Monday 18 March marks the start of Neurodiversity Celebration Week. It is a global effort that challenges stereotypes about neurological differences.
The awareness week aims to transform how neurodivergent individuals are perceived and supported. It provides schools, universities, and organisations with the opportunity to recognise the many advantages of being neurodivergent. It also helps to create more inclusive cultures that celebrate differences and empower every individual.
Depending on how our brains are wired, we all think, move, process information and communicate in different ways. Approximately 15% to 20% of the population has a neurological difference.
Many people use neurodiversity as an umbrella term to describe alternative thinking styles, such as:
- Dyslexia
- Dyspraxia
- Dyscalculia
- Autism
- ADHD
Neurodiversity is about recognising those who think differently, which comes with many great benefits.
How you can get involved
To celebrate Neurodiversity Celebration Week, many events will happen all week. You can find them on the Neurodiversity Celebration Week website.
There will be talks by inspirational speakers from a range of backgrounds and professions. The discussions will focus on key neurodiversity topics, whilst also educating and inspiring conversations about neurodiversity.
All events are free to attend and open to everyone.
Supporting neurodiversity at the council
To celebrate Neurodiversity Celebration Week, we spoke with Catherine Reynolds who is a senior educational psychologist at the council. We talked about the work she and her team do to support people who are neurodiverse.
We are all neurodiverse. This means that every one of us has a brain that is totally unique and works in its own special way. However, for some of us, our unique brains work noticeably differently to the majority. This might be because we were born that way, or because our brains have changed in response to life experiences or other factors.
These brains are considered ‘neurodivergent’ and might sometimes acquire labels, for example, autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia. These can bring their challenges, but neurodiversity also brings important contributions to society.
Due to long waiting times for assessments, the council’s educational psychology service worked in partnership with Frimley Health. They developed a ‘no labels required’ person-centred profiling tool to explore strengths and needs profiles. This early intervention approach can be adapted to support children as young as 3 and as up to 17. We have found it is most useful at key transitions.
Children and young people are given the choice about whether their meeting takes place. We encourage everyone to attend for the beginning of the meeting when we focus on strengths. We also ask the children and young people who they would like to accompany them as their advocate.
There are seven key stages which will be covered in the initial meeting, with a review expected to take place in the following school term. The stages include talking about strengths, how we can help, future hopes and dreams and what helps them.
By following this process, we hope to:
- celebrate the strengths and positives of what is working well
- build on existing strengths by doing more of what is already working rather than concentrating on the problems
- make sure the needs of any child or young person can be effectively met, as early as possible, whether they have a diagnosis or meet the criteria
- develop a co-produced profile of strengths and needs in addition to a plan of support with key stakeholders, including the child or young person
The aim is to prevent an escalation of need and poor academic, social, and mental health outcomes. It is specifically intended as a first-tier identification of need and support, that can be provided through the universally available resources within early years settings, schools, colleges, and community settings. It is not intended to replace other medical assessment pathways or specialist support services.
For more information, email educational.psychology@bracknell-forest.gov.uk.
