"We were really pleased to lead the whole school assembly this morning in celebration of Neurodiversity Week. This is an annual celebration of our unique strengths and differences.
Neurodiversity is a word used to describe the different thinking styles that influence how people communicate with the world around them. It is an umbrella term - a word that sums up lots of different things. It includes autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia and Tourette's.
ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, although not everyone has the hyperactivity part. While some think of it as an inability to focus, that is not entirely true. In fact, the ability to hyper-focus is one of the many skills associated with ADHD, along with strong 3D visual skills and problem solving abilities.
Whilst most people associate dyslexia with difficulties in literacy, they are not aware that it also comes with many skills. Dyslexic people often display standout strengths in areas such as 3D visual thinking, verbal skills and long term memory.
Many of the world’s most successful people are neurodivergent and attribute their success to their ability to think differently. These include Harry Potter stars Emma Watson who has ADHD, and Daniel Radliffe who is dyspraxic, entrepreneur and perfumer Jo Malone who is dyslexic, and singers Billie Eilish and Lewis Capaldi who both have Tourette's. As part of this morning’s assembly we shared Keira Knightly’s personal experience of growing up with dyslexia and how she continues to overcome these challenges as an actor.
It is often more appropriate to consider equity over equality when it comes to supporting and accommodating the different needs of different neurodivergent minds. Equity can be a difficult concept for people to truly understand and to help younger pupils this morning, we asked everyone to consider different plants growing in a garden. A cactus needs minimal water, while a tomato plant needs lots of water. Treating them equally, but giving them the same amount of water would harm one or both. Treating them equitably means giving each plant exactly what it needs to thrive. It is important to consider and accommodate the individual needs people may have, instead of providing the same treatment for everyone.
The Wellbeing Committee will be hosting a Wellbeing Breakfast from 8:05-8:35 on Wednesday next week and senior pupils have been invited to sign up to attend. Everyone is encouraged to bring a craft activity along with them or one can be provided. We hope that we will all be able to enjoy taking part in a relaxing activity in the company of others to provide a super start to the day.
We will also be running an interactive lunchtime activity exploring the difference between equity and equality, which promises to be great fun.
Junior school pupils were also invited to take part in a number of art competitions on the theme of celebrating neurodiversity super powers.
Laura, Lizzy, Bukumni, Chloe
Wellbeing Committee"