4 minute read
Transitioning to Adulthood
When Amy first arrived at Duke as an undergraduate student, she spent a lot of time feeling confused. “I didn’t understand how everyone else seemed to know what to do,” she says. “It felt like there was some network that I wasn’t plugged into at all.” (Amy’s name has been changed to protect her privacy.) Amy, who identifies as being on the autism spectrum, is a senior at Duke from California studying engineering and neuroscience. In her first year she also struggled with roommate conflicts and all the sensory stimulation of a typical college day. “The dining halls can be incredibly overwhelming,” she says. “Trying to find a place to sit when there are so many visual cues to look at, so many people. . . . It’s hard to process.” Things started looking up when Amy met Tara Chandrasekhar, MD, aka Dr. C. “Dr. C. is amazing,” Amy says. “She focuses on ‘What can we do to make sure you get the best experience possible?’” Chandrasekhar is a psychiatrist who works part-time at the Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development and part-time at Duke Counseling and Psychological Services. She is working hard to improve the experience of all students at Duke who have autism, ADHD, or learning differences. Chandrasekhar has a special interest in helping people on the spectrum navigate the transition from adolescence to adulthood. She points out that people with autism are often well supported in the K-12 years, but may suddenly lose services and support after twelfth grade. “It’s a big point of vulnerability when they hit that cliff,” she says. Some people aren’t prepared for college or working and end up staying at home. For individuals who go to community college or a university, there are pluses and minuses to the new environment.
“The positives of going to college are that you might be able to find a group of likeminded individuals or a group that coalesces around shared goals,” Chandrasekhar says. “College is a little more accepting of difference.” On the other hand, colleges are stimulating and social places, presenting unique challenges for some students. “College can feel like an incredibly lonely place for students on the spectrum,” Chandrasekhar says. “I’ve had students tell me in college you’re expected to be social all the time, and that’s very exhausting.” Chandrasekhar is working to improve the experience of students on the spectrum at Duke. In 2016, she founded Neurodiversity Connections on campus. “The aim of the group is focused on raising awareness of neurodiversity on campus,” Chandrasekhar says. “We’re creating the connections and knowledge base so we can be more effective in helping students.” Members include representatives from Student Health, Counseling and Psychological Services, Duke Reach, the Academic Resource Center, the Student Disability Access Office, the Career Center, the Global Education Office, and a student representative. “The more we talk about it on campus, the more people are interested in joining,” Chandrasekhar says. “It’s really exciting.”
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Raghav Swaminathan, an adult on the spectrum who works at the Duke Center for Autism (center in top Tweet) poses with the film’s director, Matt Fuller (left), and Dr. Madhav Swaminathan at the screening of Autism in Love. Duke Neurodiversity Connections makes presentations, provides tips for teaching neurodiverse students, and works with other campus organizations such as the Disability and Access Initiative. In February, the group sponsored a screening of Autism in Love, a documentary about the challenges and joys faced by autistic adults seeking or navigating romantic relationships. The evening included a Q&A with the film’s director, Matt Fuller. Students handed out brochures about Neurodiversity Connections before the film. Through Neurodiversity Connections and other work, Chandrasekhar would like to help Duke become more proactive rather than reactive in meeting the needs of neurodiverse students. “These students are here because they are academically brilliant, and Duke can benefit from having them on our campus,” she says. “It’s in everyone’s interest to support their needs.” One of those needs is community. To address that, Chandrasekhar organized a group called the Clubhouse for neurodiverse students, including Amy. “It’s a place to get together and hang out where we can talk about the concerns we have that other people might not share,” Amy says. “A place where you don’t feel like you have to be anybody but yourself.” She says it’s a relief not to have to think about whether she’s making enough eye contact or twitching her fingers too much. “It’s a social group, not a support group,” Amy says. “But it ends up being just a little bit of both, because that’s what friends do, right?”
