3/28 The Hidden Cost of Accommodations: When Access Depends on Privilege

Join the Duke Neurodiversity Advocates (DNA) for a discussion on the underdiagnosis crisis and the barriers that keep so many neurodivergent people from receiving support. Getting an assessment for ADHD, autism, or a learning difference can cost hundreds to thousands of dollars, require months-long waitlists, and depend on access to clinicians who actually understand adult neurodivergence.

Meanwhile, people without formal diagnoses are often denied accommodations, dismissed by professors, or told to “just try harder.”

We’ll unpack:

• Why neurodivergence remains underdiagnosed in women, people of color, and low-income students.

• How class and healthcare inequity shape who gets to be recognized, treated, and accommodated.

• The emotional toll of knowing you need help but can’t access “proof.”

• The ethics of requiring expensive paperwork to validate lived experience.

• How universities and workplaces can build universal design systems that support all learners, not just those with formal documentation.

• Ways to advocate for yourself and others without a diagnosis.