{"id":51,"date":"2024-12-09T10:07:38","date_gmt":"2024-12-09T15:07:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bsuthespectrum.wordpress.com\/?p=51"},"modified":"2025-07-18T22:55:53","modified_gmt":"2025-07-18T22:55:53","slug":"cultivating-a-space-and-addressing-a-need","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thebsuspectrum.com\/?p=51","title":{"rendered":"Cultivating a space and addressing a need"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Dr. Keith Hicks put his best foot forward. Outside a lecture hall in the James E. Proctor Jr. building, he piled pizza, wings and drinks on a table at the entrance to the room with the discrete lull of lofi music, hoping to welcome students to a special mid-afternoon gathering.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On a typical day around this time, Dr. Hicks, a man fitted with a full beard and casual business attire, does what most counselors do \u2014 meet with students, help them through life\u2019s difficulties and ensure they get access to the tools they need to be successful on campus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Sept. 19 was different. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On this day, for the second time in consecutive semesters, Dr. Hicks offered a group support session for students who face a unique challenge: they are people whose brains might deviate from the typical functions experienced by the majority of the population, identifying as \u201cneurodiverse,\u201d a broad term for people with such conditions as autism, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Hicks said he wants \u201cto have a safe space for this population.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For several minutes after the scheduled 2 p.m. start of the group meeting, Dr. Hicks waited alone, until one by one, students began to trickle in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adrienne Yancy was first. Yancy, a fifth-year criminal justice major, is among an estimated 15 to 20 percent of the world\u2019s population that identifies as neurodiverse. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI can\u2019t say this for everyone, but for me, it can be a bit over stimulating and the communication is kind of rough in general and that\u2019s very difficult for me,\u201d Yancy said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group quickly connected through their shared experiences of navigating a majority neurotypical world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just like struggling in a way that you feel you\u2019re not normal,\u201d said Monnie Gholston, a first-year business administration major. \u201cSometimes I just have random bouts of anxiety, sometimes I just can\u2019t focus \u2014 I\u2019m doing too [much] stuff in my head that I can\u2019t focus on the real world.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s common for neurodivergent individuals \u2014 especially those with autism \u2014 to experience feelings of isolation. These experiences extend to collegiate life and, though the Disability Support Services office doesn\u2019t have the statistics on paper yet, Dr. Hicks can confirm one thing \u2014 this group\u2019s population is growing on campus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With this growth comes an even greater need, one Hicks noticed and took action to address. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSome students who identified on the spectrum or were neurodiverse could do the actual work of college academic standards, but lacked those kinds of social skills for succeeding in the non-classroom aspects of college,\u201d said Dr. Hicks, a student counselor with more than 10 years worth of experience. <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Dr. Keith Hicks (bottom right) at the \u201cRISE Against Hunger\u201d MLK Day of Service \u2013 Jan. 2024<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

With logistical support from the Disability Support Services (DSS) office, Hicks formed the Neurodiversity Support Group during the spring 2024 semester. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe initial mission was to have a kind of safe space for this population who might need space during the day to kind of get away from being overstimulated, learn socialization skills, or, you know, have a kind of a non-threatening place to just connect with other students.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the end of the meeting, Dr. Hicks said he was pleased with the diverse group of 7 <\/strong>students including commuter, freshmen, transfer, graduate and senior students. Amongst themselves, there were even some newfound friends. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With plans to host more meetings for the Neurodiversity Support Group, Dr. Hicks wants to not only create a safe space for neurodiverse students but for students who are unfamiliar with the movement as a whole\u2014leaving the group open to those willing to learn. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBroadly, this kind of [neurodiverse] movement is trying to get away from having these conditions thought of as a disorder,\u201d he said. \u201cThat’s sort of the idea and philosophy around what we mean when we talk about being neurodiverse, is that there\u2019s no one way of thinking or feeling or processing the world.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dr. Keith Hicks welcomes the Neurodiversity Support Group on Bowie State\u2019s campus for the second semester in a row.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":204,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_newspack_byline_active":false,"_newspack_byline":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[3,5,9,15,17,29,30,31],"coauthors":[57],"class_list":["post-51","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus","tag-adhd","tag-autism","tag-bowie-state-university","tag-disability-support","tag-education","tag-mental-health","tag-neurodivergent","tag-neurodiversity","entry"],"yoast_head":"\nCultivating a space and addressing a need - The Spectrum<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Dr. Keith Hicks welcomes the Neurodiversity Support Group on Bowie State\u2019s campus for the second semester in a row.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thebsuspectrum.com\/?p=51\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cultivating a space and addressing a need - 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