UM students who are Autistic or have AD(H)D needed for focus group

Funded by the UM Diversity & Inclusivity Grant, the UM project team Embracing Neurodiversity aims to facilitate a better learning space for neurodivergent students.

However, neurodivergent students themselves know their needs best. As such, students who are Autistic and/or have AD(H)D are asked to join the focus groups sessions taking place in the second and fourth week of November!

Sign up here.

Students who are Autistic and/or have AD(H)D report that they often feel misunderstood and struggle to navigate their time at UM in a way that works for them.

As experts by experience, the UM project team Embracing Neurodiversity consisting out of Jody van Kuijk, Paula Seidensticker, Eva Ipektzidou, Gesa Lange, Jo Haas, John Koch, Judith Kraal and Iris Burks, believes that these students should have authorship over the ways in which UM can be improved according to their needs.

The team hopes that the neurodivergent community wants to share their unique knowledge with them, to enrich their expertise and help them make tangible steps towards a better educational system accordingly. In order to achieve this, they aim to make their focus groups a safe space in which the community can voice their needs, share their experiences and feel mutual recognition.

The ultimate goal for this project is to create an educational system that embraces neurodiversity, and in which neurodivergence is no longer experienced as a barrier to academic achievement.

The UM project team Embracing Neurodiversity is looking for:

  • UM students with AD(H)D (diagnosed or strongly suspected)
  • UM students who are Autistic (diagnosed or strongly suspected)
  • UM students who are Autistic and have AD(H)D (diagnosed or strongly suspected)

The topics covered during the focus group sessions will include:

  • How you have managed your studies at UM (so far) or your previous education
  • What tools/tips/strategies you used to navigate your academic life
  • What your ideal situation would have been

A few days prior to the session, participants will be sent a rough outline of the questions in order to prepare if they so wish (not mandatory). Each focus group will last between 1.5-2 hours and will be led by a neurodivergent student and a UM staff member working in student guidance.

The focus groups for students with AD(H)D and Autism will be hosted separately. If students have a double diagnosis of AD(H)D and Autism, they can decide themselves which focus group to join, or join both.

The size of the focus group is limited to 10 participants. Most sessions will take place on-site, but there will also be one online session for autistic students. For those feeling uncomfortable with a group setting individual interviews are also possible.

Questions or concerns? You can contact the team via: neurodiversity-um@maastrichtuniversity.nl.

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