This video is #8 in my series Introduction to Neurodiversity, based on a course I taught at Bridges Graduate School of Cognitive Diversity in Education. It focuses on the gifts, assets, and strengths of those with intellectual disabilities. This is the neurodiversity that really needs the most publicity concerning the things that people with intellectual...Read More

On May 19, 2013 I attended graduation ceremonies at Berkshire Hills Music Academy (BHMA) in South Hadley, Massachusetts.  BHMA provides post-secondary education to young adults with developmental disabilities who have special interests and abilities in music. This year there were eight graduates of BHMA’s  two-year certificate program (they also have summer programs, and an extended learning community program).  Students take...Read More

I’ve been reading a number of blogs that have been critical of the neurodiversity movement.  Generally, they’ve characterized neurodiversity as saying “we don’t want a cure; we don’t want research; we just want to be left alone in our differentness.”  I suspect that only a small minority of neurodiversity activists take this position.  I certainly don’t.  In...Read More

In response to news reports that it may be possible in the future to “cure” Down syndrome by intervening early in development using psychoactive medication, Jenn Power, the mother of identical twins with Down syndrome, responded on the blog Contrarian: “As you know, I have many years of history supporting people with intellectual disabilities. Through...Read More

Katie Apostolides, who has Down Syndrome, graduated in 2009 from Mount Aloysius College in Cresson, Pennsylvania with an associate’s degree in science.  This makes her one of the first (if not the first) individuals with Down Syndrome to complete a post-secondary degree.  She has had a number of news articles follow her academic progress, including one in...Read More