Neurodiversity Celebration Week 2025
We'll be celebrating Neurodiversity Celebration Week from Monday 17 to Sunday 23 March 2025.
"Hello and welcome to Neurodiversity week - an event that means a lot to me personally. We have made great strides over my lifetime in understanding Neurodiversity and how it affects people. Neurodiversity Week hopes to educate, support and inspire that progress to continue."
Dr Amanda Hickey, Lecturer in Psychology, co-founder of the Distractibles, the DISCO (Disability Community) Project and Departmental Disability Champion. Dyslexic with suspected ADHD.
Neurodiversity Celebration Week is a worldwide initiative that aims to transform how neurodiversity is perceived by providing opportunities to recognise and celebrate the many skills and talents of neurodivergent individuals.
At the University of York, we want to recognise and support the many ways people think, learn, and experience the world. With a significant proportion of our student and staff community identifying as neurodivergent, this is an opportunity to champion inclusive practice, share lived experiences, and celebrate the strengths that diverse minds bring to our university.
What is neurodiversity?
Neurodiversity is about recognising and respecting the many ways people think, learn, and process information. Around 15-20% of the population is neurodivergent, and embracing different thinking styles, such as Dyslexia, Autism, ADHD, and more, creates a more inclusive learning and working environment. Rather than focusing on challenges, neurodiversity highlights the value of diverse perspectives and the importance of creating environments where everyone can thrive.
Learn more about neurodiversity
What's on
University of York events
Find details below of the events that we're organising; you can also find them on our Celebrating Diversity Events Series calendar - and if you subscribe to the calendar, or to individual events, the details will be added to your own Google calendar so you don't miss things that you're interested in!
Monday 17 to Friday 21 March, Library Foyer
Come and find out more about a wide range of opportunities and support for neurodivergent students and staff at the University. Tell us your experiences and top tips for making a more neurodivergent-friendly campus.
Staff will be available on the stands over lunchtime each day:
- Monday to Wednesday, 11am to 2pm
- Thursday and Friday, 11am to 1pm
1pm to 3pm, Library LFA/144
No need to book tickets - just come along to create some zines about neurodiversity! We will be working together to make zines which capture the experiences of neurodiversity on campus with old magazines and crafting materials. Some materials will be provided, but feel free to bring your own if you would like.
8pm, Alcuin JCR
Drinks and snacks will be provided, no need to book!
11.30am to 12.30pm at Kings Manor, Finds Lab, K/G62
Hosted by the Department of Archaeology, this creative collage-making student workshop will explore the topic 'Neurodiverse nuance: what Archaeology means to me'.
For more details, please contact emma.boast
12.30pm to 2pm, Ian Wand Building (Computer Science), CSE/166 Flat Lecture Theatre and online
Student and staff panel discussion, in person and online via Zoom.
6.30pm, David Kato College Hub
No need to book!
11am to 12.30pm, Library, LFA/204-205
This 90 minute workshop, designed for colleagues in Professional Service teams, explores how neurodiversity shapes students' university experiences. Co-delivered by student interns, the session draws on lived experience to highlight the strengths neurodivergent students bring to the learning environment.
Through discussion and reflective activities, participants will gain practical strategies to help create a more inclusive and supportive university experience.
1pm to 3pm, Library LFA/144
No need to book tickets - just come along to create some zines about neurodiversity! We will be working together to make zines which capture the experiences of neurodiversity on campus with old magazines and crafting materials. Some materials will be provided, but feel free to bring your own if you would like.
City-wide and national events
There is a full schedule of free online events as part of Neurodiversity Celebration Week 2025. Events include panel discussions and inspirational speakers from a range of backgrounds and professions. The discussions will focus on key neurodiversity topics and aim to educate while inspiring conversations about neurodiversity.
Visit the Neurodiversity Celebration Week 2025 website to register for online events.
Supporting our neurodivergent staff and students
Staff
Training and awareness raising
- Disability Awareness Modules (mandatory for all staff)
- Autism awareness online module (login required)
- Online Digital Accessibility Tutorial (login required)
Policies and guidance
The University has created the Reasonable adjustments process for staff with a disability or long term health condition which aims to facilitate a structured and comprehensive level of support for individuals, while providing additional guidance for line managers. One the main tools used as part of this process is the Individual Adjustments Plan that enables a member of staff and their line manager to create a record of any reasonable adjustments and support that is required, while building in review periods and an on-going dialogue between relevant colleagues in order to ensure members of staff receive all the support they need.
Peer support
It can be extremely useful for neurodiverse staff to seek support from peers and there are a number of way they can do this:
- INCLUDE: A network for staff with a disability, working to make the University more disability confident
- Dyslexia Peer Support Group: Monthly sessions for sharing experiences with other dyslexic staff
- Staff Autism Space: A slack channel as an open, safe space to discuss experience of autism
- The Distractibles: A friendly weekly group open to all students and staff who find themselves easily distracted
Further resources and sources of support
Students
Peer support
- Spectrum - a group for those who identify as autistic to relax and chat. There are snacks and drinks, board games, and opportunities to talk/join in as much or as little as you'd like.
- The Distractibles - A friendly weekly group open to all students and staff who find themselves easily distracted
- Neurodivergent Society - a safe, accessible space for all neurodivergent identifying or curious students, and allies, at York. Aimed at anyone who feels as though their brain works differently to the societal norm. No need for a diagnosis and no pressure to share how you identify. Everyone is welcome!
- Sunflower Society - provides a range of events for students with visible and invisible disabilities
Student support services
- Student Hub - provides information, advice and guidance for students on student finance, money management, housing, academic progress issues and support for under-represented student groups.
- Access it All - Monthly Drop-In for neurodivergent and disabled students with specialist advisers on benefits such as Personal Independence Payments and Universal Credit, Disabled Students' Allowance, finding and sustaining part-time work, and money management.
- Disability Services - support for individuals in terms of exam arrangements, support with applying for Disabled Students' Allowance, and more.
- Careers and Placements support - provides information about Disability Confident employers, requesting adjustments in interviews and applications, careers advice, practise interviews, CV advice.
Facilities
- Sensory Rooms - the University has dedicated sensory rooms located in the Library and Quiet Spaces at Goodricke College that are available for staff and students
For more information about accessible facilities on campus see the University’s Inclusive Facilities page.
Reading materials
- Lived experience of dyslexia: Olivia, is a member of staff at the University of York and has written this reflective piece about their lived experience of dyslexia. For internal use only (login required)
- Blog post: Working in HE and autism: Richard, a member of staff at the University of York and has written a blog about his experiences of working in HE before and after a diagnosis of autism.
- Neurodivergent joy padlet: While being neurodivergent in a neurotypical world can be challenging at times, it can also be wonderful and joyful. Engaging with our passions and interests can be fulfilling and a great way to connect. This padlet is a space to be curated by and for the neurodivergent community to share the things that bring us joy - and please joyfully explore the resources shared as a pre-approved ND friendly set of recommendations!
Coloured overlays are available to borrow from the Library help desk and pastel-coloured paper is available for printing in the Library if you find reading from a coloured background easier.
The Learning Technology Practical Guide Accessibility pages provide an overview of digital tools at York which many neurodiverse staff and students find helpful. These tools enable you to work in different ways and include functions that can allow you to screen mask in various colours, with or without a reading bar, use a screen reader if you prefer texts read aloud or use mind maps to approach your planning. These tools are available to all staff and students at the University.
External resources and information
Reading materials
- Navigating neurodiversity in science - NCAS: People who are neurodivergent can contribute in distinctive ways to science and the scientific community says Professor Kathryn Cowtan.
Organisations
Resources
Neurodiversity Celebration Week has compiled some useful free resources.
Watch again
- Dyslexia superpower: moving from disability through learning difference to advantage - Nigel Lockett
- Don’t stop: negotiating autism and academia - Dr Jason Arday, Durham University