“We should celebrate neurodiversity – the world would be poorer and life duller if we were all the same.” Neil Milliken
Did you know that this week (21-27 March 2022) is Neurodiversity Celebration Week? A week-long event designed to help people learn more about neurodiversity, and for neurodiverse students to develop a more positive perception of their own unique neurodiverse traits and skills.
What is neurodiversity?
Neurodiversity is the concept that everyone varies in their cognitive functioning which can lead to differences in thinking, attention and memory. We all have things that we struggle with and things we excel at, however for neurodiverse people these strengths and weaknesses are more pronounced meaning they find some things very easy, and other things incredibly hard. Neurodiverse individuals can have any one (or even a combination) of many different conditions that fall under the neurodiversity umbrella, such as:
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Autism
- Dyslexia
- Dyscalculia
- Dyspraxia
- Tourette’s Syndrome
Without support, these conditions can be disabling, but when provided with the right environment a person’s strengths and talents can shine through and even give a competitive advantage over others. Through raising awareness, making adaptations and providing support we can reduce societal stigma and help people to flourish.
What is the College doing during Neurodiversity Celebration Week?
From Tuesday to Friday we are holding lunchtime online drop in sessions from 12pm-1pm on various neurodiversity conditions:
- Tuesday 22 March: Dyslexia
- Wednesday 23 March: ADHD
- Thursday 24 March: Autism
- Friday 25 March: Anxiety and OCD
The link to the live online sessions can be found by visiting the VLE, clicking on the Student Information tab, and then following the ‘CAW Live’ link at the top of the page. Everyone is welcome to join in the discussion!
How can you get further help?
If you are a student at The College of Animal Welfare you can contact the Learning Support Team on learningsupport@caw.ac.uk.
If you do not have a diagnosed condition but suspect that you may have, you can make an appointment to see your GP to discuss this further. For those students who are suspicious that they may have Dyslexia, you contact the College’s Learning Support Team on the details above and they can arrange a screening for you.
Useful links
There are many organisations and charities that provide information, help and advice; a selection can be found below.