Guide for College Students: Succeeding in Higher Education with Executive Function Assistance
For neurodivergent students, the transition from high school to college can be a challenging and overwhelming experience. This is particularly true when considering the shift in support structures and accommodations.
K-12 Education Protections and Accommodations
In K-12 education, students with disabilities, including neurodivergent students, are protected under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This law mandates that schools provide a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) tailored to individual needs through mechanisms such as Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). These IEPs specify specialized instruction, related services, and accommodations to support the student's educational progress.
Funding for IDEA comes from federal grants to states and school districts, but its administration is local, with some federal oversight to ensure compliance. The law requires active parental involvement and affords parents advocacy rights, including due process hearings when disputes arise.
K-12 supports often include direct instructional modifications, therapy, assistive technology, behavioral interventions, and coordination with families. There is also growing attention to emergency preparedness and inclusion of neurodivergent students in school safety planning.
Higher Education Protections and Accommodations
In contrast, IDEA does not apply to postsecondary education. Instead, higher education institutions must provide reasonable accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act to ensure equal access but are not required to provide specialized instruction or modifications that alter fundamental academic requirements.
Postsecondary students are required to disclose their disability and request accommodations themselves; support is not automatically provided or tailored like an IEP but is based on documentation and an interactive process to determine reasonable adjustments.
Accommodations might include extended time on tests, note-taking services, quiet testing environments, or adapted materials but do not extend to curriculum alteration or assignment modification in most cases. Higher education emphasizes removing barriers to access and participation rather than guaranteeing specific educational outcomes.
Comparison Table
| Aspect | K-12 Education | Higher Education | |------------------------------|-----------------------------------|----------------------------------| | Governing Law | IDEA, ADA, Section 504 | ADA, Section 504 (IDEA does not apply)| | Nature of Support | IEPs with tailored instruction, related services, FAPE | Reasonable accommodations to ensure access but no tailored instruction| | Funding and Administration | Federally funded, state/local administered | Institution responsibility without direct federal funding tied to compliance| | Parental Involvement | High; parents actively involved in IEP process | Student-driven accommodation requests; parental involvement limited| | Legal Obligation | Must provide appropriate education and support services | Must provide equal access, not guarantee success or modifications| | Accommodations Examples | Specialized instruction, therapy, assistive tech | Extended testing time, note-taking, alternative formats| | Advocacy and Due Process | Formal due process rights and advocacy supports | Minimal formal due process; complaints through ADA or OCR complaints|
Summary
In brief, K-12 students have a legal right to individualized educational services under IDEA with active parental involvement, while higher education students have protections that ensure access and reasonable accommodations but must self-advocate and are not entitled to specialized instruction or guarantees of educational success.
There are also ongoing concerns in K-12 about funding changes impacting specialized supports, which can indirectly affect neurodivergent students' access and advocacy capacity.
This distinction reflects the shift from a guaranteed education in K-12 settings to access and nondiscrimination in postsecondary environments. Many college institutions embed daily living skills into campus life to help with the transition to independent living. However, higher education institutions do not provide case managers, evaluations, or automatic parental involvement for neurodivergent students.
Academic demands in college include organization, time management, planning, goal-directed action, keeping track of course materials and due dates, and determining priorities. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination based on a student's disability and ensures legal protections in higher education.
For neurodivergent students, understanding these differences and building a strong support system, including friends, professionals, advisors, campus services, mental health professionals, coaches, and colleagues, can help navigate this complex transition successfully.
In the context of education and self-development, learning essential life skills such as time management, personal growth, and organization is especially important for neurodivergent students during the transition from high school to college. While K-12 education offers individualized support through IEPs and direct federal funding, higher education mainly provides reasonable accommodations that ensure equal access for all students under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Therefore, developing these crucial skills through resources like education-and-self-development programs can play a significant role in the personal-growth and success of neurodivergent students in college.
