(Originally written May 4 2023)
On May 1, Beaumont senior Donovan Adams held a meeting for the Spectrum Club, a club for students on the autism spectrum, at the Speech and Hearing Center.
The Monday meeting was intended for students interested in the club to meet the members and ask questions about the club and autism in general. Being on the autism spectrum himself, Adams plans to use this club to raise awareness about autism and help strengthen the autism community on campus.
“I founded this club to bring people on the spectrum together, to unite them,” Adams said. “For now, it’s mostly for people who are on the spectrum, but it could also be for students who aren’t, just to get to know them and have them learn about it.”
According to Adams, speech therapy professor Beth Byers helped him organize the club. She started the College Connect program, which was designed to connect and accommodate college students with autism and other disabilities. After the program encountered issues due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Adams thought of starting a club with a similar purpose.
“The idea for the club generated from a participant in the College Connect program,” Professor Byers said. “(Donovan) had a desire to start a club for students with autism and I loved the idea!”
Plans for the Spectrum Club include group conversations about members’ experiences with autism, hosting movie or TV watch parties, and group field trips. Above all, though, Adams hopes to connect students with or without autism, and foster a community of mutual respect.
“We’re not all the same,” Adams said, when asked about the most important thing for people without autism to know about being on the spectrum. “If you didn’t learn that before, now’s not too late to learn that. You can understand us better now, communicate with us effectively, and hang out with us. Just treat us like normal people.”
Officer positions for the club are open, and elections for president, vice president, and treasurer of the club will be held next semester. More information is available at Adams’ email, dadams25@lamar.edu.
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