ICC launching new program to help people with neurodivergence
ICC is starting its Bloom Neurodivergence Program to give focused support to community members who need it.
FULTON, Miss. (WCBI) – Neurodivergence affects 15 to 20% of the population according to the National Institute of Health.
People affected often age out of support systems.
That’s where Itawamba Community College is stepping up to help.
Neurodivergence is an umbrella term for people with neurological development that is different from what is considered normal.
They often think and experience the world in unique ways.
Because of these different ways of thinking, they sometimes require extra support.
Once the need for students was identified, a multi-level program was made: The Bloom Neurodivergence Program.
It starts with Bloom Academy which is designed to develop essential life skills and career readiness.
Andrea Hardin, the Bloom program coordinator described how Bloom academy is structured.
“We’re going to take them, meet them where they are, and we want them to be productive citizens,” Hardin said. “Whatever that looks like for them.”
The next two levels are Bloom Connect and Bloom Assist which are meant for students enrolled in college courses.
All three levels provide targeted support for whatever each student needs.
Hardin described what it feels like to help people who feel like the world has let them down.
“They feel like people have given up on them,” Hardin said. “People, they don’t know how to interact with them. And to be able to see them mark off and reach these goals. To be able to see them obtain things that they felt like was out of their reach. It’s just the best feeling in the world.”
Nathan Ward, the Director of Instructional Support Services said ICC has embraced Bloom.
“The Bloom Program specifically has just kind of taken hold of the campus,” Ward said. “Taken hold of the community. And everybody has wanted to be involved. If this is the last program that I ever get to work on, I’ll be okay with that. That’s how good it is. That’s how much it’s going to change the face of our campus. That’s how much it’s going to change the lives of our students.”
Hardin said she hopes Bloom inspires other organizations to do the same thing.
“I hope that this is a flagship program and that we see it all over the United States,” Hardin said. “That people look at this and say, ‘if they can do this at Itawamba Community College, we can do this.’ And that we’re able to open the doors for so many students that never thought they could step foot on a college campus and be successful.”
The Bloom program is taking applications starting in February and will have its first courses this Summer.
About 40% of neurodivergent people in the US are unemployed according to PBS.
