In 2021-2022, I taught a class for the Bridges Graduate School of Cognitive Diversity in Education.  and created videos from the lectures I gave.  This video is #4 in the 10 video series for the course entitled Introduction to Neurodiversity. The video describes a concept that I’ve adapted from evolutionary biology called niche construction, which...Read More

The concept of neurodiversity emerged in the 1990’s as a way for autism advocates to affirm their identity as people with neurological differences rather than as disabled individuals.  The idea has spread as other advocates (including myself) have sought to articulate the ”diversity rather than disability” message to a broader segment of the population than...Read More

This is a presentation I made at the 16th Encuentro Internacional de Educacion Inicial y Preescolar in Monterrey, Mexico on October 15th, 2016, which focused this year on inclusion and diversity.  The event was sponsored by an exemplary early childhood education program in Monterrey called CENDI (Los Centros de Desarrollo Infantil del Frente Popular “Tierra...Read More

Yesterday there was a segment on MSNBC (part of NOW with Alex Wagner) that focused on neurodiversity as the next civil rights movement.  The focus was on one school in New York, The IDEAL School of Manhattan,which supports full inclusion of students with disabilities into the mainstream, and cultivates an attitude among all students of embracing...Read More

The October, 2012 issue of Educational Leadership, the flagship journal of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), in an issue dedicated to “Students Who Challenge Us,” features my article “First, Discover Their Strengths,” which highlights many of the ideas discussed in my forthcoming book Neurodiversity in the Classroom:  Strength-Based Strategies to Help Students with Special Needs...Read More