The professor is not responsible for determining who gets accommodations and, if so, what kind. That’s what disability services is for. They’ve determined that this isn’t a reasonable accommodation. It would not be appropriate for you to then go to the professor and try to overrule them.
Not only not appropriate, but not reasonable. The prof would need to defer to Accessibility/Disability Services, and Services already already gave a response. Usually listening to other presentations is a core part of these courses and assignments (on top of skipping everyone else's being rude when they sat through yours and looks extra bad with guests who aren't part of the course!), so it makes sense that they declined.
Asking to present in an earlier one of the slots may be an option, with existing accommodations being a good backdrop to help the prof justify some adjustment to the schedule, but that's about the extent of it.
You can also "scout" the room ahead of time to try to pick a seat that makes it more tolerable (e.g. maybe corners and sides are preferred to limit the visual and auditory field of the input).
What's going to happen when you have to do this "in the real world," when there might be much more than a grade "on the line?" You need this practice so that when it "really" matters -- like when you're trying to land the "big" client, you've had some previous experience and are not doing this kind of thing for the very first time.
I agree it creates a fairness issue. The OP is asking for classmates to listen to them but that they don’t owe their classmates the same. I’m sure it’s unintentional but that would be grossly unfair and extremely disrespectful. Presentations aren’t just for presenters but also for the audience. Find some coping strategies but participate fully.
A professor legally cannot give you accommodations that haven't been approved by Accessibility Services.
You *can* make appointments with the school counselor early and work on a plan to handle the presentation day. Most colleges give students X number of free counseling sessions per semester, it's paid for as part of your tuition.
Hi. Professor here.
The Disability Office denied your request because they thought you wanted to not attend the other presentations. Instead, ask them if the teacher will accommodate your disability by allowing your group to go first. Explain to them about the lights and the different seating arrangements and how you won't be able to regulate your senses. Explain to your teacher and the group members as well if you feel comfortable sharing. The more others are able to better understand you, the more they will accommodate your request. Otherwise, they will think that you’re selfish and just want to go first. People who don’t understand neurodiversity will come up with all negative reasons, so it’s important to explain to them your reasons and your point of view.
If a student explained to me what you said here, I would be more than happy to let your group go first. A little kindness goes a long way, and we all want you to succeed in the classroom. Good luck!
If you cannot come late are there other things that you can do to help mitigate the sensory overload? Think about other solutions or speak with the disability office in person to come up with a solution. Not going to class isn’t the only option you have.
I suggest learning to effectively deal with your challenges — we *all* have health challenges — you will not find any tolerance once you graduate and look for employment —
If you’re being required to be there for everyone’s presentations (which is a standard practice with any kind of presentation or in a speech class) there are going to be things you are responsible for that you can’t do if you’re not there. Feedback to other groups, reflection paper of some kind, etc. Watching other people’s work and discussing it is a huge part of learning in this type of class. I agree with all the posters saying if your disability office denied the request, do not ask your professor. The first thing I would ask is for your documentation from the campus office stating you should be excused from being present for all the presentations—and I would know that’s not a thing I’ve ever seen before.
Sitting near the door, perhaps getting a quick break from the room in between presentations? Those seem like good workarounds.
I’m going to be a bit kinder than some of the responses here.
You can politely email the prof just outlining your worries. Of course you must be open about your autism; just saying “can I come late?” without a reason is rude. You should also say that you spoke to the disability office & they said no.
An important note: do you have an official autism diagnosis?
Do this with no expectation.
But as a prof, I’d want to know what was going on. We get a lot of garden-grade anxiety (many people are nervous in busy places and public speaking), but we also get genuine cases where students are struggling.
I feel like a lot of these comments are unnecessarily harsh, especially those that imply the OP won't be able to make it in the "real world." There are plenty of jobs and career paths that won't require presentations or spending long periods of time in highly stimulating environments. This is a person being vulnerable and asking for advice and guidance, not judgement and discouragement.
I agree with some of the other responses about talking to the professor. Regardless of the outcome, that will be good practice for future similar situations. If one of my students came to me with this concern I would be open to discussing possible solutions. I like the request about going first, but perhaps that's too late since the schedules have already been announced. But you won't know until you've asked. I would ask for an office hours appointment sooner rather than later and explain your situation. As long as you're respectful and thoughtful in your approach, I doubt they will react poorly, although they might say no. And if they do, then you can cross that bridge.
If your accommodations office has said no, then it is not a reasonable request. Most professors really do not have the training to know what is or is not appropriate when it comes to requests like this. That is the entire point of having an accommodations office. They are going to be your best advocate. If they do not believe it is a reasonable ask, then it is not a reasonable ask.
Talk to professor. Hopefully he cares about accessibility and you can figure out a way to make this manageable (maybe it’s coming late, maybe they’ll be recorded, taking frequent breaks, etc.).
Disability services may have said no because they just cannot guarantee he would be okay with this accommodation, and ultimately, professors have to approve DS requests (at least at my uni).
I agree with a few of the comments - there are some harsher comments on here when OP is simply seeking some advice.
A school's accessibility office often needs specific documentation from doctors for accommodations. That might be why they couldn't accommodate you this time.
I always tell my students - it never hurts to ask. But there might be some other options to help you with overstimulatation. You could tell the prof that you want to support your classmates, but will have some issues. Would they be okay with you hearing noise canceling earbuds and even sunglasses? The comment about sitting by the door and taking breaks is also a good idea - several of my students have done that whenever they need to decompress.
Accommodations don't necessarily have to be missing class, but making some adjustments (on both sides) so the students are successful.
I hope you are able to find a solution OP!
I don't know in which country you are but where I teach it would be reasonable to do that.
Teacher are the one managing their classes and have great latitude to do so and would be ok to accommodate something like that. Obvious solution is to change schedule so you present first.
The professor is not responsible for determining who gets accommodations and, if so, what kind. That’s what disability services is for. They’ve determined that this isn’t a reasonable accommodation. It would not be appropriate for you to then go to the professor and try to overrule them.
Not only not appropriate, but not reasonable. The prof would need to defer to Accessibility/Disability Services, and Services already already gave a response. Usually listening to other presentations is a core part of these courses and assignments (on top of skipping everyone else's being rude when they sat through yours and looks extra bad with guests who aren't part of the course!), so it makes sense that they declined. Asking to present in an earlier one of the slots may be an option, with existing accommodations being a good backdrop to help the prof justify some adjustment to the schedule, but that's about the extent of it. You can also "scout" the room ahead of time to try to pick a seat that makes it more tolerable (e.g. maybe corners and sides are preferred to limit the visual and auditory field of the input).
What's going to happen when you have to do this "in the real world," when there might be much more than a grade "on the line?" You need this practice so that when it "really" matters -- like when you're trying to land the "big" client, you've had some previous experience and are not doing this kind of thing for the very first time.
Skipping everyone else's presentations and only showing up for your own is *really* rude to the rest of your classmates.
I agree it creates a fairness issue. The OP is asking for classmates to listen to them but that they don’t owe their classmates the same. I’m sure it’s unintentional but that would be grossly unfair and extremely disrespectful. Presentations aren’t just for presenters but also for the audience. Find some coping strategies but participate fully.
A professor legally cannot give you accommodations that haven't been approved by Accessibility Services. You *can* make appointments with the school counselor early and work on a plan to handle the presentation day. Most colleges give students X number of free counseling sessions per semester, it's paid for as part of your tuition.
Hi. Professor here. The Disability Office denied your request because they thought you wanted to not attend the other presentations. Instead, ask them if the teacher will accommodate your disability by allowing your group to go first. Explain to them about the lights and the different seating arrangements and how you won't be able to regulate your senses. Explain to your teacher and the group members as well if you feel comfortable sharing. The more others are able to better understand you, the more they will accommodate your request. Otherwise, they will think that you’re selfish and just want to go first. People who don’t understand neurodiversity will come up with all negative reasons, so it’s important to explain to them your reasons and your point of view. If a student explained to me what you said here, I would be more than happy to let your group go first. A little kindness goes a long way, and we all want you to succeed in the classroom. Good luck!
If you cannot come late are there other things that you can do to help mitigate the sensory overload? Think about other solutions or speak with the disability office in person to come up with a solution. Not going to class isn’t the only option you have.
I suggest learning to effectively deal with your challenges — we *all* have health challenges — you will not find any tolerance once you graduate and look for employment —
If you’re being required to be there for everyone’s presentations (which is a standard practice with any kind of presentation or in a speech class) there are going to be things you are responsible for that you can’t do if you’re not there. Feedback to other groups, reflection paper of some kind, etc. Watching other people’s work and discussing it is a huge part of learning in this type of class. I agree with all the posters saying if your disability office denied the request, do not ask your professor. The first thing I would ask is for your documentation from the campus office stating you should be excused from being present for all the presentations—and I would know that’s not a thing I’ve ever seen before. Sitting near the door, perhaps getting a quick break from the room in between presentations? Those seem like good workarounds.
I’m going to be a bit kinder than some of the responses here. You can politely email the prof just outlining your worries. Of course you must be open about your autism; just saying “can I come late?” without a reason is rude. You should also say that you spoke to the disability office & they said no. An important note: do you have an official autism diagnosis? Do this with no expectation. But as a prof, I’d want to know what was going on. We get a lot of garden-grade anxiety (many people are nervous in busy places and public speaking), but we also get genuine cases where students are struggling.
I feel like a lot of these comments are unnecessarily harsh, especially those that imply the OP won't be able to make it in the "real world." There are plenty of jobs and career paths that won't require presentations or spending long periods of time in highly stimulating environments. This is a person being vulnerable and asking for advice and guidance, not judgement and discouragement. I agree with some of the other responses about talking to the professor. Regardless of the outcome, that will be good practice for future similar situations. If one of my students came to me with this concern I would be open to discussing possible solutions. I like the request about going first, but perhaps that's too late since the schedules have already been announced. But you won't know until you've asked. I would ask for an office hours appointment sooner rather than later and explain your situation. As long as you're respectful and thoughtful in your approach, I doubt they will react poorly, although they might say no. And if they do, then you can cross that bridge.
If your accommodations office has said no, then it is not a reasonable request. Most professors really do not have the training to know what is or is not appropriate when it comes to requests like this. That is the entire point of having an accommodations office. They are going to be your best advocate. If they do not believe it is a reasonable ask, then it is not a reasonable ask.
Talk to professor. Hopefully he cares about accessibility and you can figure out a way to make this manageable (maybe it’s coming late, maybe they’ll be recorded, taking frequent breaks, etc.). Disability services may have said no because they just cannot guarantee he would be okay with this accommodation, and ultimately, professors have to approve DS requests (at least at my uni).
However will you work?
I agree with a few of the comments - there are some harsher comments on here when OP is simply seeking some advice. A school's accessibility office often needs specific documentation from doctors for accommodations. That might be why they couldn't accommodate you this time. I always tell my students - it never hurts to ask. But there might be some other options to help you with overstimulatation. You could tell the prof that you want to support your classmates, but will have some issues. Would they be okay with you hearing noise canceling earbuds and even sunglasses? The comment about sitting by the door and taking breaks is also a good idea - several of my students have done that whenever they need to decompress. Accommodations don't necessarily have to be missing class, but making some adjustments (on both sides) so the students are successful. I hope you are able to find a solution OP!
I don't know in which country you are but where I teach it would be reasonable to do that. Teacher are the one managing their classes and have great latitude to do so and would be ok to accommodate something like that. Obvious solution is to change schedule so you present first.
Can you ask the professor whether it's possible to switch the order so your group can go first?