We invite your school or university to ‘take the pledge’ and celebrate the intelligence, ability and employability of neurodivergent students and staff.
Neurodiversity is the diversity of human brains and minds – the infinite variation in neurocognitive functioning within our species.
In May 2019 over 300 schools and colleges and 294,000 students participated in Neurodiversity Celebration Week. This year schools and universities from around the world are participating in Neurodiversity Celebration Week.
In New Zealand and Australia local members of the Autistic Collaboration community with the support of S23M and the Untapped Group are assisting schools with neurodiversity education resources leading up to the event.
Members of the neurodiversity movement adopt a position of diversity that encompasses a kaleidoscope of identities that intersects with the LGBTQIA+ kaleidoscope by recognising neurodivergent traits – including but not limited to ADHD, Autism, Dyscalculia, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Synesthesia, Tourette’s Syndrome – as natural variations of cognition, motivations, and patterns of behaviour within the human species.
Diversity is inclusion. 1 in 5 people are neurodivergent!
Your school can sign up here to participate.
In the light of legitimate concerns about slowing the spread of COVID-19 you may want to consider engaging students in collaborative online research and learning activities related to neurodiversity. In this context you can draw on the learning resources curated on the following websites:
- Neurodiversity Celebration Week – The advantages of perceiving the world differently
- Autistic Collaboration – Equipping autistic people for collaboration for life
- Neuroclastic – Information about the autism spectrum from autistic people
Participating schools and universities in Australia:
- Auburn Primary School, Victoria
- Avila College, Victoria
- Blackwater North State School. Blackwater, Central Queensland
- Emmaus College, Melbourne
- Genazzano FCJ College, Kew
- Mount Marrow State School, Queensland
- Peaceful Rooms Montessori Centre, Western Australia
- Rosamond School, Victoria
- Sacred Heart College, Perth, Western Australia
- St Peter’s Catholic College, Tuggerah NSW
- The Cabin – Melbourne Village College, Melbourne
- The University of New South Wales
Participating schools and universities in New Zealand:
- Owairoa Primary School, Auckland
- Palmerston North Girls’ High, Palmerston North
- Wellington East Girl’s College, Wellington
If you would like your organisation (school, university, local council, etc.) in New Zealand or Australia to participate and would like to offer on-site or online neurodiversity education to your staff prior to Neurodiversity Celebration week, you can request local assistance via the form below.
Neurodiversity celebration week was launched in May 2019 by Siena Castellon, a sixteen year old neurodiversity advocate from the UK who is autistic, dyslexic and dyspraxic and has ADHD.
When I was thirteen, I created a website – www.qlmentoring.com – to support young people with learning differences and autistic young people. When searching for information about my conditions, I found that all the existing websites were focused on providing information and resources for parents. So I decided to create a website designed for young people like me. My website aims to empower neurodiverse youth by providing practical information and useful resources to help them to succeed in school.
As a student with several learning differences, I know that there is still a stigma associated with having special educational needs and that there are still many misconceptions about what it means to have a learning difference. I want to change this.
I want to flip the narrative so that instead of perceiving learning differences as something negative, we focus on the many strengths and advantages that come from seeing and perceiving the world differently.
– Siena Castellon
More information on how to get involved with this global initiative is available on the Neurodiversity Celebration Week website.