Neurodiversity and Accessibility: CAPS and Accommodations at Wes
By Jasmine Jason
If you’re new to Wesleyan, to college life, or if you’ve never reached out for mental health resources before, specific things like mental health access and accommodations can seem intimidating or confusing. Students usually have a lot of questions when they first arrive to campus about what support is available to them, like “What are accommodations, and how do I get them? How do I know if I need them?” and “What is CAPS? What can they offer me?”
There are several resources and departments on campus that are available to help students. Here’s a brief overview and FAQ on mental health services at Wes:
What Is Neurodiversity?: Neurodiversity is a term you might hear frequently mentioned at Wes; for a broad definition, neurodiversity is the idea that neurological differences-- found with people with mental disorders or atypical thinking and processing patterns, such as with people who are on the autistic spectrum or have ADHD-- exist because of normal, natural variation in the human brain. It is a scientific term, but it’s also a movement to normalize the different ways that learning and living manifest for people that are not ‘neurotypical’.
What Are Accommodations?: Something that Wesleyan offers to neurodiverse students is academic accommodations. (in addition to housing accommodations). Students can apply for academic accommodations on the Wesleyan student portal, and can fill out and give forms to receive academic accommodations from professors in specific courses. Before doing this though, students need to meet with Accessibility Services to be approved. Even if you aren’t sure about whether you need college accommodations, or would like to ask questions, reach out! The email is accessibility@wesleyan.edu, and their office is located in North College 021.
There is also a limited-availability, free cognitive assessment program available for low-income students in need that they can apply for at the beginning of each academic year for those who are interested in determining whether they are neurodiverse or have a learning disability. Please contact Dean Patey at the Accessibility Services office if you’re interested.
What Are CAPS Services?: Located at the Davison Health Center on 327 High Street, Counseling and Psychological Services offers individual and group therapy for students. Students who have campus or approved insurance typically are not billed for the services CAPS provides (save prescription costs). If you’re new to CAPS or interested in asking about either starting therapy or just talking to someone once, students can either request brief, no-paperwork, thirty minute consultation, or fill out a formal request on the CAPS page on the Wesleyan website.
CAPS also manages group therapy for those who don’t want to do individual therapy, and on the website, there is a schedule for the workshops offered each semester. Some workshops will close after the first few meetings, so if you are interested in joining, act early.