Neurodiversity Celebration Week 2024 is March 18 – 22!
Neurodiversity (ND) Celebration Week aims to:
- Increase awareness, understanding, and acceptance of the ND community.
- Challenge stereotypes and misconceptions about neurological differences.
- Create a more inclusive and equitable community that empowers all individuals.
Events include:
● Intersectionality Lunch ● Sensory-Friendly and Adaptive Fashion Exhibit
● Neurodivergent Employee Celebration ● Neurodivergent Student Celebration ● Hyperfocus and Special Interest Night ●Neurodiversity Dialogues: Paths to Diagnosis ● Story Night: Stories from Cornell’s Neurodivergent Community●Research Poster Session ● Silent Disco ● Sensory Friendly Swim Requirement ● Movie night
We want to make this week’s events as inclusive and welcoming as possible. All events are free and meant to be sensory-friendly. When available, we are also offering a sensory room to destress and relax. Fidget toys, interaction buttons, etc., will be found on the sign-in table. Food and snacks were chosen considering different sensory needs and preferences. Please email neurodiversity@cornell.edu with any questions!
We need you!
- Volunteer: If you want to volunteer during ND Celebration Week, please answer this form.
- Call for art work for the Neurodiversity Celebration Zine — Deadline Wednesday, March 6th. Neurodivergent poets, authors or artists are invited to submit a piece of their work for our zine (i.e., a little mini magazine). (If the form is inaccessible to you, or you have any questions, please email Kate at krk87@cornell.edu)
Download the poster outlining all the events here!
EVENTS:
Monday, March 18th
Intersectionality Lunch (poster)
12:00 – 1:00 pm, Memorial Room (sensory room: Music Room), WSH.
Accessible entrance: main entrance on Ho Plaza, across from the Cornell Store
Join us in kicking off Neurodiversity Celebration Week by enjoying lunch and great conversation with members of the Cornell community, appreciating the intersection of all identities with neurodivergence. Students, Faculty and Staff are invited! Please RSVP.
Adaptive and Sensory Friendly Fashion Opening (poster)
4:30 pm Jill Stuart Gallery, Human Ecology Building
Accessible entrance: From the Forest Home Parking Garage, take the elevator to T level.
Immerse yourself in the universe of sensations we receive from clothing and fashion. In this interactive exhibit you can touch and feel different fabrics and items, and ponder on how fashion interacts with our senses. Open to the public (minors must be accompanied by a responsible adult). Share your sensory experiences with clothing and other items here!
Tuesday, March 19th
Neurodivergent Employee Celebration
2:00 – 3:00 pm on Zoom (tbd)
Special event, with neurodivergent Cornell employees gathering to celebrate our identities and to have fun! All neurodivergent staff & faculty are welcome to join; self-id is recognized and valued.
Neurodivergent Student Celebration
3:00 – 4:00 pm on Zoom (tbd)
Special event, with neurodivergent students from Cornell and other universities gathering to celebrate our identities and to have fun! All neurodivergent students are welcome to join; self-id is recognized and valued.
Hyperfocus and Special Interest Night (poster)
7:00 – 9:00 pm, Alice Cook House Common Room
Accessible entrance: on the left side of the dining hall.
Present and/or tour people’s hobbies, special interests and hyperfocuses! Fill out this form if you want to share yours! Open to the public (minors must be accompanied by a responsible adult).
Wednesday, March 20th
Neurodiversity Dialogues: Paths to Diagnosis (poster)
3:00 – 4:00 pm on Zoom
Hear about the process, pros and cons, differential diagnosis and more from our three panelists. Facilitated by Em McClintock, ADHDer, who runs the ADHD Evaluation Program at CAPS. Open to the public. You can send any questions before the event to neurodiversity@cornell.edu. More information & zoom link.
Story Night: Stories from Cornell’s Neurodivergent Community (poster)
7:00 – 9:00 pm, Physical Sciences Building (PSB) 401 (Sensory room: PSB 403)
Accessible entrance: Through the Clark Hall Breezeway in the rear or through the building on the right when entering from Feeney Way.
Enjoy hearing the fascinating stories of neurodivergent students, faculty and staff!! Open to the public (minors must be accompanied by a responsible adult). If you want to share your story, submit your information here.
Thursday, March 21st
Research Poster Session (poster)
7:30 – 8:30 pm, Morrison Hall Multipurpose Room
Accessible entrance: either of the entrances opposite of Morrison Dining.
Neurodivergent students, and researchers conducting neurodiversity-related studies will showcase their work! Come see what is being studied by and for neurodivergent people! Fill out this form if you want to present! Open to the public (minors must be accompanied by a responsible adult).
Silent Disco (poster)
8:30 – 10:00 pm, Morrison Hall Multipurpose Room
Accessible entrance: either of the entrances opposite of Morrison Dining.
Connect with the neurodivergent community at Cornell at a sensory-friendly disco open to the whole Cornell Community.
Friday, March 22nd
Sensory Friendly Swim Requirement (poster)
11:00 am – 1:00 pm, Helen Newman Hall Pool
Are you graduating soon, and have not taken the swim requirement because the environment it take place in could lead to sensory overload? If interested, please email Brigitta Putnam at bar28@cornell.edu.
Movie Night: Nimona (poster)
6:30 – 9:00 pm, Yarnell Lecture Hall (LH4), College of Veterinary Medicine; a sensory room will be available nearby.
Accessible entrance: Main entrance on Tower Rd.
We are closing the week with a Movie Night, showing a movie that several neurodivergent people, with different intersecting identities, have enjoyed: Nimona. “When a knight in a futuristic medieval world is framed for a crime he didn’t commit, the only one who can help him prove his innocence is Nimona — a mischievous teen who happens to be a shapeshifting creature he’s sworn to destroy.” See the trailer here. Open to the public (minors must be accompanied by a responsible adult).
To access posters for all events in one file, click here.