Bi-Co EnAble

EnAble is a bi-co club made by, for, and of neurodivergent students. We strive to build a supportive community for neurodivergent students at Bryn Mawr and Haverford Colleges.Whether you're struggling with the stigma surrounding mental illness, or with microaggressions, or with Access Services (we've been there too!), or with executive dysfunction, or with sensory overload (we agree, the Bryn Mawr dining halls are SO loud!), or if you just have some questions about neurodiversity who you don't know who to ask, you can come to our meetings and discuss your thoughts with like-minded people. (We're also happy to have you if you want to talk about the positive parts of being neurodivergent - celebrating our brains is what we're all about!)We celebrate neurodiversity and hope to build a community where neurodivergent students feel at home. You can unmask, or practice unmasking, with us!

What does EnAble offer?

Sophie Greer, Co-Founder, Co-President, & Website Manager

Bryn Mawr '23. Sophie (she/her) is a Neuroscience major and a Data Science and Health Studies double minor. Outside of academics and EnAble, she has been involved with other groups including SGA, Sunrise Bryn Mawr, the Divestment Coalition, and the Bi-Co Neuroscience Club. She is involved with The Mentorship Project and the League of Women Voters of Radnor (not related to the Bi-Co). She (re)started EnAble with the vision of creating the sort of community she needed and wanted when she was younger.

Elise Seery, Co-President

Elise (She/They) is a Political Science major and Spanish minor. She has been actively involved in disability rights/advocacy/acceptance for the past six years, and last year served as the Historian for Enable. They have ADHD (but also have a bunch of other things), so she can definitely relate/empathize with you. In their free time, she likes to hike, hang-out with friends, do art, stay active, and eat all things vegan. She is so excited to be co-president this year, and to meet/see all of you guys

Kathryn Sutherland, Treasurer

Kathryn (any pronouns) is so excited to be the EnAble treasurer this year and to create space for other neurodivergent students on campus! They are from Redmond, WA near Seattle. She is a sophomore and a prospective psychology major and history of art minor. In his free time, Kathryn loves to watch Netflix, do various crafts, and learn about octopuses.

Esenia Bañuelos, Historian/Archivist

My name is Esenia Bañuelos (she/they) and I'm the Historian of EnAble! I'm an aspiring Linguistics and Language & Computer Science double major, with Education and Neuroscience minors. I am also a Mexican-American Autistic first-generation, low-income student who is a STEMLA fellow, Breaking Barriers scholar, Mujeres* and Zami+ member who also serves as the Access Services Representative and Class of 2026 president. Outside of class, I am a Capoeira and TwisT dancer, and also a poet! I am incredibly passionate about intersectionality within the neurodivergent community and ensuring access to accommodations for all. I am currently stringing together presentations on accommodation access.

What is neurodivergence? What does it mean to be neurodivergent (ND)?

Neurodivergence is the state of being neurodivergent. If someone is neurodivergent, that means they have an emotional, cognitive, learning, mental, and/or developmental condition/disability/difference. Conditions include autism, dyslexia, anxiety, depression, OCD, ADHD, dyspraxia, Tourette's, and more, however anyone who identifies with the term is welcome to join us even if they do not have one of the above conditions! All ND people are welcome, including those without a professional diagnosis; EnAble recognizes the significant barriers to getting professionally diagnosed and affirms that self-diagnosis is valid.

What is EnAble's opinion concerning neurodivergence?

No one can deny that there are significant challenges that come with being neurodivergent, but there are also wonderful gifts. For example, some neurodivergent people are especially empathic, so they can relate to people well. Also, many neurodivergent people can hyperfixate on things, which brings us a lot of joy! There is nothing wrong with being neurodivergent.

How does EnAble create a sense of community for its members?

We meet weekly and discuss matters important to us. We will also host events like sensory nights and to partner with similar clubs in the Bi-Co to host events like movie nights.Our general meetings are every Sunday at 3 pm by Zoom (contact us for the link) and in the common room on the 3rd floor of New Dorm (at Bryn Mawr).

Why would a place like Bryn Mawr College or Haverford College need a club like EnAble? I thought my school was liberal and inclusive!

It's hard to be neurodivergent anywhere, even in a place considered progressive. Both colleges have mostly neurotypical students and faculty/staff, which means that the campuses and classes are not made with neurodivergent brains in mind, and also that it's hard to find people who understand what ND students go through. This means that it can be lonely to be neurodivergent - even at "inclusive" spaces like Bryn Mawr and Haverford. Think about a time when you felt down - didn't you want to talk to someone who knew how you felt?We hope that EnAble can be a community for neurodivergent students - we're a group of people who have been there too. Fellow neurodivergent students - we know how you feel. Come to one (or more) of our events and commiserate with us.

What is EnAble's history?

EnAble was founded by Nicole Barker and Christina Lisk (BMC '16 and '14, respectively) . The club went inactive due to the pandemic.In late 2020, Sophie Greer (BMC '23) and Sophia Malatesta (BMC '23) decided to start a neurodiversity club together. They were going to start a completely new club but did some research and learned of EnAble. With Nayantara Batra (she/her), they restarted EnAble, and decided to focus on neurodiversity this time (EnAble had previously focused on disabled students in general).

What is EnAble's stance regarding Autism Speaks?

EnAble strongly believes that Autism Speaks (A$) is a horrible, hateful organization. A$ wants to "cure" autism, which is scientifically impossible (autism does not have a cure) and offensive as it implies that autism is inherently bad (it's not). This "cure" language was in their mission statement until 2016 - they have since changed it but the ideology remains. As of 2017, only two out of A$'s 28 board members are autistic (according to Root Policy Research). Additionally, a very small percentage of A$'s funds actually go towards supporting autistics and their families.

Neurodiversity:

Simply put, the diversity of human minds/ways to think and act.

Neurodiverse:

Used to describe a group of people that includes neurodivergents and neurotypicals. Note: groups are neurodiverse, individuals are neurodivergent.

Neurotypical (NT):

A person who has typical cognitive, mental, learning, and developmental, abilities. (The definition of "typical" depends on the culture, so different people may be considered "neurotypical" or "neurodivergent" in different cultures.)

Neurotype:

A type of thinking.

Allistic:

Someone who is not autistic. Note: someone can be allistic and still neurodivergent, because there are other neurodivergent conditions besides autism. For example, a neurodivergent allistic person may have anxiety.

You can learn more about these and other terms on Dr. Nick Walker's (an autistic neurodiversity advocate) blog, Neuroqueer (link under "General Resources").

We wrote an article for the Bi-Co News about neurodiversity, neurodivergence, and our club last year (Fall 2021)

We successfully convinced Bryn Mawr Dining Services to make Erdman (a dining hall at Bryn Mawr) quieter last year (Fall 2021)

Think Erdman and New Dorm are loud? We did, too (especially Erdman)! The music, chairs, talking, and echoes are overwhelming, even for some of our friends who don't get sensory overload. In the fall of 2021, we discussed ways to make Erdman quieter, and settled on buying chair stoppers. BMC Dining Services was kind enough to collaborate with us on this effort, and over winter break, they finished the job and outfitted the remaining chairs with stoppers.We are so grateful to BMC's Dining Services Department for working with us on this project and for graciously funding it.

We're writing another article for the Bi-Co News, this time about disability and access at Bryn Mawr, and we're looking to anonymously include students' stories in it

It's no secret that Bryn Mawr can do a lot more to be accommodating and inclusive of disabled students, and we're leading a campaign to raise awareness of this fact and educate people about the most pressing issues. Please tell us about your experiences with ex/inclusion and (in)accessibility at Bryn Mawr here. Respondents can answer about any part of the school, and you can be as (im)personal as you want. The form is completely anonymous. You do not need to be neurodivergent or disabled to contribute. Your answers may be quoted in a forthcoming article in the Bi-Co News about (in)accessibility at Bryn Mawr.A future article will focus on the Bi-Co more generally.

We will release a "Guide to Navigating Bryn Mawr's Access Services Dept." soon

...as soon as it is approved by the school (hopefully later this year).This guide was made by another club, Mawrtyrs for Access, as well as the Student Advisory Committee, in 2020 and 2021. They have sent the guide in to Access Services and Bryn Mawr's administration, and they are reviewing it. We'll post it as soon as we can - stay tuned!

Sophie also started a campaign for a Tri-Co Disability Studies minor with another club. You can learn more about this campaign with their letter, her presentation, the article in the Bi-Co News, or the article in the Haverford Clerk. They also created a petition, which is at 416 signatures as of 3/17/22.