In September, we hosted another Inclusive Education Forum at Whittlesea Tech School, this time focusing on neurodiversity. The event was the second in the series with attendees from: education, community, career pathways, and wellbeing. The forum heard from students and teachers with lived experience, as well as specialist academics, with the aim of spotlighting how we might strengthen collaborative support for neurodivergent students.
Kicking things off, MC Simon Taylor welcomed Associate Professor Jennifer Spoor from the Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre, La Trobe University. Jennifer spoke about the strengths of neurodiverse students, the valuable skills they can bring to the workforce, and provided an overview of neurodiversity that set the scene for the day.
Following this, Claire O’Dwyer spoke about her personal journey to a diagnosis later in life. She shared invaluable insights into her own struggles with traditional education structures, despite which, has led to her inspirational achievements not only academically but professionally and personally.
This was followed by a panel discussion where students from Plenty River College and St Monica’s Secondary College, as well as teacher Ashleigh Braybrook, spoke about their ongoing lived experiences; exploring what it means to be neurodiverse and the daily challenges they face.
After a refreshing morning tea, attendees broke up into their areas of focus (education, career pathways, and community) to explore current practice and identify the gaps in their own practice.
After lunch, we heard about exciting new initiatives in education from Dr Seth Brown (RMIT University), Clare Kermond (La Trobe University) and Cory Pearce (Department of Education).
Rounding out the day, attendees returned to their groups to ideate in facilitated sessions, generating actionable ideas to better support their neurodiverse students. We look forward to working with everyone who attended to make these ideas a reality.
Thanks to everyone who participated, and a special thanks to the HWLLEN and Whittlesea Youth Commitment for bringing together such an important event.
We look forward to the next forum!
