Photo by Nick Youngson.

On Mar. 3, the JCCC Supported Education Program will be having its Cavalier Communication workshop from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. in MTC 232. The purpose of the workshop is to increase communication between neurodiverse populations and neurotypical populations on campus.

“In the two hours foundations workshop, we’re essentially going to cover what neurodiversity is, [and] help give an understanding of what that term means,” Courtney Barden, Director of the Supported Education Program said. “[We will also] discuss what do communication styles look like for neurotypical people and neurodiverse people, and how can we avoid misunderstandings in different communication styles that people have?”

Neurodivergent is a term used to describe people whose “brain differences affect how their brain works” according to the Cleveland Clinic. So people with ADHD, dyslexia, autism, or any other conditions that may affect the brain would all be counted under that term. Neurotypical people on the other hand are defined as the opposite of that. 

“So often, when we see groups like this, it’s focused on neurodiverse people learning how to communicate in a neurotypical fashion, and that’s not what we’re trying to achieve here,” Barden said. “What we really want to show with this group is that all forms of communication are valid, and it’s really just that we have a lack of understanding of how the other person is communicating with us that’s causing the misunderstanding. It’s not that one way of communicating is right and one way is wrong.”

Both students and teachers are encouraged to go to the event, however it is asked that if you plan to attend that you please inform Barden via her email at cbarden@jccc.edu, so that the group can have an accurate headcount prior to the event. 

“I would just encourage people to come if you’re looking to increase your communication styles and skills, be able to work with a wide variety of people you know, whether it is in your personal life or in your life on campus, this would be a really great way to kind of start that conversation and to have a good understanding of each other,” Barden said. “We hope that people will have a greater understanding of different communication styles, so that there’s not as much miscommunication between groups of people. We might have different ways of communicating, but we can really all come together and have a great understanding of each other and create a really inclusive campus culture for all of our students.”