Neurodiversity Celebration Week 2023

To celebrate the week-long, worldwide event, schools and learning centres took part in an array of activities to learn more about neurodiversity.

Ashbrooke School hired a giant inflatable obstacle course. They also popped on their creative hats to design a neurodiversity logo which they displayed around the school.

Over at Bridgeway School, pupils took part in a 'Tutor Time Task' where they explored 'What is neurodiversity?' During the session, they discussed the different conditions, watched videos and chatted about celebrities who are neurodivergent.

As part of their celebrations, they completed a cube design where they created a piece of artwork which represented them as a person.  These were collated together to represent the idea that they are all individuals with their own interests and needs, yet part of the same school community.

ADHD Advanced Practice Project Manager, Heather Morley delivered a training session to staff where they explored more on the topic. 

Finally, to complete their week of activities, they made neurodiversity themed fairy cakes, which went down a treat!

At Chilworth House School, pupils and staff went out into the local community, where they held a craft store at Thame Market, selling their handmade crafts, including bird feeders, fridge magnets and slime.  

During the day, they raised over £400, which they kindly donated to Thomley Hall,  a venue that provides fun and engaging spaces for people of all abilities.

After the event, they received some welcoming comments from a member of the general public: 

"I just wanted to say what a pleasure it was to see some of your fabulous children this morning at Thame Market. What a great group of children and lovely supporting adults."

Pupils from Cumberland School created neurodiversity themed posters of famous people they are inspired by who are neurodivergent. The posters were displayed around the school, creating awareness to encourage conversations.

Pupils from Dovetree School engaged in sessions based around masking and camouflaging, sensory and emotional regulation and social communication. The therapy team facilitated the morning activities, and in the session, they used their creative skills to design masks, highlighting that difference does not mean less. 

Pupils thoroughly enjoyed the activities, commenting: 

"This is the best day ever!"

"This day is just perfect!"

"People can sometimes be ableist but I know that I am able to be my true self whilst at school and that's okay!"

Pupils from Oakwood Learning Centre celebrated in tutor time by identifying their strengths and talents. They wrote some acrostic poems for ADHD and autism and created posters. They also learned that the creator of Pokemon is autistic and enjoyed reading books written by authors with neurodiversity. To round off, they created graffiti tags which show their identity and what makes them unique.

At Oversands School enjoyed a drop-in therapy session with one of the therapists who explored neurodiversity, took part in a computer session looking at personality differences and strengths by analysing 16 different personalities and created some colourful posters to hang around the school.

Pupils and staff from Pontville School took part in an assembly. They then rolled up their sleeves to create some delicious rainbow cupcakes, while over at the 16- 19 Centre, students revamped the staff noticeboard and added words associated to neurodiversity, and also created posters highlighting famous people with ADHD and how they dealt with it.

At Millcourt School, pupils also explored masking, creating colourful faces which they displayed on the wall. They also discussed what people might want to know about being neurodivergent and created responses which were used in a display.

Well done, everyone.