Cindi Spaulding, Meg Dillon, Caleb Adams, Sydney Metz, Jennifer (Quill) Sharp, Laurence Walker, and Jason Moench
Description:
This session provides an opportunity for University of Lynchburg students to share about their experiences with neurodiversity in the classroom and across campus. Neurodiversity is a term used to describe individuals who experience, interact with, and interpret the world in unique ways. The neurodiversity movement embraces a social model rather than a medical model of disability, emphasizing the strengths neurodivergent thinkers bring to the table while supporting them in areas where they experience challenges. While the neurodiversity movement was started by a sociologist on the autism spectrum, the term encompasses individuals with ADHD, learning disabilities (e.g., dyslexia), and developmental disabilities. Understanding neurodiversity is important for fostering a campus community that embraces, includes, and supports individuals with learning differences. In this session panelists will be asked a series of questions centered on the following topics: strengths and challenges associated with neurodiversity; practical steps to support and include neurodivergent students in the classroom and across the campus; and experiences self-disclosing and nuances between person-first and identity-first language. The overarching goal of this session is to create a platform for UL students to promote greater acceptance and inclusion for people with learning differences on our campus.
Objectives:
Identify the strengths associated with neurodiversity and the goal of the greater neurodiversity movement.
Describe the challenges experienced by students who identify as neurodiverse on the college campus.
Identify steps to support students who identify as neurodiverse in the classroom and across the campus.