Neurodiversity Celebration Week: Striving towards awareness, building community and inclusivity!
During Neurodiversity Celebration Week, students and staff at Queen Mary came together to explore what it means to celebrate neurodiversity through open dialogue, shared experiences, and a commitment to inclusivity. From challenging long-standing stereotypes to rethinking how we understand conditions like ADHD, the event created space for learning, reflection, and community-building.
The SBBS Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee (EDIC) hosted a Neurodiversity Event at the Hub in the Fogg Building during Neurodiversity Celebration Week (16th – 22nd March) to raise awareness and challenge misconceptions and stereotypes about neurodiversity. Founded by Siena Castellon in 2018, this initiative continues to recognise the skills and strengths of the neurodivergent community and promotes inclusivity.
We are both final year Psychology students, writing our dissertation under the supervision of Dr Giorgia Michelini and investigating different topics about neurodiversity. Having learned about neurodiversity during our modules, it was an incredibly insightful and educational experience to challenge misconceptions. The event provided an informal space for SBBS students and staff to share their experiences, knowledge and understanding about neurodiversity over coffee, tea, and a selection of cakes and snacks. To ensure a neuro-affirming environment, fidget toys were also provided for attendees to use throughout. We were able to talk to PhD, undergraduate and master’s students conducting research on neurodiversity, allowing us to have open conversations about how research can improve existing policies. Moreover, we learned about the importance of the type of language we should use when having discussions about neurodiversity, directly from those in the community themselves.
We collaborated in groups with SBBS students and staff to complete a quiz focused on the neurodiversity movement, aiming to address stereotypes perpetuated in society. Each question dismantled such stereotypes, and sparked conversations on how neurodiversity is being shaped today. These conversations helped in reflecting how far society has come towards creating more inclusive policies and neurodiversity-affirming spaces.
A discussion that deeply resonated with us was the growing movement to reframe neurodevelopment conditions like ADHD, shifting the ‘D’ from ‘Deficit’ to ‘Difference.’ This approach challenges traditional medical views which focus solely on what society perceives an individual cannot achieve. Instead, it embraces cognitive diversity and shifts the focus to the individual’s inherent strengths and the specific environments in which they can thrive.
The winners of the quiz won prizes, but the true takeaway was celebrating all the strengths and differences within the neurodivergent community. Attendees were also given wellbeing support flyers signposting to various support services such as the disability and dyslexia service (DDS), staff-led networks, and mindfulness programmes. Overall, the event was incredibly meaningful in celebrating neurodiversity and building community at Queen Mary by bringing together staff and students.
Nazrin Mammadova and Anjali Manohar Shetty, BSc Psychology students (supervised by Emma Hayashibara, PhD student)
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