Neurodiversity Celebration Week 2025

Join us on Wednesday 19 of March in MB-503 (Maths building) for an afternoon of research talks around neurodiversity and a panel discussion with members of the five Schools. 

neurodiversity

Neurodiverse Voices in Research: Our Work and the MINDS Network
Including the voices of neurodivergent people within research about them can help to build a richer, more impactful research output. In this talk, we will share how the lived experiences of both researchers and participants created the setting for a small but interesting master's-level research project, how the MINDS network is working to connect researchers and neurodivergent people for mutual benefit, and an overview of our future work combining participatory methodology and robotics.

Beyond diagnostic labels: A new approach to neurodiversity and mental health
Research and clinical practices for neurodevelopmental conditions have traditionally followed a medical model, focused on diagnosis and treatment of “core symptoms” (e.g., social communication in autism). The neurodiversity paradigm encourages us to view neurodevelopmental conditions as expressions of variation in minds and cognitive abilities, rather than disorders, and align our efforts with the priorities of the neurodivergent community. One of the community’s top priorities is addressing co-occurring mental health challenges, such as anxiety and depression, which are much more common in neurodivergent people than in the general population. However, co-occurring mental health challenges are often not recognised and supported in clinical settings. In this talk, I will provide an overview of our recent work going beyond traditional diagnostic labels to improve understanding, identification and support of neurodivergent traits and related mental health challenges, in line with the neurodiversity paradigm.
  • 15:30: Panel discussion on neurodiversity with experts by professional and/or lived experience
  • 16:30  Coffee and cake