Alumnus Martin Friedman Motivated to Take Program to ‘the Next Several Levels’

The Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences’ Social Interaction Group Network for All (SIGNA) will become a piece of a much larger—and even more impactful—program for individuals with autism or other neurodiverse needs, thanks to a $1 million gift from Martin Friedman, ’92. 

Founded in 2016, SIGNA is a program that offers specialized training in social communication, executive functioning, and self-advocacy for neurodiverse or autistic college students. It also educates neurotypical and neurodivergent campus community members to increase awareness, foster better communication, and create allyship. 

After their first year in SIGNA, college students have the option to join SIGNA Launch, which is designed to help them gain laboratory, internship-specific, or employment-ready skills. 

SIGNA has two sister programs, too: PEERS, for college-bound high school students and their parents to help the teens make and keep friends using evidence-based social interaction methods; and EFFECT, for college-bound high school students who want to work on improving executive function skills, like planning, organization, and time management through project-based activities. 

SIGNA had to be strategic about its staff’s ability to lead SIGNA and juggle these programs in the past, but with Friedman’s transformative gift, SIGNA and its counterparts will be now united and better-supported under one “Neurodiversity and Autism Transition Services (NATS)” program.

“What this gift did is bring all of these services under one umbrella and make things more cohesive,” explained Kathy Dow-Burger, the HESP clinical professor who has overseen SIGNA since its inception. “A lot of the things we are doing for neurodivergent and autistic students are related, but the ages of the students and the transitions they’re preparing for are different; college-bound high school students are preparing for higher education while college students’ next big transition is graduation, then employment. They’re going to be adults and employees a lot longer than they were college students, so the skills they need are different.” 

As part of the new Friedman Family SIGNA Endowed Operating Fund, Dow-Burger will also take on a new title, “Friedman Family Director of Neurodiversity & Autism Transition Services.” She hopes to use these new funds to have opportunities to hire more staff to expand and secure SIGNA’s programs within NATS. These funds will also allow Dow-Burger to participate in advocacy and research related to neurodiversity best practices in higher education and autism employment, which aligns with the University of Maryland’s Fearlessly Forward strategic plan.

One NATS staff member has already been hired through Friedman’s $1 million gift. Three positions were created as a result of a $500,000 gift Friedman gave in 2019, part of which also provided scholarships to students who couldn’t afford to participate in SIGNA. 

Friedman, a graduate of the Robert H. Smith School of Business, was introduced to SIGNA by his brother. Friedman’s brother knew he was interested in supporting the university, and passionate about helping students with special needs—Martin is a father of two 17-year-old girls; Skyler, who is neurotypical, and Sienna, who is neurodivergent.

“I was moved by the work that they were doing to help these kids manage college, which is not easy when you're neurodiverse. College can be overwhelming for a typical person, so just magnify that by one thousand percent for a person with special needs,” Friedman, Managing Member and Senior Portfolio Manager of FJ Capital Management LLC, recalled of his first encounters with SIGNA. “As the years went by, I kept up on SIGNA’s progress, and after learning what was going on and what they needed to take it to the next level, I just got inspired to do something larger to hopefully take the program to the next several levels of where it needs to be to help students.”

Friedman’s recent gift to SIGNA is his largest charitable donation to date. In the past, he has also given to the Delta Sigma Phi Scholarship Fund, which provides need-based scholarships to members of the namesake business fraternity that Friedman was a part of during his undergraduate years, and the K9s for Warriors program, to honor family members who’ve served—and Friedman’s love of dogs, too. 

“I think there's still a stigma around special needs, and that there needs to be more education on the needs of these people and discussion about how they could be brought into the mainstream more, because these wonderful people can contribute to the world in a great variety of ways with help and accommodation. We don’t want to leave them behind,” Friedman continued. “I’m hopeful that the University of Maryland can be recognized as the center, or one of the top centers, for education that helps special needs kids who would otherwise struggle to be successful.”

He also said he hopes his gift will empower Dow-Burger, and “turbocharge” her efforts. 

“I think Martin’s support validates, legitimizes, and acknowledges that neurodivergent and autistic students are valued contributors to our society, and that recognition and support is needed,” said Dow-Burger. “It has also given me the opportunity to mentor, and give voices to students. Whether you are an autistic person, an early-career speech pathologist, or a student who's working towards that, mentorship happens in all directions. Because of that, I know this is not going to end with me. This is not my program, this is our program.”