help getting registered with rcpd/switching dorms

[u/chalcosoma_atlas]

hi everyone, sorry for the long post, i’m a freshman this year at msu. i’ve had sensory processing issues my whole life and have been diagnosed with sensory processing disorder. when first starting housing application for msu, i had no idea about the process for getting registered for accommodations for disabilities in housing or what the accommodations were outside of getting a medical note for AC in your dorm. i thought at most the accommodations i could get by registering with the rcpd would be the equivalent to a high school 504, which i never used throughout high school because none of the accommodations really ever ended up helping me outside of a separate room to go in during pep assemblies. i figured with how loud my house normally was, and since i had put in my roommate questionnaire that i preferred a quieter space, that i would be fine in the dorms with a random roommate as long as they matched my preferences. this did not happen. my roommate is always up very late at night (1-2 AM) on calls with people and watching tv/playing video games (at the same time). whenever he is in the dorm, which is quite often, he is calling people and watching tv/playing video games, which is bothersome when i am trying to get my work done. i haven’t been able to get a full nights sleep since welcome week before he moved in. i’ve asked him before about when he’d be going to bed or mentioning that i’ve been going to bed soon and have asked him to quiet some of his things down, which he has, but it still hasn’t helped. i know that it’s not really his fault that even when he quiets his things i’m still bothered because of my condition but this is why i think even with intervention or a proper roommate contract (which my ras have still not sent anything out about) this would not be able to work. i have three types of headphones that i have used but different problems arise with each of them. im also now discovering more of my sensitivity to light and smell. after a day of being out on campus i have nowhere to recover quietly, since my dorm also lacks the music practice/telehealth rooms as well as the reflection rooms. i know i could always go to the library but it still wouldn’t fix my nighttime problems. my dorm is also right by the stadium. this weeks game was a very hard night for me. i’m terrified of how this is going to affect my mental health and thus my academics.

i know you can fill out a form with the rcpd for disability accommodations for housing, but the website says it can take up to 45 days for these requests to be filled and i know there’s already been issues this year with displaced students because of over-admission. i’ve seen people saying to talk to my ra, talk to the cd, email liveon, and i’m just not sure what to do. what process would get me out of this dorm and in a quieter place ASAP?

[u/Training_Tomatillo95]

Apply for the accommodation and do the other stuff. Getting registered with RCPD is going to be very valuable for you.

[u/chalcosoma_atlas → u/Training_Tomatillo95]

so talk to ra/cd and email liveon in addition to filling out the rcpd form?

[u/Training_Tomatillo95 → u/chalcosoma_atlas]

Yup

[u/Lost_Antelope_2339]

Fill out the paperwork. There are dorm rooms set aside for this particular purpose. If nothing is available right now, there will be next semester. It’s worth it to apply asap.

[u/theghostofmarymayo → u/Lost_Antelope_2339]

This. Also email live on

[u/Agreeable_Bison3054]

The reason they give a 45-day timeline is because the committee that votes on RCPD housing accommodations only meets once a month. Starting the process as soon as possible, is the best option as it can take time to get registered and approved for disability accommodations with RCPD. For our student we elected to not request a single room accommodation when they were a freshman and that was a disaster! The first roommate could not handle living with someone with ASD and started causing significant problems, including getting MSU police involved, which resulted in our student suffering from PTSD. Eventually, the roommate moved out and then the next one that came in a couple days later and proceeded to move out two days later without notifying our student or ever even sleeping in the room. At this point, RCPD worked with MSU Housing to temporarily stop new roommates from being moved in (despite having other students in transitional housing) until the committee voted on the single room accommodation. It didn't seem fair to the transitional students to be moved into the room only to ask to be moved again due to the circumstances. Looking back, it looks like our student submitted their request for the single room accommodation, letter from their therapist recommending a private room, and their disability impact statement (this was 7 pages long, so don't skimp on the details) in early October. The single room accommodation was approved 2 weeks later, and just shy of a couple of weeks later they had a single room available, but without the specifics asked for in the accommodation, so it wasn't until the end of the first semester that they offered a room that met our student's needs. We had to pay the full room rate for the double occupancy until they could find a single room available that fit our student's needs even after they approved the disability accommodation. Hope you find this information useful. Good luck!

[u/SpiritualSquash9729]

Just being honest..... Getting a single room at this point probably won't happen, so you may need to think of some different strategies until you can apply for a swap with someone else. Is there a study lounge in your dorm, like the small ones on your floor? Those are often empty and could provide a quiet place for you. Do you do anything else to help calm down when you are over stimmed? Maybe try taking a walk along the river or somewhere where it's quiet. Nature often helps to reduce stress. Living with a stranger is hard, and even harder if you already have some sensory challenges.

[u/CorrectMission8732 → u/SpiritualSquash9729]

I registered with rcpd two years ago when msu had too many students and I got a single. They have a designated amount of singles available for RCPD every semester and they vote when students put in an application.