March 15th-21st is Neurodiversity Celebration Week; please celebrate with people you know, their strengths and exceptional skills. It is time we acknowledge the unique contributions they all make.
According to the Department of Education, 15% of students in the United Kingdom have a learning difference. It is time to change the way schools, teachers and other students perceive us.
I tend to be concerned about the use of the word “superpowers”. Why, because although some of their strengths are extraordinary, many people feel that the gap between their current experience and a superpower is just too large. In addition people with these strengths tend to not value them, as they believe others can do these things too. However I always start by asking people about their strengths, it is good for their confidence to discuss what they can do and changes the frame away from what they struggle with. So we collect lots of stories of some amazing strengths.
During the course of the next week I will be laying out in daily blogs some of the exceptional strengths that I have found neurodivergent people have, complete with inspiration stories of their experiences. How many of these stories match your experiences, for example:
- Visual thinking
- Creativity, imagination and generation of new ideas
- “Instagram” for the brain
- Problem solving
- Memory, collecting and connecting facts
- Hyperfocus, drive and energy
- Taking different perspectives
- Seeing the bigger picture
I hope you will join me as we journey through Neurodivergent celebration week.
My name is Olive Hickmott; I would be pleased to support you in any way I can.
You are welcome to contact me olive@empoweringlearning.co.uk
Please register here to follow my blog at http://www.olivehickmott.co.uk
You will find other useful information at http://www.empoweringlearning.co.uk
My latest books are:
The Elephants in the Classroom: using every student’s natural power of mental Imagery to enhance learning: Neurodiversity through the lens of mental Imagery and
Bridges to Success – How to transform Learning Difficulties
#theelepahntsintheclassroom #neurodiversitycelebrationweek #empoweringlearning #olivehickmott #neurodivergent
Olivehickmott 