The session will start with a brief introduction of the speaker, and a 10-15 minute introduction to the basic concepts within the neurodiversity framework, and the social model of disability. The slides will have little text and will always accompany visuals, and will be orally described by the speaker. In the spirit of neuroinclusion, participants who do not wish to participate in group activities, or who prefer to skip any or all interactive activities, will have their preferences respected and validated. Some participants might prefer to participate by text chat or voice, which will also be encouraged. The first activity will be meta-participative. A Google Docs document will be shared to establish ground rules to guarantee that all participants are having their participation needs met. For instance, some participants might prefer to know when it is their turn to speak, and some might have difficulties being interrupted, or jumping in the conversation without interrupting others. This practice will take approximately 20 minutes, and has the primary goal of allowing participants to experience in practice some neuroinclusive activities, and reflect on what has helped and what is still missing to make them engage as much as they would like. Depending on what is established in these ground rules, we will then open breakout rooms, or remain in the large Zoom room. The second activity (approximately 20 minutes) consists of a discussion on how each participant and their peers experienced the first activity, how that resonated or not with lived experiences in academia, and how that informs possible neuroinclusive practices in the academic context. In this activity, the secondary goal is to consolidate the insights and reflections using the shared ground rules developed in the first activity.
Neurodiversity is a framework constructed upon community activism, and sees differences in cognition, sensory experience, and communication styles as natural variations in human diversity. Such differences, when divergent from the norm, particularly when combined with other marginalized identities, promote a distressing encounter between an individual’s neurological characteristics and their social world, as neurodivergent subjects have been seen and treated by society and institutions as deviant from a fundamentally "healthy" norm. Higher education institutions are increasingly more expected to provide accommodations to neurodivergent students, to help them “make up” for their “deficits” without punishment. However, these practices are based on a deficit-based epistemology, are insufficient to promote effective inclusion and justice in the classroom, and add to the already distressing and cognitively taxing experience of navigating institutional bureaucracy and othering. In this session, we will consider different perspectives on disability, ableism, and neurodiversity advocacy, and discuss how the social model of disability might help us take the next step in making learning and knowledge construction more accessible, fair and empowering for neurodivergent voices in colleges and universities. Through practical activities that aim to model neuroinclusive practices, we will collectively brainstorm short-term and long-term strategies of neuroinclusion, self-advocacy, and allyship in academia.