Neurodivergent students can get support through a new college award.
North Island College has announced the Neurodivergent Success Award, an award aiming to recognize the accomplishments of neurodivergent students, with the recipient to get $1,000.
The college says this award was launched by 64-year-old Romana Frey, who got diagnosed with AuDHD at 61 years old. AuDHD is a term describing a person who has both autism and ADHD.
Frey says she went through her whole life not knowing she was AuDHD.
“I always wondered why I felt different from others, why no one thought the way I did and why routine bored me,” said Frey.
Frey says throughout her life, she often found school and traditional jobs exhausting and constantly needed new challenges. In her late 20’s, she started working for herself and is now a life coach for neurodivergent people.
The college says during her coaching, she started exploring ADHD to help clients become more self-aware, realizing she was recognizing those same traits in herself.
“This shift prompted her to research neurodivergence in girls and women, noting how much of the existing knowledge focused on stereotypical traits often associated with males,” said the college.
“She found that the whole area around female diagnoses was under-researched.”
Frey hopes with this award, it can help others embrace their own journeys with neurodivergence.
The award will be given to a female student, or a student that identifies as female.
For how to apply, click here.
