---
title: Helping Terps With Intellectual Disabilities ‘EXCEED’
date: 2025-10-23T05:30:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/helping-terps-with-intellectual-disabilities-exceed"
section: Articles
---
# Helping Terps With Intellectual Disabilities ‘EXCEED’

*October 23, 2025* — by [Annie Krakower](/author/annie-krakower)


> New Initiatives Aim to Remove Barriers to Mental Health Services, Independent Living

*Brodsky Daniel 10212025 SC 5613 1920x1080 — Daniel Brodsky, a recent alum of the two-year TerpsEXCEED program for students with intellectual disabilities, unpacks in the kitchen of his new apartment in the Flats at College Park. He moved in this week as part of the program's Plus One Alumni Year that encourages independent living. Another new program initiative, "Doing Better With Mental Health," aims to make services more accessible. (Photos by Stephanie S. Cordle)*

Amid a bustling campus and busy schedule last year, Daniel Brodsky struggled to manage his emotions, especially after his parents separated. As someone with a nonverbal learning disability, a condition similar to autism but without a language delay, he had trouble reading social cues and often pushed his sadness down.

He sought help through [TerpsEXCEED](https://www.ihehub-umd.org/terps-exceed)—a two-year University of Maryland certificate program that allows students with intellectual disabilities to experience classes, live in residence halls and join student organizations, with 26 participants so far. With the assistance of program staff, Brodsky signed up for one-on-one and group sessions at the Counseling Center. He soon came to appreciate how his counselors took his unique identity and situation into account as they talked through his feelings.

But he knows it’s not always easy for people in the neurodivergent community like him to access mental health care.

“The environment is never really truly made for a person with a disability,” said Brodsky, who completed the TerpsEXCEED program in May. “Because of that, it may be a little bit harder to find a place that’s accessible.”


*man smiles in kitchen of new apartment as he works on laptop*



**Sidebar note:**

**Terps Do Good**  
The University of Maryland is the nation's first Do Good campus, committed to inspiring Terps to make a positive impact now through research, public service and education. See more stories about Terps doing good at [*today.umd.edu/topic/do-good*](http://today.umd.edu/topic/do-good).





**Topics:** [Campus & Community](https://today.umd.edu/tags/campus-community)


**Tags:** [Disability and Accessibility](https://today.umd.edu/topic/disability-and-accessibility), [Mental Health](https://today.umd.edu/topic/mental-health), [Student Experience](https://today.umd.edu/topic/student-experience)


**Units:** [College of Education](https://today.umd.edu/topic/college-education), [College of Behavioral and Social Sciences](https://today.umd.edu/topic/college-behavioral-and-social-sciences)