April Riehm is interested in advancing universal design in landscape architecture. This project looks at ways that landscape architects can create more equitable & and inclusive college campuses by designing for students who have learning disabilities, specifically ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). The site for this project is The Lee Hall complex at Clemson University, in the College of Architecture, Arts, and Humanities. Here students study landscape architecture, art, urban planning, and architecture.

The percentage of US college students with ADHD has increased over the last 20 years from about 2% to 10%. One reason for that is due to legally required academic accommodations put in place at our K-12 public schools. Students who would have struggled to graduate high school in the past are thriving with support. Because of that, they’re heading off to college in greater numbers than before. Once they get to college, though, these students no longer have the same automatic support that helped them get there. Now they have to navigate a sometimes-complicated system that requires them to apply for the help they need. They have to ask for it. And they’re not doing that. In high school, 94% of students with learning disabilities get some kind of help. In college, that drops to only 17%. That’s a huge gap. Adjusting to college life with the usual challenges all students go through is hard enough, but these students also have the added difficulty going with fewer or no academic support, plus they often find themselves in a built environment that compounds their disability.

The built environment in many ways can create the disability because a universally accessible environment would have no barriers. Luckily, the built environment is something designers know can change. The American Disabilities Act is the guide for designing to meet the needs of people with physical disabilities. This is a baseline or bare minimum for what we can include in our designs to make them more accessible. Because of the ADA we have public spaces that are easier for everyone to navigate. The accommodations are built in. Many disabilities are not physical. We call these invisible disabilities. If the built environment was built with everyone in mind, people with invisible disabilities wouldn’t have to ask for accommodations either. Riehm believes designers and planners can and should help universities develop a toolkit that goes beyond the accessibility department and makes support part of the fabric of the campus itself.

What is ADHD and how can we design to meet the needs of students who need more supportive learning environments? ADHD is a neurological difference in the brain that presents challenges in multiple domains of a person’s life including education. People who are ADHD are sometimes called neurodivergent or atypical. Many neurodivergent students can be overwhelmed with sensory input such as bright lights, visual clutter, noise in certain frequencies, and even smells. These distractions can interfere with their learning. The classroom environment has been proven to play a large role in learning outcomes and that extends to the entire campus.

But what’s it like to be ADHD? Well, it manifests differently from person to person. Not long after Riehm returned to graduate school, she was diagnosed with ADHD. She didn’t recognize it in herself even though she has two children who have ADHD. Her daughter is a non-linear thinker and a daydreamer, and her son is a procrastinator who loses focus when he has to do something he's not interested in, even if it’s super easy. Riehm has trouble with time, especially when she's hyper-focused. Those with ADHD all need different strategies along with patience and understanding. After she was diagnosed, Riehm registered for academic support for the first time. It turns out supports like extra time on exams don’t apply in design school where the emphasis is studio, which has a non-traditional classroom structure with no exams. At Clemson University and at other design schools, the studio environment is a prime example of a place where sensory overload is possible. And yet design programs such as landscape architecture, urban planning, and architecture seem to attract students with ADHD. Someone once commented to Riehm, “Everyone in Lee Hall probably has ADHD.” Of course, that can’t be true. It’s statistically impossible. But studies have proven that we are creative people, more creative than our neurotypical peers, and we’re drawn to creative fields. So, we get here, we need help, and the built environment can provide some of that help. Riehm wanted to design simple interventions that might become part of the system of support for neurodivergent students at Lee Hall, and across campus.

The design first focuses on biophilia and bringing the outdoors in. Next, Riehm looked at kinesthesia because being able to move is really helpful for the hyperactive type of ADHD. Movement also improves physical health. The need to move or let out bursts of energy is not often addressed at the college or University level where students are engaged in serious learning, and sit most of the day, and may only get exercise by walking back and forth to classes. Students who are neurodivergent, especially those with ADHD benefit from getting up and out from behind their desks. Finally, Riehm examined attention restoration through outdoor play, because even though society tells us we’re not allowed on the playground anymore, we’re never too old for play. Playscapes can be nodes throughout campus equipped with swings and varied seating including perches for climbing or just hanging around. Installed under existing trees, they become a space for retreat when calm and quiet are needed. From this position, under the branches, the students feel safe and secure while they observe the activity around them. A balance of restorative settings for solitary time inter-mixed with more stimulating, movement-based spaces to encourage group play, increased body movement, and socializing provide multiple opportunities to boost physical and mental health. A reset. So, when services aren’t reaching everyone, we can bridge the gap. We can design a system of support that no one has to ask for because it’s built-in. All students deserve to feel supported as they pursue their educational dreams. Let’s bring biophilia, movement, and outdoor play to college campuses to support our ADHD students. We can build a more equitable campus for everyone by designing more thoughtfully, with more empathy- to include all types of learners- so that every student feels included. Let’s bring the outdoors in and the indoors out. Let’s make it modular and scalable. Let’s make it mobile and most importantly, let’s make it fun because the world is serious enough and we need more joy in unexpected places. We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” — George Bernard Shaw