Neurodiversity Celebration Week was launched in May 2019 by Siena Castellon, a neurodiversity advocate from the UK who is autistic, dyslexic, dyspraxic and has ADHD. The celebration week was started with the mission to challenge stereotypes associated with neurodiversity and misconceptions about neurodiversity and its associated conditions, whilst celebrating their strengths and raising awareness within education and the workplace.

But how you can actively get involved with Neurodiversity Celebration Week within your workplace?

Neurodiversity awareness training

Neurodiversity Celebration Week is a great opportunity to spread awareness about neurodiversity throughout your organisation to start those all important conversations. The great thing is, training can be delivered virtually or in your office, so it suits all the ‘new normal’ ways of working we find ourselves in. Here at Enna we deliver 1 hour ‘lunch and learn’ style sessions or half day sessions, to suit every need and every budget, so get in touch to find out about our last remaining availability for the week.

Advertise Neurodiversity Celebration Week

Do you have a company intranet or even notice boards in your office? Working with your marketing team to create a leaflet to share can be a really simple and effective way to share the word. Write about what the week is and ways people can get involved can highlight really important messages.

Contact your Diversity and Inclusion team

Contacting your Diversity and Inclusion team can help you understand what your company is doing in regards to neurodiversity and make sure they know about Neurodiversity Celebration Week. You can even suggest some of the activities mentioned here and help them organise it. Even if you aren’t neurodivergent yourself, having allies that support the neurodiversity movement is really important.

Start conversations about neurodiversity

Theres no better way to raise awareness than by talking about it. If you’re heading to get some lunch or have a meeting with your manager, get the conversation going. Ask them if they’re comfortable sharing their experiences, its likely that everyone is connected to someone neurodivergent. A main aim of the week is to move away from stereotypes, and one way to do this is by talking to each other and learning the facts from the fiction.

Invite guest speakers

Another really good way to build awareness of neurodiversity is by inviting people in to speak. There are many different options for this, you could ask people who have disclosed their neurodiversity at work to share their experiences, ask your Diversity and Inclusion team to speak or invite external speakers (like us at Enna or others) to talk about neurodiversity in the workplace.

Put up neurodiversity fact sheets

Work with your marketing team to create fact sheets about neurodiversity to pin up around the office and share on your company intranet. This helps to dispel myths and educate your colleagues.

Form a neurodiversity focused employee resource group

If you don’t already have a neurodiversity focused ERG in your company this is a great time to set one up. Remember, everyone can join one, whether you’re neurodivergent yourself or an ally. This helps set the precedent for neurodiversity in your organisation and means everyone can get involved with the neurodiversity movement. Neurodiversity ERG’s typically meet once a month or once a quarter to set up a neurodiversity strategy, which can be pivotal in moving things forward.