For neurodiverse students, the leap from high school to college can be like jumping off a cliff into the void. The support structures they depended upon—rigid schedules, individualized education plans, known teachers—can vanish virtually overnight. Seeing this crucial gap, Harper College has created the Infinity Initiative, a support program intended to help neurodiverse students through their initial year of college and beyond.

Led by Katie Garcia and Anita Rayberg, veteran disability services specialists, the Infinity Initiative combines Harper’s former transition-focused programs—TAP (Transition Autism Program) and ACES (Academic Coaches Empowering Students)—into a single, more comprehensive approach.

“We decided that it was better and would be more effective for students if we just kind of combined our efforts and pooled our resources,” Garcia said. “We created a program just for all neurodiverse students coming into Harper who wanted to apply for extra support.”

The assistance starts long before students enter their first classroom. The Infinity Initiative supports two summer transition workshops, one in July and another in August. These workshops help give accepted students a chance to get acquainted with the Harper College campus, meet staff members, and start acclimating to the demands of college life.

“These workshops help students get a little bit of a preview of Harper’s campus,” said Garcia. “It helps with easing anxiety, building familiarity, and making those first days less overwhelming.”

Following the beginning of the semester, Infinity Initiative students take a specialized First Year Seminar class tailored for neurodiverse students. The class focuses on fundamental skills like time management, organization, study skills, and navigating campus resources—essential skills for college success that are especially important for students who may learn or process differently.

Beyond the classroom, the program provides monthly one-on-one check-ins, access to an executive functioning coach, and group workshops addressing real-life topics such as job readiness, healthy relationships, and personal development.

“It’s just, again, a lot of extra support provided for students who maybe had a lot of support in high school and are feeling like they could use that during their transition to college,” Garcia stressed.

Most valuable is the program’s proactive, responsive nature. Garcia and Rayberg have over a decade of combined experience with neurodiverse students. They’ve learned to notice early warning signs—half-completed homework, social withdrawal, or a student’s uncharacteristic silence—and intervene before minor problems become significant obstacles.

“We’re kind of on the lookout for the warning signs that maybe things aren’t going so great,” Garcia said. “And we’re also able to encourage students when things are going really well. It’s a balance—being both a support system and a cheerleader.”

Another critical aspect of the Infinity Initiative is its adaptability. Since the staff observes where students are having the most difficulty, they continuously adjust the program to address challenges head-on.

“We’ve seen what tends to trip students up,” Garcia noted. “As we kind of identify those areas where students need extra help, we look for resources or ways that we can kind of help plug those holes, fill those gaps.”

This adaptive, student-centered approach even reached into the title itself. Whereas the previous TAP and ACES titles were administrative, the new title—Infinity—was selected by its students. A number of the participants themselves strongly identified with the infinity symbol, which has gained widespread acceptance as a symbol for neurodiversity, especially within the autistic community.

“Our students… were really passionate about the ‘Infinity’ word,” Garcia shared. “The infinity symbol has become associated really strongly with the autism population. They liked that idea of infinity—of what it represented, the connectedness… the integration of all our different traits.”

That openness is remaking the landscape of higher education. Yet despite increased awareness, programs such as Infinity continue to struggle. Demand is high, and capacity is low. For the Fall 2025 cohort, the program can accommodate a maximum of 40 students—a figure that represents both demand and the current availability of staff and resources.

The ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are also significant. The shift to remote learning presented additional difficulties for neurodiverse students, who do well with routine, structure, and face-to-face contact.

“Online learning can be very removed, very distant by nature,” Garcia explained. “And for students who already feel isolated, that can be really hard. So we’re constantly thinking about how to keep students connected—not just to their classes, but to the people and resources that can support them.”

Despite these difficulties, the future of the Infinity Initiative is promising. One future objective is to extend the program’s support beyond the classroom to career development and the establishment of internships.

“Ultimately… one of our big long-term goals would be to develop some sort of career skill, like job planning resources, specifically internships,” Garcia said. “Not just the high school to college, but the college to career part.”

By moving into career services, the Infinity Initiative could offer an even more seamless pipeline for neurodiverse students—one that follows them from the first day they step onto campus until the day they receive their first job offer. At its core, the Infinity Initiative is more than a program—it’s a statement. A statement that neurodiverse students have a place in higher education. That their needs are legitimate. That their potential is limitless. And most of all, it’s a promise: You are not alone.

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