Young Neurodiversity Champions: Neurodiversity Hui at Parliament

We are going to Parliament to stake our claim in our education system, championing the rights of all neurodivergent young people to learn and thrive in a neuroinclusive system. 

The Young Neurodiversity Champions are bringing 300 neurodivergent young people aged 13 - 25 and supporters together at Parliament for a Neurodiversity Hui on Friday 19 July 2024.

The attendees will come from all over New Zealand, including a sizable delegation representing Wellington region secondary schools and tertiaries. They will be joined by representatives from the Neurodiversity in Education Coalition, politicians and media.

At the hui, the Young Neurodiversity Champions will share their stories and the advocacy work they are doing to ensure that our education system supports all learners to thrive, and provide opportunities for young people attending to connect, share and contribute their ideas and solutions.

We will also be calling on Ministers and politicians from all parties to tell us what changes they will be making to build a neuroinclusive education system, including in relation to better initial teacher education, rebuilding the broken learning support system, and ongoing teacher and school capability building.

The hui is supported by the Neurodiversity in Education Project and is a satellite event of Festival for the Future, taking place from 17-18 July in Wellington. The event is hosted by Chloe Swarbrick MP and Ingrid Leary MP, Chair and Deputy Chair of the Cross-Party Mental Health and Addictions Wellbeing Group.

Background

Neurodiversity means that every one of us learns, sees the world, processes information and interacts in our own unique way.

An education system must be built on an understanding of the science of learning, including of the diverse range of ways in which children and young people learn and develop depending on the way their individual brains are wired. Its professionals must be highly trained to recognise those differences, adapt their everyday support, and bring in additional support to ensure each child is learning in a way that works for them.

Right now, our education system fails to do this in any meaningful way. Very little thought is given to how students learn, with an implicit assumption that all students learn in basically the same neurotypical way. We are failing the 20% of students whose brains learn, process and communicate in different ways, leaving many of them marginalised, traumatised and achieving far less than our enormous potential.

We are tired of endless reports, Select Committee enquiries and piecemeal, short-term, sub-scale investments. We want to see all political parties commit to working together to rebuild the education system to fully meet the needs of all its learners - at pace, at scale, and continuing over time.

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