The Goal for neurodiverse college students is not “Independence.”\u2002There.\u2002We said it.\u2002And we meant it.\u2002But please, let us explain…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For neurodiverse students with a diagnosis of NLD, NVLD, or ASD, it can be confusing to consistently have educators and family focus on the mythical quest for “independence”<\/strong> – especially when it is not actually what we mean.\u2002No successful adult is an island unto themselves, independent from everyone around them, existing in a vacuum and disconnected from others.\u2002Far from it!\u2002<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rather, successful adults have partners and friends, family and coworkers, and they interact with a whole host of individuals who play an important part in their lives.\u2003Successful adults are both the central characters and active participants in their own ongoing narrative.\u2002They are aware of their strengths and areas of growth, they ask for and receive support, and they are able to weave that support into the fabric of their lives to create purpose and meaning, both for themselves and for others.\u2002They are not independent.\u2002They are interdependent<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n College can be a complicated time for emerging young adults – they are embarking on a process of healthy individuation<\/strong> from family but might not yet have fully developed the skills needed to be successful interdependent young adults.\u2002And in the interim, it is simply too easy for emerging young adults who keep hearing the mantra of “independence” to become confused, thinking that it is possible The Goal is to become independent in the vein of Robinson Crusoe or Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks in Cast Away<\/em>).\u2002Fun Fact: Both of these are fictional characters in fictional stories!<\/p>\n\n\n\n No.\u2002The Goal is not Independence.\u2002It is something much more interesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Goal is for emerging young adults and college students to create an interconnected web of healthy interdependence<\/strong>, at the center of which is an individual with agency who is playing an active role in the continuous creation, cultivation, and curation of their own experience.\u2002The goal is self-awareness, an actualization of the self, agency, the ability to create and sustain connections, and the capacity to both give and receive support and help as needed.\u2002<\/p>\n\n\n\n