CONNECTING NEURODIVERGENT STUDENTS THROUGH ART
Links U is a supportive program at Grand Valley State University (GVSU) that helps neurodiverse students thrive in their college experience. The program provides peer-to-peer connections, academic assistance, and structured social support, easing students' transition into university life. By fostering these connections, Links U helps create a more inclusive and enriching college environment for all participants.
In partnership with ACT, Links U offers engaging visual and performing arts programming during their monthly meetings. This collaboration exposes students to a wide variety of artistic experiences, inviting diverse artists and projects to inspire creativity and connection. Students from different degree programs across campus have the opportunity to engage in hands-on art activities, expanding their creative horizons.
Highlights from Fall 2024:
September: We kicked off the semester with a messy sensory art session led by Bridget Czarnecki. Students explored different materials, allowing them to get hands-on and experience the textures, colors, and sensations that come with creating tactile art.
October: The group enjoyed a drumming session with Josh Dunigan, where they explored a variety of drums and percussion tools. Students created rhythms, collaborating with one another to repeat and build on each other's patterns. The session ended with a fun and energetic jam, where everyone contributed to a looping drumbeat song.
November: Teaching artist Alison Soderquist guided students in creating their own oscilloscopes—devices that visualize sound or electrical signals as moving waves on a screen. Using everyday materials like paper towel tubes, rulers, tape, and balloons, students built simple oscilloscopes. By attaching laser pointers to the devices, they could project sound waves onto a wall or ceiling as they spoke into the tubes. The session also featured a creative activity where students used string and primary-colored light filters (blue, red, green) to map soundwaves on a painted grid.
Through these engaging art-based activities, Links U students have not only explored their creativity but have also built stronger connections with each other, making for a more enriching and fulfilling college experience.
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