Here & Now

A Better College Life for Neurodivergent Students in Madison

Frederica Freyberg:
When it comes to college life, Burlington, Vermont, Eugene, Oregon and the City of Madison are connected by one house – Mansfield Hall. Tonight “Here & Now” reporter Murv Seymour takes us inside the dorm that provides a one-of-a-kind college experience for students in all three states.

Kirstin Bowns:
I would love a giant MH out front to match the other Greek letters.

Murv Seymour:
Nestled on the busy street known as fraternity row near UW-Madison …

Kirstin Bowns:
You find a community here.

Murv Seymour:
… is a former frat house …

Kirstin Bowns:
We are college housing that is a lot more than just college housing.

Murv Seymour:
… that is home away from home.

Kirstin Bowns:
You don’t just live here. You thrive here.

Ashley Balber:
I’m Ashley. I’m from Chicago, the city of Chicago and this is Mansfield Hall.

Kirstin Bowns:
Mansfield Hall is a living and learning community that serves college students that are neurodiverse or diverse learners. It can include someone with ADHD, autism, any kind of learning difference like dysgraphia or dyslexia, processing disorders, anxiety.

Han Schuberth:
Oh, here we go.

Naomi Krause:
This is brilliant. Good find.

Han Schuberth:
I’m glad I thought of this.

Kirstin Bowns:
We have international students. We have students from around the country. We support students at Madison College, at Edgewood University, and at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It can look like course planning. We do student life support, med management, learning how to cook, learning how to make friends, learning how to communicate, executive functioning. So setting up systems of support for yourself.

Erik Landry:
Because your Edgewood is probably going to be first week.

Ashley Balber:
This floor is all bedrooms and of course this one is mine. So come on in.

Murv Seymour:
At this super dorm …

Naomi Krause:
It’s almost like it was written in the stars.

Murv Seymour:
… as it’s sometimes called, sure, you’ll find plenty of puzzles and games.

Han Schuberth:
Oh, okay. They’re — because they are weighted differently. That’s what changed.

Murv Seymour:
But they do business here too. The nearly two dozen students here don’t just learn to learn more independently …

Isaac Moore:
And I just need to see the numbers and how they — what happens.

Erik Landry:
Yeah, yeah. You need the steps.

Murv Seymour:
… they learn life lessons that help them live more independently.

Han Schuberth:
I did not love that class either so I really don’t want to have to take something like that again.

Murv Seymour:
UW film student Han Schuberth gets one-on-one help planning her class schedule.

Gavin Speranza:
Any props or successes of the day?

Murv Seymour:
Gavin Speranza leads the weekly community group.

Isaac Moore:
Well, yeah, because that turns into 3/6.

Murv Seymour:
Isaac Moore works through complex math equations during what’s called STEM town.

Erik Landry:
Katy, how did marketing turn out for you?

Murv Seymour:
A weekly tutoring session for those who need help with science …

Erik Landry:
You still got a 92, though? That’s awesome.

Murv Seymour:
… technology and math.

Erik Landry:
What worked? Like what helped overcome the testing anxiety? Just prepared?

Isaac Moore:
The staff here are super helpful.

Murv Seymour:
Alissa, Sarah, Naomi, Erik, and Coco the canine, who casually provides therapy for the house as needed, are some of the almost two dozen staff at Mansfield Hall. Isaac Moore tells me he lives with attention deficit disorder. For him, it’s hard to focus and stay organized.

Isaac Moore:
It never really impacted my school, so there was never any reason to like, change it. You know, I would still do well on my tests and stuff. And so it was like, whatever. But here, like, I really do have to, like, you know, I have a schedule and I have like a meeting with Eric once a week to make sure that I’m, like, if I have any questions with math, I’m getting those done. I have like Google calendar now, so all my classes are in there. So like I get reminders 30 minutes before class. I have this class on this day. I have like due dates in my Google calendar and stuff. I keep my work more organized. Like, it’s not just chicken scratch on eight different papers.

Murv Seymour:
Mansfield Hall also provides support that helps students transition from living at their house here on Fraternity Row, before they step out into the community, which helps them to step out in the real world to live on their own once they leave college.

Bennett Davishoff:
I moved into a residence hall at Edgewood.

Murv Seymour:
Soon, Bennett Davishoff will graduate and live in his first apartment. He’s in what’s called the Connections Program at Mansfield Hall, designed for students making the transition away from dorm life to living on their own or with a roommate.

Bennett Davishoff:
I think it’s going to be very challenging, very tough. But I’m willing to — but I’m excited to give it a try because I — because I’ve always wanted to live independently. I have some symptoms of OCD, ADHD, and autism. And I can be a perfectionist with the way things look in my room. I like things to look orderly and clean, which is also a good thing, but it can also be hard.

Murv Seymour:
What isn’t hard …

Kat Hemming:
Give a big round of applause for all of our volunteers today that came in.

Murv Seymour:
… volunteering.

Kat Hemming:
Thank you.

Aiden Mattingly:
We don’t have chocolate milk right now, but we do have no fat, I think.

Murv Seymour:
The Senior Center in Madison is one of many organizations around town where people from Mansfield Hall lend a helping hand every week.

Aiden Mattingly:
Oh yeah. Definitely. Where are the milks?

Murv Seymour:
Aiden Mattingly and everyone else say giving back helps them get job ready.

Aiden Mattingly:
Bandana person wants salt and pepper.

Murv Seymour:
And it helps them gain something else.

Aiden Mattingly:
I’d say the social skills really. It really helps with, like, talking with people. And I mean like everyone here is really friendly.

Bennett Davishoff:
And some of those skills can go from volunteering, can be utilized in when applying for jobs.

Kat Hemming:
Give you the troublemaker ticket.

Murv Seymour:
One of the senior center’s lead volunteers, Kat Hemming, loves to give and she loves the crew at Mansfield Hall. Without the help of Aiden and the others …

Aiden Mattingly:
All right, let’s go to the next table.

Murv Seymour:
… she says they would probably only have two volunteers.

Kat Hemming:
Having the volunteers come in, not only do they talk to the seniors and it has more interaction, it’s a lot more exciting. And they really help. And they’re not just — I know it helps them, but it helps us as well.

Han Schuberth:
I also don’t want to take myself out of this class.

Naomi Krause:
Yeah, I wouldn’t either.

Han Schuberth:
Did I tell you all my second exam scores?

Naomi Krause:
For your current classes? No.

Murv Seymour:
The goal at Mansfield Hall is straightforward.

Kirstin Bowns:
To provide equitable access to higher education and to prepare young adults for the world. That can be getting a certificate. It can be getting an associate’s, a bachelor’s, a master’s. It can be learning to make a friend group for the first time and just try out college courses. It can be finding something they’re passionate about, feeling seen and heard for the first time.

Murv Seymour:
For students to make the most out of being part of the Mansfield Hall family, Kirstin Bowns hopes every one of them will —

Kirstin Bowns:
Lean into it. We’re not writing the script. We’re just supporting their story.

Murv Seymour:
Reporting from Madison, I’m Murv Seymour for Here & Now.