You Can Do it! Four Tips for Building Your Disability and Neurodiversity Cultural Center

by Adam R. Lalor, Ph.D.

One of the fastest-growing minority groups on college campuses today is students with disabilities (Lipka et al., 2020), including those with learning disabilities (LD). Students with LDs have significantly lower graduation and employment rates than their non-disabled peers (Newman et al., 2011) and, therefore, require urgent attention and support. The development of neurodiversity and disability cultural centers may be one way to improve the outcomes of college students with LD (Saia, 2022). Therefore, the purpose of recent research on the benefits and characteristics of these centers is to uncover information that can ultimately support institutions of higher education in developing neurodiversity and disability cultural centers. In turn, it is hoped that these centers will lead to improved student sense of belonging, transition, disability pride, and college persistence.

Although dated, data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 indicate that while 67% of students with LD pursue postsecondary education, only 41% actually persist to graduation (Newman et al., 2011). This graduation rate is roughly 11% lower than that of the general student body. 

Recent emphasis on social justice, the re-envisioning of diversity, equity, and inclusion in society, compels us to consider a different approach to serving and supporting disabled and neurodivergent students from approaches used in the past. As most readers are likely aware, traditionally, disabled and neurodivergent students have been served by colleges using compliance and medical models of disability where students are afforded the right to an accessible education and accommodations once they self-disclosed a disability and provide requested documentation. In recent decades, more institutions of higher education have started offering beyond compliance/access services (e.g., learning strategy instruction, ADHD coaching, disability-related honor societies) and employing a more social model of disability as being an incompatibility between the person and their environment (Scott & Marchetti, 2021). 

More recently, higher education has expanded even further to view disability/neurodiversity as an important element of the fabric of diversity (Shea et al., 2019) and, increasingly, as a culture and identity (Forber-Pratt, 2019). Although a handful of disability cultural centers have emerged over the decades, a significant number have emerged since the COVID-19 pandemic (Lalor, Lason, & Feil, 2024). These centers, much like those created to celebrate other diverse identities and communities, celebrate the richness of disability/neurodiversity culture, identity, and history (Elmore et al., n.d.).  Moreover, as noted by Renn (2011), cultural centers provide students with similar backgrounds and identities places to find safe and supportive communities on campus. 

As institutions of higher education increasingly recognize the need for disability and neurodiversity cultural centers and seek to establish them on their campuses, they may seek guidance on how to develop and operate these new centers. With funding from the Learning Disabilities Foundation of America, LCIRT’s Drs. Adam Lalor and Alyssa Lawson, along with Research Assistant Zoe Feil (Landmark College ’24) conducted a national study of disability and neurodiversity cultural centers to get a clearer sense of how these centers have been developed. The following are four tips for institutions of higher education (and potentially secondary schools) looking to establish a center of their own.

1. Ensure that disabled and neurodivergent students are involved from the start! The idea that “If you build it, they will come” makes for a great movie, but not usually for cultural centers. As the disability rights slogan goes “nothing about us without us.” It is critical that disabled and neurodivergent students indicate that a center is desired and then guide the development process. Without buy-in from the cultural group (i.e., disabled and neurodivergent students) the likelihood of the center being a meaningful, authentic environment will be reduced.
2. Collaboration is essential! Although disabled and neurodivergent students are paramount, given the long-term need for space and other resources, allies of disabled and neurodivergent students (both disabled and non-disabled faculty and staff) will be necessary. Collaborators may have very different functions on campus--instructors, dining staff, deans, admissions officers, etc.--but anyone who can help champion the cause and is willing to do the work will benefit the initiative.
3. Plan before executing. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither was a disability and neurodiversity cultural center! Spend time talking with disabled and neurodivergent students; secure support from diverse allies across campus and, if possible, a senior administrator (this is helpful for budget and organizational planning) and carefully craft your mission, vision, and working strategic plan. These will support the center in determining resources and allow for a more organized and thoughtful launch of the center. Building a plane while flying it (which many of us have become familiar with in recent years) is usually not the best way to start an important initiative.
4. Don’t get hung up on budget. Much can be done with little to no funding. Landmark College’s Center for Neurodiversity was started with a budget of just a couple thousand dollars. We were able to offer educational and cultural programming with limited funds. That said, even more can be done with a lot of money! Remember, the first year is about establishing a foundation, building community, and raising awareness of the center and its activities. You can start small and build a center over time. A critical component, and something that is suggested you do get hung up on, is securing a safe space for the community where students can openly discuss their experiences, stop masking (attempting to hide their disability), and celebrate their people. It need not be a large space to start, but a space is likely the most important resource/budgetary item.

Like centers created to celebrate and support other identities and communities, creating a disability and neurodiversity cultural center at your high school or college can be a powerful way to provide students with similar backgrounds and identities a place to find belonging, pride, support, and encouragement to persist in their education.