Comparing Disclosure and Supports used by Higher-Education Students with Neurodivergent or Mental Health Conditions.

Background: Retention and academic success are associated with accessing supports for students with disabilities and/or mental health conditions (MHCs); however, many students do not disclose to their institution. While disclosure and supports use have been investigated for Autistic students, less is known about other neurodivergent students, those with multiple minority identities, and whether this differs from the experiences of non-neurodivergent students with MHCs (NND-MHCs). Methods: Using the bioecological framework, we investigated disclosure experiences and supports use for neurodivergent and NND-MHC students via an anonymous online survey capturing diagnoses, disclosure experiences, supports usage, and new supports wanted from 131 neurodivergent and 42 NND-MHC Australian and New Zealand higher education (HE) students. Kruskal-Wallis, Chi-square, and Fisher's Exact tests were used to compare neuro groups. Results: Neurodivergent participants were grouped into Autistic, Attention Deficity/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autistic-and-ADHD (AuDHD), and ND-other. More AuDHD students disclosed to their institution than NND-MHC (83%-19%, Conclusion: Apart from the AuDHD group, less than half of eligible students disclose to their institution or use supports, but when they do, they find them helpful. A more nuanced understanding of neurodivergent students' support needs is required to improve their HE experience and completion rates.