‘Tis the season for feeling a bit (or maybe a lot) overwhelmed for college students. Being right in the middle of the fall semester means major projects, exams, and presentations are due. If you loaded up on credit hours like me, there might also be an 8-week class that was sitting quietly on your Blackboard course list that has suddenly gotten needy.
Dealing with the stress and the workload is difficult for all of us, but for neurodivergent students—those with ADHD, dyslexia, autism, OCD, and other learning differences—it’s a much greater struggle.
That unique struggle hasn’t gone unnoticed, and there’s a new way faculty and students are seeking to support neurodiversity here at USC Upstate. Last Thursday, in Dr. Renu Pariyadath’s advanced public speaking class, she invited a student neurodiversity advocate to announce a new effort to form a student group aimed at supporting neurodivergent students within the campus community. Dr. Pariyadath was a Faculty Fellow for neurodiversity from 2021-2023 and has been the Director of Neurodiversity since 2023.
On Tuesday, I spoke more with Dr. Pariyadath about this proposed organization. It’s intended to be a medium for discussion and advocacy surrounding the challenges unique to students whose learning needs differ from what is considered “standard”. It will be a community where students can discuss their own struggles with things like ADHD, come up with solutions to help lessen those struggles, and engage with faculty and staff to try to implement solutions in the university’s learning environment. Dr. Pariyadath said the new organization will be, “…hopefully an advocacy group that can help to address the students’ needs more fully, because we don’t currently have a way of getting students’ voices on this.” She said about ten students have already expressed interest in the group. Some of them may not identify as non-neuronormative themselves but want to support those who do.
Dr. Pariyadath emphasized that the group is to be for students and by students. While she will assist as faculty support when needed, she wants things like the group’s specific goals to be something the student leader and other members make decisions about.
A date for the group’s first meeting has not been set yet.
The new student group isn’t the only way USC Upstate has been pushing to better support neurodiversity. Dr. Pariyadath spoke of a long-term commitment to that effort: “Our university is hoping to become a college of choice for neurodivergent students.” If you’ve spent much time on campus, you might have seen a symbol of the neurodiversity commitment in a classroom or office. It’s a sticker with a sketch of a multicolored brain encircled by the words “Neurodiversity Champion.”
According to Dr. Pariyadath, these stickers were given to a group of about 45 faculty and staff members who completed training from Landmark College this past May. Landmark is a college built entirely on the foundation of supporting neurodivergent students. On their website, they describe themselves as “…one of the only accredited colleges in the United States designed exclusively for students who learn differently, including students with learning disabilities (such as dyslexia), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, or executive function challenges.” The faculty and staff from Upstate were trained in how to identify and support dyslexic, autistic, and ADHD students. For those students, or students who may not identify with these specific learning needs but are struggling cognitively with their coursework, talking to one of these faculty or staff members can be a great way to get the help needed to succeed.
For those seeking neurodiversity resources, or if you are interested in being a part of the student neurodiversity advocacy group, you can email Dr. Pariyadath at renup@uscupstate.edu.
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