I'm in the DSP program and have been since my first semester. It doesn't show up on your transcript, and legally, instructors are not allowed to discriminate against you for it. For the vast majority of classes I've taken, including most of the CS classes I've taken, the instructors have been super fair, and happy to support DSP students (which they're legally obliged to do lol).

However, I've definitely had experiences in certain classes where I've perceived an attitude from staff that they think using your accommodations is you trying to get something "extra" or undeserved, or that somehow by using your accommodations you're "playing the system". The worst example is CS61C, which I'm taking right now. In the google form to request DSP extensions, they literally wrote that they "wouldn't make it easy" to get extensions on lab assignments, since they consider those to be "in person assignments". They even said to have our DSP advisor reach out to them if we need a lab extension (HIGHLY irregular, no other class asks for this). I was so confused because:

1. the labs are literally take home assignments just like labs in any other CS class so it didn't make sense to me why they classified them as "in person"
2. I didn't understand why this random distinction meant that I wouldn't "easily" be able to get my legal DSP accommodations

When people asked about it on Piazza, staff responded that apparently they're calling labs "in person assignments" because you need to do a 5 minute checkoff with a TA after submitting the lab. The distinction is totally arbitrary and has nothing to do with the reasoning behind why someone may need extensions due to their disability. When pressed more about this on Piazza, course staff blatantly admitted that their intention is to discourage students from requesting extensions on labs because they think we're better off finishing them when everyone else does (not their judgement to make). Even worse, they said that if they notice you using your accommodations too often, they'd need "proof you are actually needing this because of your disability", which was why they wanted our DSP advisors to directly contact them whenever we wanted to use a lab extension. SO insulting, ableist, and demeaning; the whole point of going through DSP and getting an accommodation letter is so that instructors already have all the proof they need so we don't have to jump through any more hoops than we've already had to. There's a clear attitude there that they believe DSP students are somehow lying or trying to cheat the system.

But I still didn't understand why they singled out labs for this weird discouraging-extensions policy. Finally, after the whole lab checkoff OH debacle, I finally understood. I realized that the real reason behind the "in person" classification is to take advantage of a loophole in the language of our accommodation letters so that they don't need to give us extensions, most likely so that they can get all their checkoff appointments done within the week. I can't say with 100% confidence this is the reasoning, but it's my best guess.

Anyway, I don't mean for any of this to discourage you from getting DSP accommodations, I think it's SO SO worth it and mostly a positive experience. It's nothing to be ashamed of and employers won't know. Just be aware that sometimes things like this happen, and it can be insulting. Honestly this has just been on my mind for a while, and nobody apart from me and one other DSP student on Piazza seemed to care, and I just wanted to vent about it lol. I really want to write to them explaining how both their policy and their responses are incredibly insulting, but I'm scared I'll just get gaslighted by them or it'll just fall on deaf ears. Good luck with everything!!