The Neurodivergent Experience at Emerson College
College is an exciting time in a person’s life. People figure out their passions and learn valuable skills for their future endeavors. However, some students struggle with the academic and social aspects that college offers, especially neurodivergent students. For those unaware, neurodivergent is an umbrella term describing people with different neurological functions. These can include autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyslexia, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and Tourette's syndrome, among others. Neurodivergent people often have trouble completing tasks and interacting with others, something essential for the college experience. According to a study done in 2016, about 19 percent of undergraduate students across the United States have a physical or neurological disability, and many other students are unaware of the struggles these students face. Neurodivergent college students often have trouble concentrating during class, completing assignments on time, or interacting with other students. At Emerson College, they have services to help neurodivergent students. Student Accessibility Services offers students classroom and housing accommodations, ranging from extended time for exams to leniency on absences. The Emerson Wellness Center helps students with mental health issues related to being neurodivergent. The Writing and Academic Resource Center gives students advice for essays. However, these services can't help with the day-to-day struggles students face. Students have to handle these day-to-day hindrances by themselves, with each student having different strategies to complete homework and other responsibilities. This photo story highlights four students’ stories about their neurological disability and the struggles they face because of it. All four of them said that anxiety is a large part of their life and limits their ability to get schoolwork done. Each of them has different ways to relax and relieve school stressors, as neurodivergent people often get more easily worn out than other people. The four students each have unique experiences and ways they handle their neurological disability.
Boston, MA: Nov. 17 - Jesse Lipschutz was born prematurely and has ADHD. He often struggles with anxiety when trying to do structured work.
Boston, MA: Nov. 17 - Jesse is a theater major with a concentration in directing. He uses Canvas, Emerson's learning management system, to determine what assignments to do. Jesse often struggles with the incentive to do homework, saying, "I don't have a lot of self motivation. I'm motivated by the stress of having little time to complete an assignment."
Boston, MA: Nov. 17 - Jesse often gets distracted by his phone when trying to do homework. He listens to music to help him focus.
Boston, MA: Nov. 29 - Maggie Stewart has ADHD and general mental health problems. They have more success getting work done when listening to music or people talking, saying, "It helps when there are people talking in the background while I'm doing something."
Boston, MA: Nov. 29 - Maggie, a theater education and performance major, uses a website called Notion to organize her schoolwork. Notion allows for users to customize a webpage that best meets their organization needs.
Boston, MA: Nov. 29 - To relax, Maggie enjoys playing games on their Nintendo Switch, with Animal Crossing being one of her personal favorites. They also like listening to video essays to be immersed in something different and random.
Boston, MA: Dec. 1 - Roxie Miller is neurodivergent and has trouble getting work done when a lot of work piles up. She relaxes by reading, often setting time in the day specifically for reading.
Boston, MA: Dec. 1 - Roxie, a visual media arts major, said, "When I'm busier, I can get more work done because there's no time to sit around and do nothing." She likes to work outside because it helps to clear her mind.
Boston, MA: Dec. 1 - Roxie likes to read to relax, preferring paperback books rather than reading on a device. She likes to read books that she chooses, not books for school, and likes to be able to see the characters in her mind.
Boston, MA: Dec. 3 - Olivia DeAmicis is neurodivergent and struggles to work for long periods of time. She likes to relax with things that are interesting and stimulating, but not over stimulating.
Boston, MA: Dec. 3 - Olivia, a visual media arts major, uses a planner and a notebook to organize schoolwork. The planner helps her with time management, making sure she doesn't do too much work in one day. She said, "I can't work for a long period of time. I can do a maximum of three to four assignments a day."
Boston, MA: Dec. 3 - Olivia relaxes by creating music and sounds on FL Studio, a music creation app that Toby Fox, her favorite game developer, uses. The app allows for users to create and save multitrack music projects across Apple devices.