This week, we’re revisiting the issue of attendance and withdrawal policies—and how they continue to create barriers for students living with chronic illness, disability, and neurodivergence. Up until today, students who missed more than three classes per semester could face academic penalties, and those who missed around ten classes were often called into meetings about medical withdrawal. For students with chronic conditions—where symptoms are unpredictable, cyclical, and o

Like every Finals Week DNA will be providing quiet co-working hours on Tuesday and Thursday from 7-10PM in our usual room (Rueben Cook, Rm 207). If you have never attended a co-working hours before read below: Co-working hours provides a low-stimulus environment — soft lighting, minimal background noise, and built-in timed breaks — to help you stay productive. Bring anything you’re working on: papers, readings, problem sets, or planning your study schedule. DNA leadership wil

Happy Last Week of Classes. Like every semester DNA will be providing quiet co-working hours on Tuesday and Thursday from 7-10PM in our usual room (Rueben Cook, Rm 207). If you have never attended a co-working hours before read below: Co-working hours provides a low-stimulus environment — soft lighting, minimal background noise, and built-in timed breaks — to help you stay productive. Bring anything you’re working on: papers, readings, problem sets, or planning your study sch

Have a restful break! See you all when we get back!!

This Tuesday, the Duke Neurodiversity Advocates (DNA) are hosting a conversation on Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), sensory overload, and nervous system regulation , featuring Duke student Chloe Schwartz , who lives with EDS and a seizure disorder. EDS is often misunderstood as “just being flexible.” In reality, it is a connective tissue disorder that affects pain processing, autonomic regulation, proprioception, and sensory integration. For many neurodivergent and chronically

Day 2 of DNA’s sleep series focuses on what actually helps - grounded in research, physiology, and lived reality.  We’ll build directly on the mechanisms from Day 1 and talk about strategies that target circadian delay, hyperarousal, sensory load, and co-existing medical factors. We’ll discuss: Why standard sleep advice often fails for neurodivergent brains - and how “sleep hygiene” can backfire when arousal systems never fully switch off Circadian interventions that actually

Neurodivergent people (including those with ADHD, autism, dysautonomia, PTSD, migraine, and chronic illness) experience sleep disruption at much higher rates than the general population. But it’s not just bad habits - it’s neurobiology. This week, DNA is revisiting one of our most requested topics: how the neurodivergent brain experiences sleep differently - and why sleep can be so hard even when you’re “doing everything right.” Day 1 is the science and mechanisms. We’ll disc

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) , developed by David Rose and Anne Meyer at CAST , is an evidence-based framework that helps educators create flexible learning environments that accommodate diverse learners from the start (CAST, 2018; Hall et al., 2012). Rather than relying on individual accommodations after problems arise, UDL asks how courses themselves  can be designed for variation in attention, memory, motivation, and processing style - hallmarks of neurodiversity. T

If neurodiversity and disability are part of human variation, what does that mean for how we approach cure ? Should medicine always aim to normalize the brain and body - or should society change the conditions that make difference so hard to live with? In Part II  of our Philosophy of Disability  series, the Duke Neurodiversity Advocates (DNA)  will explore the ethics of cure, care, and value . We’ll ask how the push to “fix” difference can erase identity, and how the philoso

What is a normal mind  - and who gets to decide? For neurodivergent and chronically ill students, that question isn’t abstract; it shapes how we’re taught, treated, and understood. This week, the Duke Neurodiversity Advocates (DNA)  will begin a two-part series on the Philosophy of Disability , starting with a deep dive into how the concept of “normal” came to define our ideas of ability and intelligence. In Part I , we’ll look at how medicine, education, and culture have con

No Meeting on Thursday!

Every neurodivergent learner has their own system — a note-taking app that finally makes sense, a noise-canceling trick that helps with focus, or a planner layout that keeps deadlines manageable. This week, the Duke Neurodiversity Advocates (DNA)  are creating space to share those strategies with each other. Bring your best tools for organization, studying, time management, sensory regulation, or executive function — whether that’s an app, a Chrome extension, a physical gadg

With spring registration starting this week we’ll have seniors speak about which fall professors and classes are the most accommodating to learning differences like ADHD, dyslexia, visual processing disorders, slower processing speeds, and more. Some professors are more understanding and flexible than others — offering different assessment styles (like choosing between an exam or an essay for the final), recorded lectures, or e-book versions of required readings. Come hear fi

Many neurodivergent students — especially those with ADHD, dyslexia, or slower processing speed  — spend hours studying but still struggle to retain information the same way others do. But cognitive science has shown that how  we study matters more than how much . This week, the Duke Neurodiversity Advocates (DNA)  will explore the neuroscience of memory and the evidence behind different learning techniques. We’ll discuss what research says about spaced repetition, mind mapp

Over the past decade, rates of ADHD diagnosis have increased substantially across the United States and globally. This surge has sparked debate within both scientific and public communities: Are clinicians overdiagnosing ADHD, or are we finally recognizing it in populations historically overlooked - particularly women, students of color, and adults? This session will take a scientific and sociocultural look at ADHD’s evolving diagnostic landscape. We will examine data from r

Every year, the Duke Neurodiversity Advocates (DNA)  partner with the Student Disability Access Office (SDAO)  to host an open forum about accessibility at Duke - what’s working, what isn’t, and where students still need more support. This meeting has become a defining space for students with disabilities, chronic illnesses, and neurodivergent conditions  to speak directly with the people shaping Duke’s accessibility policies. In previous years, student feedback from this ev

Too many neurodivergent and chronically ill students  spend years trying to convince doctors, professors, or even family that their symptoms are real. This week, the Duke Neurodiversity Advocates (DNA)  are holding space for those experiences — to talk honestly about what happens when your pain, fatigue, or cognitive symptoms are dismissed, and how to find your voice again. Research shows this isn’t rare. A 2022 review in Social Science & Medicine  (Samulowitz et al.) found t

Too many neurodivergent and chronically ill students  spend years trying to convince doctors, professors, or even family that their symptoms are real. This week, the Duke Neurodiversity Advocates (DNA)  are holding space for those experiences — to talk honestly about what happens when your pain, fatigue, or cognitive symptoms are dismissed, and how to find your voice again. Research shows this isn’t rare. A 2022 review in Social Science & Medicine  (Samulowitz et al.) found t

For many of us, fatigue isn’t just being tired — it’s our bodies running on fight-or-flight long after the threat is gone. Neuroimmune conditions like lupus, POTS, ME/CFS, and long COVID can cause the nervous and immune systems to misfire, draining energy, impairing focus, and blurring the line between mental and physical exhaustion. Join DNA for a discussion on how these conditions shape cognition, energy, and mood, and why they deserve recognition within the neurodiversity

For our next meeting, we’ll be joined by Duke medical students who live with chronic illnesses and neurodivergence. They’ll share honest reflections on balancing the intensity of medical training with the realities of managing their health—navigating the expectations of a profession that often demands perfection while learning to care for themselves and others. This conversation will highlight what it truly means to be both a future healthcare provider and a patient, and how

Two years ago, in 2023, DNA formally appealed Duke’s attendance and withdrawal policy, calling for more flexible academic standards for students living with chronic illness, disability, and neurodivergence. Despite our advocacy, these policies remain largely unchanged - and we’re still fighting  for reform today. Under current guidelines, students who miss more than three classes risk academic concern, and those who miss around ten classes are often called into meetings about

We’re excited to welcome back Lisa Jurecic, LCSW , a licensed clinical social worker and executive-function coach based in Durham who works closely with college students navigating ADHD, learning differences, and attention-related challenges. Lisa brings years of experience helping students develop practical, evidence-based strategies for studying and daily life — grounded in neuroscience and tailored to real campus demands. She’ll share techniques for: Improving focus and ma

Every semester, DNA begins with a simple question: What is neurodiversity? This time, we’re grounding that question in recent research - specifically Earp et al. (2024), “Neurodiversity beyond autism: Mapping research gaps and future directions” ( Trends in Cognitive Sciences )  - to explore how the concept of neurodiversity has expanded far beyond its original boundaries. Too often, “neurodivergent” is treated as shorthand for ADHD or autism. But the neurodiversity paradigm

Welcome Back! I loved meeting all our new members at club fair today! Our first GBM is next Tuesday. DNA meets every Tuesday and Thursday at 7PM in Rueben Cooke, Room 207. All notifications about GBMs will be made here on the website as well as via the DNA GroupME and email listerv. If you haven't already please fill out the interest form  to be added to our mailing list and groupME.