EduCon 2025

Join us for a conversation about nurturing Neurodivergence.

To date, I have attended hundreds of child study, student support, 504, IEP, and gifted team meetings at public, private, parochial, and charter schools in five different states in the roles of student, teacher, parent, administrator, and advocate. Across miles, decades, and contexts, each one brought adults together to solve the problems that arise when the needs of the learner and the typical learning path are in tension. Inevitably, the mostly neurotypical adults (who don’t know viscerally what it's like to live in an ableist world) ask: What goals and specialized instruction will help this child overcome challenges and meet expectations?

What if we asked new questions that challenge fundamental assumptions and have the potential to nurture Neurodivergent identities?

Do trusted educators know deeply this student’s strengths, passions, and needs?

Does the student find flow in learning?

Does the student glow in an inclusive learning community through care and acceptance?

Does the student grow skills and knowledge that matter for a hopeful future?

Feeling known and glowing with the sense of belonging that authentic care and unconditional acceptance bring, then finding flow and growing skills and knowledge to actualize one’s unique talents is desirable for any student. For Neurodivergent students, however, it may be the only destination that protects their highly vulnerable self-concept against adverse mental health outcomes. When schools can answer “Yes!” to the questions above, more stories of Neurodivergent learners will have happy endings.