Neurodiversity Week
Celebrating Neurodiversity Week March 16-20, 2026!
March 16th through the 20th marks Neurodiversity Week! Neurodiversity Week is an initiative started in 2018 by Siena Castellon, an autistic teen who, at the time, wanted to challenge the stereotypes around neurological differences. The goals of Neurodiversity Week were to continue breaking down those misconceptions and recognize the many skills, talents, and abilities within the neurodivergent community.
Neurodiversity Week has since added another element to their goals: moving beyond awareness. The idea is to enact change at organizational levels, and to create more inclusive environments across settings.
A continuing challenge with supporting and celebrating the neurodivergent community is education. And by that, I mean educating the greater population on what neurodiversity means, what it looks like, and how to support neurodivergent folks.
So many spaces seem to be full of these similar terms: neurodivergent, neurodiverse, neurotypical… but what does any of it even mean?
The term “neurodivergent” is used more specifically when referring to a singular person, and “neurodiverse” refers to a group or a context of multiple minds. Simply put, “I am neurodivergent, and we are neurodiverse”. “Neurotypical” is used to refer to those individuals whose brain development and functioning align with societal norms.
Think of “neurodiversity” as an umbrella term, and under that are many many different neurotypes: ADHD, autism, OCD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, sensory processing disorder, tic disorders, synesthesia, misophonia, schizophrenia, epilepsy, bipolar disorders, borderline personality disorder… the diversity of human beings means a variety of brain types!
At its core, neurodiversity is the idea that our brains function differently, with no singular “correct” way of working. The concept also supports the idea that all brains, no matter how they work, should be accepted and celebrated.
