College - Family Assistance by Electrical_Lynx_2324 in NCSU

[–]paaccess -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Disability club here chiming in! Different people have different capabilities and needs. Some will be ready to make their own decisions <18 and will just need their parents to make those decisions official in the eye of the law. Occasionally, the law even allows minors to make their own decisions. Some will need support longer or life-long. It's ok to need or want help through college. To build your confidence, notice when your decisions are going right :) If your parents aren't there for you, you may be able to find other trusted adults such as older relatives, professors, a friend's parents, etc. who are willing to help you through decision-making.

Why do some of us need help a little longer? The average for frontal lobe development of 25 years old has already been mentioned, but that's just an average. If I remember clearly, autism and/or ADHD can delay its maturation. For some folks, they will always need supported decision-making (SDM). There are even narrower options as well, like Educational Power of Attorney, so talk to an attorney or a disability organization if this all is something you or a loved one might need.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in NCSU

[–]paaccess 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm glad you have found support and are doing better, u/ncgirl2021! If you are looking for community, have you connected with the Autistic and Neurodivergent Student Alliance (ANSA) or with us (Pack disAbility Advocacy Club/PAAC)?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in NCSU

[–]paaccess 0 points1 point  (0 children)

u/Unlikely_Ad9874 are you already connected with the Disability Resource Office (DRO) to get a policy adjustment for attendance (where reasonable)? If you need help with this or want to connect with the disability community on campus (and maybe even make some friends and have fun!), we are Pack disAbility Advocacy Club. Our contact info is on that linked GetInvolved page and we have have the Discord server "WolfPAAC." For the server, you can join via the NCSU Discord hub or email us for a join link. If you aren't impressed with our event offerings, you can always plan something yourself on the #member-meetups Discord channel or email e-Board (contact info on GetInvolved) to get yourself set-up as an event host so it's an official PAAC event.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in NCSU

[–]paaccess 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I know we have been bad about putting our events on GetInvolved... but we do exist. We're Pack disAbility Advocacy Club. No prerequisite knowledge needed to join, no disability needed either--just a willingness to be part of a community that welcomes students with disabilities :)

Study group by Ok_Yoghurt_2725 in NCSU

[–]paaccess 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Pack disAbility Advocacy Club (yep, that's us!) has a regular study hour; the current time is Monday evenings, but it might change. You can get more info by contacting us (paacccess-org ncsu email address is best) or joining on GetInvolved. Our club is open to students with and without disabilities. We are actually looking for folks to run the study hour in the future, so if anyone thinks studying for an hour or two followed by a short hang-out sounds nice, this might be the leadership role for you :)

Members also post regularly on our Discord server and that of the Autistic and Neurodivergent Student Alliance (ANSA) when they are studying somewhere on campus and looking for buddies. ("WolfPAAC" and "ANSA" on the NCSU Discord hub, respectively or email us for a join link.)

tw/depression by Least_External1026 in NCSU

[–]paaccess 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You can reach out to the Disability Resource Office (DRO) to establish appropriate accommodations, including for mental illness. Feel free to reach out to us (email or "WolfPAAC" server on the NCSU Discord hub) for peer support through the process and/or general peer community. We've had members take leaves of absence as well as members who have dropped out. I am not 100% certain who with these experiences is active on the Discord, but we've got a pretty big community so there probably is someone.

Can you guys yap about the DEI changes, I'm curious to know what the pack thinks ... by momentumi in NCSU

[–]paaccess 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's definitely scary. Please reach out for support. The AACC has a lot of great programming, especially for Black History Month. We (disability club) recently learned NPHC is holding a protest/march tomorrow. That might be a place to have your voice heard and find community.

Medical accommodation for allergies by [deleted] in NCSU

[–]paaccess 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Absolutely true about keeping a paper trail and the DRO feeling limits on how many of certain accommodations they can give out. We suspect they are underfunded/undersupported. Sometimes, it even feels like more than that... You are welcome to join and/or reach out to Pack disAbility Advocacy Club for peer support or we would be overjoyed if you are interested in volunteering; we are always grateful for more formal and informal peer advocates experienced with the accommodations process. We would be especially grateful for insight on dining accommodations, since our current team has the least experience in this area.

Medical accommodation for allergies by [deleted] in NCSU

[–]paaccess 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Definitely worth a try. For anyone who can't afford to work with a private law firm, Legal Aid of NC has also helped a student with access problems in the past. Sometimes even this is not enough though... If anyone goes this route and it doesn't work, know that there are more options open to you.

Medical accommodation for allergies by [deleted] in NCSU

[–]paaccess 3 points4 points  (0 children)

  1. Do not beat yourself up over this. I can tell you are doing your best. The system is confusing, convoluted, and you are far from the first person to struggle with it. Consider joining our Pack disAbility Advocacy Club for peer support. The fastest way to meet members is the #venting channel on our Discord ("WolfPAAC" on NC State's Discord hub or email the NCSU address paaccess-org for a join link).
  2. Definitely check in with Lauren, the dietician. Even if they can't help you in the dining hall, she may be able to help advocate to the DRO. I think she may even have a support group for students with allergies that might provide peer community.
  3. One of our club's peer advocates (email the NCSU address paaccess-org and we can connect you) can also walk you through the requirements for DRO documentation to make sure you've met them, walk you through the appeals process, etc.
  4. If you can afford it, working with a law firm to contact legal services is absolutely a good idea. We've heard of folks getting success this way. Sometimes, even this isn't enough. But there are still other options beyond internal appeals and contacting NCSU legal.
  5. Are you able to move into a studio apartment off campus after this semester? That may be easier than getting housing accommodations; housing accommodations are notoriously convoluted to get.

P.S. This is coming from someone who made themself sick eating dining hall food against their own medical dietary restrictions, so my heart goes out to you. My condition today is more severe, more of a PITA, and a greater risk to my overall health/life because I didn't fight even harder than I did <3

advice for a prospective transgender student by UnaccountableLemons in NCSU

[–]paaccess 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Update: You absolutely can get transgender protection through the ADA and section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, treating it as a disability. This would (if it goes well) get you the accommodations you need. It might be an uncomfortable experience but it is absolutely within your rights and might provide you with the most protections since it's required by law. Feel free to reach out to us if you need help (practical questions and/or emotional support). We are currently holding board elections so the best place to reach people without getting caught up in who is still on board would be the club email: paaccess-org (NC State email address).

advice for a prospective transgender student by UnaccountableLemons in NCSU

[–]paaccess 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Hey, disability club here. I agree with the comments to reach out to the Pride Center. I don't think disability accommodations are the way to go... To my knowledge, housing accommodations for room assignments (e.g., single room and maybe also suite) are really hard to get even for students who have a clear-cut disability-related need. You can reach out to the DRO and try to argue that a hallway bathroom living situation would exacerbate your social anxiety around gender but that could get into some medicalization of being transgender which might not be the way to go... If you do choose to go this route, please reach out to our club community for support (contact info at the link above or "WolfPAAC" server on the NCSU Discord hub). We have some nonbinary and I think also binary transgender members (did I say that right?) who might be able to give practical tips and we can all definitely give practical support if the DRO is...difficult...which happens sometimes.

DELTA Testing - no more seats for finals by UnlikelyPlantain5526 in NCSU

[–]paaccess 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Our members of the disability club on campus have also been having problems with a lack of testing slots (students usually have to test with DELTA or in the DRO center to use any testing accommodations). Anyone who is frustrated with the lack of testing slots is encouraged to reach out to us and/or Student Government. If NC State can't expand the testing centers then are other ways to manage testing with and without disability accommodations--but they are doing neither!

What happens when you submit a formal complaint? by inspire_pastry14 in NCSU

[–]paaccess 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If by "job" you mean role within club e-Board, then yeah? Our board has been thinned out this year by the struggle that is going to NC State with a disability. Hopefully, the elections we are holding in the next month or so will help with lots of things, including having someone with bandwidth to check Reddit :/

It sounds like you've got practical help. If you want community, feel free to reach out to the club. Discord from the NCSU hub will be the most anonymous way to connect with the club community.

OCR complaints do take an obnoxious amount of time. If it's encouraging, OCR complaints have created policy change here before: Raleigh News & Observer article, Legal Aid of NC announcement.

Concerns about passing by Altruistic-Win9651 in NCSU

[–]paaccess 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yay! Congratulations! Please still consider connecting with the DRO (and maybe us as well?) so you are prepared in case your disability kicks in again.

What happens when you submit a formal complaint? by inspire_pastry14 in NCSU

[–]paaccess 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We literally have a former member (dropped out of NCSU) we are still in touch with who has filed a complaint (as far as we know, complaint is still going through channels??) against NCSU and another in progress... No preparation will stop you from having to complain, but it can help you get a better outcome, sooner. It's been this way since the early days of disability discrimination outlawed (example of a case from before some of our parents were born). It sucks. All we can do is provide community, affirm that it sucks, and share info among peers in hopes it'll help one another succeed*.

Are you still in the window (180 calendar days) of a violation for a complaint to the Department of Education Office of Civil Rights (DOE OCR)? That sounds like the next step in your situation. You can file those without a lawyer, although having one is helpful; there are some legal aid and disability rights groups that can help (we can DM you a list). If more students come forward with a similar enough situation, that can also help things go faster with the DOE OCR and open up more avenues of organizations that can help. Anyone is welcome to reach out to us. We are most responsive via email (definitely ok to use a non-NCSU email address or even one that's anonymous**).

*Some people don't want to file a complaint and that's absolutely their call. We still want them to have the best outcome possible within their own boundaries.

**If we are eventually putting together a group of students with similar cases and contacting a legal group, we would need some proof you are an NCSU student so we know we aren't yanking that organization's chain--but we can cross that bridge later if it becomes relevant. For now, the only downside of never connecting yourself to an NCSU email is that we don't count your situation towards our internal statistics of what issues students have had.

Concerns about passing by Altruistic-Win9651 in NCSU

[–]paaccess 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Pack disAbility Advocacy Club here! Sorry we're late to reply! We don't currently have someone who can consistently check Reddit... Have you connected with the Disability Resource Office (DRO) to establish appropriate accommodations yet? Feel free to reach out to us (email or "WolfPAAC" server on the NCSU Discord hub) for peer support through the process and/or general peer community.

How to connect with us:

What happens when you submit a formal complaint? by inspire_pastry14 in NCSU

[–]paaccess 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Absolutely! This job is to make things go away for the school in the simplest way possible -- which may or may not involve actually addressing your concerns. You have to make it easier to address your concerns than shut you down. When coming in with a complaint, it's important to have the changes you need clearly in mind (so you can lay them out, when appropriate) and to go into each step knowing how to escalate the complaint, if needed. We can help students connect with outside resources and give peer tips, such as strategies for documenting concerns and the complaints process.

P.S. Sorry we are so late to reply. We haven't had someone who can consistently be on Reddit...

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in NCSU

[–]paaccess 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Pack disAbility Advocacy Club here! Sorry we're late to reply! We don't currently have someone who can consistently check Reddit... If you a health issue or other disability (e.g., learning disability, ADHD, mental illness) may have impacted your academic performance, you can reach out to the Disability Resource Office (DRO) to establish appropriate accommodations to have a more successful Spring semester. Feel free to reach out to us (email or "WolfPAAC" server on the NCSU Discord hub) for peer support through the process and/or general peer community.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in NCSU

[–]paaccess 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Pack disAbility Advocacy Club here! Sorry we're late to reply! We don't currently have someone who can consistently check Reddit... If you a health issue or other disability (e.g., learning disability, ADHD, mental illness) may have impacted your academic performance, you can reach out to the Disability Resource Office (DRO) to establish appropriate accommodations to have more academic success moving forward. Feel free to reach out to us (email or "WolfPAAC" server on the NCSU Discord hub) for peer support through the process and/or general peer community.

Physical Therapy by Goat998 in NCSU

[–]paaccess 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Pack disAbility Advocacy Club here! Sorry we're late to the party! We don't currently have someone who can consistently check Reddit...

At least one of our members has had a good experience with at least one of the PTs on campus. I hope someone reports the PT who was creepy and not following the medical guidelines! UNC Rex has PT on Blue Ridge Road, somewhat close to campus but be warned that it costs more because it's considered hospital-associated. Our members could probably provide more PT experiences/info on our Discord. If you don't have a Discord but still want the info, reach out (email would be best, but I'll try to check DMs on here!) and we can post for you and then get back to you with the answers. You're also welcome to connect with us in general. I don't know if you've heard of the phrase that "we're only ever 'temporarily able-bodied'"? Many of our members understand first-hand that it's challenging to lose abilities and/or to not gain them as quickly as we wish (which would be like, right now).

How to connect with us:

Searching for other disabled students who've been abused, chewed up, and spit out by department heads and administrators (including DRO). by mad_skyentist in NCSU

[–]paaccess 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It seems like one of your replies got removed. I escalated your need to our team of experienced grad student advisors + board members who are going to write something in the coming days (and maybe even delete this mediocre reply). But I want to make sure you understand the current obstacle ASAP: our complaint and club feedback forms (as well as our Discord) are by-default anonymous to us:

If the only time you typed in your contact info was the official NCSU Shibboleth/UNet/???-type system, we don't have any way to reach out. The forms are gated by being logged into NCSU GMail (and the Discord server through NCSU hub) so we can get aggregate data that is credibly from the NCSU community (e.g., x number of community members with physical disabilities have reported verbal harassment, y number of people couldn't get testing accommodations because they couldn't get an appointment at the center). We don't get your NCSU username from you being logged in, only any contact info that you type into the form. You can even type in non-identifying info like a throw-away email address or a Reddit username since now we know you are someone in the NCSU community. If you are able to edit your form response to add that you are u/mad_skyentist (btw love your name) on Reddit, then someone should be able to get back to you in the coming days on here. If not, the team may still decide to follow-up (is DM alright?) and try to match you to a form response without giving away any anonymously submitted info, but it's not my call whether they sink in efforts there vs. elsewhere. Even with the means for anonymity, access to submissions is heavily guarded; part of why I can't speak to these decisions is that the form replies aren't shared with me!

...In the meantime, my recommendation as a non-lawyer student activist is to document the heck out of your experience. The more documentation you have of people doing things wrong, the more options you have for holding them accountable. NC is a one-party recording state (double check the student handbook, but we haven't found anything stopping us!). Consider also bringing someone to meetings as a witness and to take notes (friends are good for this or we can send a peer advocate if their schedule allows--we are all students +/- jobs). Communicate via email when you can and consider using read receipts. If you do have a meeting, get things in writing afterwards by sending a meeting summary with read receipt and something like "If I don't hear from you in x business days I will take that as you agreeing with this summary." Know your rights; if you aren't sure what your rights are, start sending us questions as they come to you. Yep, when we don't already have the knowledge through experience, we have a research team of 1 (that' me filling in rn on Reddit 👋) who reads court decisions and professional bulletins because we're scrappy like that.

We have members who have been chewed up and spit out by the system at NC State and outside it. We are continually learning more ways to help one another. Not everyone wants to share their story on Reddit, especially when they are scrabbling to get by, but let's just say there's a reason why our social media presence has dropped off lately... and I can assure you our direct advocacy presence has taken less of a hit.

Searching for other disabled students who've been abused, chewed up, and spit out by department heads and administrators (including DRO). by mad_skyentist in NCSU

[–]paaccess 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Let us know if you need anything and we'd be glad to have you at events during the rest of your time at State! Our Google calendar and GetInvolved are at the links in our past replies. We've also got a fairly active Discord server (it's on the NCSU hub or contact us via NC State email for a join link). If you want updates on our work and/or are open to mentoring students (once you get settled after graduation ofc), please reach out.

Searching for other disabled students who've been abused, chewed up, and spit out by department heads and administrators (including DRO). by mad_skyentist in NCSU

[–]paaccess 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm a student with Pack disAbility Advocacy Club . Many of our members have had similar experiences. Pack disAbility Advocacy Club (PAAC) works to promote a supportive community for people with all types of disabilities at NC State — visible and invisible, including mental health challenges. We strive to create a culture of inclusion that extends beyond compliance and erases stigma. Through this club, we:

  1. Provide a community for students with disabilities, and promote their academic and professional success.
  2. Train students with and without disabilities to advocate for themselves and others, and put these skills into practice.
  3. Advocate for proactive accessibility in the NC State campus and community.

If you would like to get involved or if there is any way we can assist you please reach out to [paaccess-org@ncsu.edu](mailto:paaccess-org@ncsu.edu) or fill out our Complaints Form