need met rather than there being a misunderstanding that you're "cheating." If the professor doesn't know, they can't understand how to best work with on those things.
f. Social struggles, especially if the assignments you're being given are part of group work/group projects - This one can be really challenging, especially if everyone else in the group is a different age than you are or are all full time students while you're part time. They may be getting a cultural experience at the school that is part of the full-time experience that part-time or non-traditional students (if that applies to you) don't receive. I would ask the teacher in advance if you see on the syllabus that there will be group work to ask the professor to assign groups. So many professors let students pick their own groups, and then it is really problematic sometimes because people get left out and then are kind of forced upon a group that chose to work together. That was my experience, at least. If everyone is getting assigned, it's actually better for everyone because the whole class is forced to work with new people. It helps with networking, adapting to different working styles of different people, etc.
I'd also ask that someone in the group be a note-taker who can write out instructions for whatever task you're given as part of the group work (or that you volunteer for). Or, if you're doing it, I'd make sure to read it back so that everyone in the group is clear on what work you are and aren't doing. It's a good accommodation for everyone in the group to do that because it helps for their clarity too and helps avoid the situation where one person in the group ends up doing everything.
g. Transportation - If making it to class or to meetings with other students on group work, ask if telecommuting is available as an accommodation if necessary. If it's not, then see if there are other community resources that can help with transportation if you have a documented disability. Or, if there is a cheaper place for you to get to or a shorter bus ride, offer to have the whole group meeting off-campus to the place that works best for you. It's also helpful for other students to experience other parts of the larger community outside of the school setting because holistically, if they are also in a teaching program, the community comprises the students and parents they'll interact with. An example would be the public library as opposed to the college library if that is easier for you to commute to there.
h. In terms of struggling to get your assignments due on time - If the difficulty is due to other things in life getting in the way because maybe you have to work too or help with other things as opposed to strictly being the disability itself, ask for accommodations at your job and/or get roommates who are supportive of what your needs are for chores, hours they make noise, etc.
If struggling to get them done is due to the disability(ies) itself, maybe spend some time with your professors during office hours and see if they are receptive to boiling down assignments to the most important things in order to learn the material. Sometimes there are components to assignments that aren't as valuable as other things. An example is that if you have to read a whole book and write a bunch of stuff about it, there may be parts to the writing or reading that are more important than other parts. If you can still demonstrate that you learned the material, that might be ok. I had a professor in college who, when it was test time, gave students the option to write out their tests or come in during a designated time and set up with a microphone and tape recorder. The professor would make sure there weren't materials in the room in which a student could "cheat" but could then speak into the microphone and record the answers to the test verbally rather than having to write out an essay while timed in class with the rest of the students.
My struggles for that part were more related to the fact that I have to digest all the parts of something before I can move to synthesizing information, so the examination of all the parts takes more time than my peers did. Having the professor say something like "This book you're reading is about X. I know you'll want to know every detail of what every character does to try to determine all the parts like foreshadowing, plot, organization, character motivations, etc. Let's focus on A, B, and C when we read because that's what I'm going to focus the assignment/test/etc. That way, I didn't stress over details I was trying to digest that weren't part of the grand plan the professor had for what we were going to be examining.
i. Health issues - This is a little hard to speak to because the specific health issues can affect so many different things. I have had, for example, surgery or accidents where it took a long time to heal but I could still work. What I didn't realize at the time was how much energy my body was putting into healing and therefore only had limited reserves to be able to do other work outside of healing. It was and is a struggle. Pain takes up a lot of energy. Not feeling well takes up a lot of energy. Sleep issues and gastro issues take up a lot of energy. The best advice I can give here is to spread things out if you can. Maybe take 1 class a semester if 2 is unmanageable. If you completely burn out because 2 is too hard (or whatever amount you think is difficult), it's not worth it. Burnout is rough and hard to get out of for sure.
I personally have an autoimmune thing that when it flares up affects every part of me: mind and body. I have to be careful not to take on more than I can chew because if it flares, I also go into burnout because there just isn't enough energy to cope without burning out and just shutting down. The biggest thing that has helped me in my professional life with this (I work full time) is working remotely. It means I can sleep a little later in the morning. I can sleep over my hour lunch break when I need to. I can sleep right after work rather than having to deal with commute. If not sleep, I can dig into my special interest right after work to help regulate rather than having to commute right away. I can build in my breaks better when I work remotely in my own environment. I don't have visual clutter and constant movement around me from colleagues wandering around the office doing the normal social things. I can just work and rest as needed. I don't know if school will let you do that, but if they do, it couldn't hurt to experiment with it.
I wish you well in your studies!
I think it's important that you're looking into resources. I think the other advice you've been given is very good and want to echo it. I myself an AuDHD. I also left college with a license to teach secondary Spanish and English. I taught at the high school level for 3 years and didn't pursue a master's degree. You're correct that the coursework and degrees necessary for your career goal will take a good amount of time going to school part time because teaching at the community college level will most likely require a master's degree in the subject matter. I think part of what I would ask a counselor at your school is if their program suggests being licensed in your state to also teach at the secondary level for that career path because it would involve probably a semester of student teaching as a full-time student. I think different areas of the country treat community college teaching academics and experience differently. You might also need to be a TA to get experience teaching at the college level while you get your master's degree.
I say all of that to have you ponder a specific question: does your school allow for part time student teaching, part time observation, and does the school you're targeting for your master's degree allow part-time TA work so you get get experience teaching others at the college level so you'll leave with the right credentials and experience. If the answer to these is no, then I would ponder another question: Is your disability and support needs you have such that you can attend full-time during those particular stages if you have the right supports in place to be able to do so? Unlike bachelor's programs, a lot of graduate schools that have masters/doctorate programs have a time limit on how long the coursework is valid. I would map out how long it would take you to go through to make sure you can tackle it in the amount of time they allow. I think some schools are like maybe 6 or 8 years. After that, their early coursework "expires" and they have to redo it. Luckily, once you've gotten the qualifications to teach community college, a lot of community colleges and 4-year colleges have adjunct work that is part time. It's just getting through the student part to get your degrees that have the logistical challenges between full and part time.
I think the most important part of your journey might be to get as much time in front of students as possible, whether that be observation or teaching. For myself, it took 3 years post graduation of teaching to realize that I like the subject matter of Spanish and English more than I like classroom management of high school students. It took me that amount of time to realize that I wasn't teaching the subject. I was teaching high school kids. In the case of community college teaching, I would reflect on that same thing. Do you enjoy the act of teaching adult students more than the subject matter or at least as much as the subject matter?
If you come to the conclusion that yes, all of these things I've mentioned and others have mentioned are the right career path for you, then here are my suggestions on supports that might help, not knowing your specific support needs.
1. I would make sure your school knows what your support needs are so you get the accommodations you need both during your classroom work as well as during observation and student teaching. If you don't know what accommodations to ask for at each of these stages, maybe try to network with any community college professors in your area and high school teachers or 4-year college professors that are in your area to help you brainstorm.
2. As for completing your assignments on time, it's hard to give advice because I don't know if getting it completed is due to specific needs you have. For example, if you have a disability that affects executive function, that may require different supports than a disability that causes burnout for extended periods, a disability that needs you need to use things like text-to-speech to get through the reading or writing assignments. Text-to-speech is great for a lot of things, but it takes some people a lot longer to get through all the reading materials because it can be slower than what the professor assumes your reading speed to be. If all of these and/or more are your support needs, then I would start with trying to understand what the biggest obstacle is to getting the work done so that the thing you need the most support to accomplish is what you tackle first. Here is some brainstorming of what you could do and/or some of what I do:
a. PDA - Try to frame things you're being told to do as options rather than proclamations. If an assignment is due on X date, try to break it into smaller tasks and frame it like "I'm choosing to do part A today, part B tomorrow, part C the next day," etc. When we have choice, demands are easier to digest, in my opinion.
b. Planning/Organization - Experiment with different software or online tool options that can help with due dates, breaking things into chunks of time rather than the whole task at once, etc. to see what works for you. If you also have ADHD and reading that feels like snakes slithering up your spine because you've tried that your whole life (my issue), then building breaks into your schedule can help, or at least it helps me. Knowing I can work for X amount of time and then part of the task to actually take a break as also part of my work gives me a way to look forward to the project I'm trying to accomplish because the breaks aren't respite. I make them part of the work itself. I hope that makes sense.
c. Task Switching - If you have back to back classes, back to back classes with trying to work, or back to back assignments that you only have a certain amount of time to do, I'd talk to your professors and/or employers and maybe ask for an accommodation to be given permission to cut out of the last 5 or 10 minutes of class with that material being given in writing in advance that you'll miss. That extra 5 or 10 minutes between activities can really help to change gears. I actually have a manager in my current job who tries to do that with our entire team because it's an accommodation that benefits everyone. So, for example, instead of meeting A being at 10:00 and meeting B at 11:00, she asks that we schedule meeting B to start 5 minutes late or meeting A ends 5 minutes early. Doing this also helps people to get restroom breaks in between scheduling.
d. Fatigue - This is a tough one - Give yourself grace because there's not a way around this one that I've found. I personally crash every weekend and probably once or twice during the week after work where I have to give myself permission to give everything to work and then use the support system at home to help with other responsibilities around the house because I can't do both. If possible, get help with those types of things while you focus on school such as cooking, cleaning, etc. if those supports are available to you. Trying not to mask at school might help with the fatigue, but dropping the mask has pros and cons. You'll have to choose what works for you. Personally, this is the biggest reason I left the teaching profession. I couldn't unmask as much as I needed to in order to function. Teaching full time meant for me that I had to mask for an entire day every day + hours outside my work day for school functions. I don't know how that works with community college teaching or maybe being an adjunct, but this is where networking with other neurodivergent people who are actually college professors and asking for help might be your biggest asset. They might have suggestions about how they are their authentic self and manage to excel in their jobs. For me, I just couldn't juggle that, but you're not me. Give yourself grace navigating this one.
The neurodivergent teachers I had, especially those on the spectrum, used humor to be themselves while teaching. Students accepted them for who they were specifically because of their quirkiness and how it could meld into making the classroom environment fun. For me, I tried to do that too. It worked in a lot of ways, but I couldn't swing doing that with executive functioning challenges at the same time. I could do one or the other but not both with back to back classes.
I was also teaching on a block schedule. I found that especially challenging because I wasn't getting breaks for most of the day, not even bathroom breaks except for 3 times a day due to how long the classes were. My advice here is if the school will work with you, try to student teach or observe in an environment that either is or is not on a block schedule, whichever would be better for you. The breaks in the day on a 6 or 7 period day as opposed to a 3 or 4 period day were night and day for me, especially if my planning period fell late in the day.
e. Note taking, lesson planning, assignment planning, etc. if you have a handwriting disability, dyslexia, dyscalculia for math courses, etc. - See if the school has technology that can help with those things or do some research online. I'd make sure and communicate with the professors for you classes if you use these so they understand you're getting a support need met rather than there being a misunderstanding that you're "cheating." If the professor doesn't know, they can't understand how to best work with on those things.
f. Social struggles, especially if the assignments you're being given are part of group work/group projects - This one can be really challenging, especially if everyone else in the group is a different age than you are or are all full time students while you're part time. They may be getting a cultural experience at the school that is part of the full-time experience that part-time or non-traditional students (if that applies to you) don't receive. I would ask the teacher in advance if you see on the syllabus that there will be group work to ask the professor to assign groups. So many professors let students pick their own groups, and then it is really problematic sometimes because people get left out and then are kind of forced upon a group that chose to work together. That was my experience, at least. If everyone is getting assigned, it's actually better for everyone because the whole class is forced to work with new people. It helps with networking, adapting to different working styles of different people, etc.
I'd also ask that someone in the group be a note-taker who can write out instructions for whatever task you're given as part of the group work (or that you volunteer for). Or, if you're doing it, I'd make sure to read it back so that everyone in the group is clear on what work you are and aren't doing. It's a good accommodation for everyone in the group to do that because it helps for their clarity too and helps avoid the situation where one person in the group ends up doing everything.
g. Transportation - If making it to class or to meetings with other students on group work, ask if telecommuting is available as an accommodation if necessary. If it's not, then see if there are other community resources that can help with transportation if you have a documented disability. Or, if there is a cheaper place for you to get to or a shorter bus ride, offer to have the whole group meeting off-campus to the place that works best for you. It's also helpful for other students to experience other parts of the larger community outside of the school setting because holistically, if they are also in a teaching program, the community comprises the students and parents they'll interact with. An example would be the public library as opposed to the college library if that is easier for you to commute to there.
h. In terms of struggling to get your assignments due on time - If the difficulty is due to other things in life getting in the way because maybe you have to work too or help with other things as opposed to strictly being the disability itself, ask for accommodations at your job and/or get roommates who are supportive of what your needs are for chores, hours they make noise, etc.
If struggling to get them done is due to the disability(ies) itself, maybe spend some time with your professors during office hours and see if they are receptive to boiling down assignments to the most important things in order to learn the material. Sometimes there are components to assignments that aren't as valuable as other things. An example is that if you have to read a whole book and write a bunch of stuff about it, there may be parts to the writing or reading that are more important than other parts. If you can still demonstrate that you learned the material, that might be ok. I had a professor in college who, when it was test time, gave students the option to write out their tests or come in during a designated time and set up with a microphone and tape recorder. The professor would make sure there weren't materials in the room in which a student could "cheat" but could then speak into the microphone and record the answers to the test verbally rather than having to write out an essay while timed in class with the rest of the students.
My struggles for that part were more related to the fact that I have to digest all the parts of something before I can move to synthesizing information, so the examination of all the parts takes more time than my peers did. Having the professor say something like "This book you're reading is about X. I know you'll want to know every detail of what every character does to try to determine all the parts like foreshadowing, plot, organization, character motivations, etc. Let's focus on A, B, and C when we read because that's what I'm going to focus the assignment/test/etc. That way, I didn't stress over details I was trying to digest that weren't part of the grand plan the professor had for what we were going to be examining.
i. Health issues - This is a little hard to speak to because the specific health issues can affect so many different things. I have had, for example, surgery or accidents where it took a long time to heal but I could still work. What I didn't realize at the time was how much energy my body was putting into healing and therefore only had limited reserves to be able to do other work outside of healing. It was and is a struggle. Pain takes up a lot of energy. Not feeling well takes up a lot of energy. Sleep issues and gastro issues take up a lot of energy. The best advice I can give here is to spread things out if you can. Maybe take 1 class a semester if 2 is unmanageable. If you completely burn out because 2 is too hard (or whatever amount you think is difficult), it's not worth it. Burnout is rough and hard to get out of for sure.
I personally have an autoimmune thing that when it flares up affects every part of me: mind and body. I have to be careful not to take on more than I can chew because if it flares, I also go into burnout because there just isn't enough energy to cope without burning out and just shutting down. The biggest thing that has helped me in my professional life with this (I work full time) is working remotely. It means I can sleep a little later in the morning. I can sleep over my hour lunch break when I need to. I can sleep right after work rather than having to deal with commute. If not sleep, I can dig into my special interest right after work to help regulate rather than having to commute right away. I can build in my breaks better when I work remotely in my own environment. I don't have visual clutter and constant movement around me from colleagues wandering around the office doing the normal social things. I can just work and rest as needed. I don't know if school will let you do that, but if they do, it couldn't hurt to experiment with it.
I wish you well in your studies!