A photograph of summertime on Queen’s University campus with red flowers, and ivy on a limestone building.
Welcome to the Desiring Autism and Neurodivergence Symposium at Queen’s University!
JULY 23 - 25, 2024
The goal of the Symposium is to bring together diverse scholars, artists, students, educators, and community to explore shared goals around belonging, access, and justice for autistic and neurodivergent individuals in education. The event features thought-provoking art, workshops, and panels to invite deep engagement about desiring different ways of thinking and being together in schools. This event will result in an open-access, peer-reviewed online resource hub to be hosted at Queen’s University Faculty of Education, a co-edited academic book, and training and includes many mentoring opportunities for autistic and neurodivergent students, artists and scholars.
Two vital questions drive our event and outreach:
1) What does it mean to desire the difference of autism and ND in education?
2) What do critical, creative, decolonial and intersectional perspectives bring to education that is novel?
Links for those joining online. You can also find the links in the detailed agenda.
Vanessa Dion Fletcher’s link is here https://dion-fletcher-portfolio.squarespace.com/un-desiring-autism-key-note
For all sessions in Chernoff 213
https://queensu.zoom.us/j/95468725015?pwd=Maiv4spbe4nYWpMk18QJLaDsxShwyd.1
Meeting ID: 954 6872 5015
Passcode: 389840
For all sessions in Chernoff Auditorium and Chernoff 117
https://queensu.zoom.us/j/99448783794?pwd=rfsbltRFeryqsBA6QRsedmkKVLjsaC.1
Meeting ID: 994 4878 3794
Passcode: 786549
Accessibility
We are devoted to creating an accessible event that exceeds accessibility checklists. As such, we are taking measures to ensure amenities are available to meet as many sensory, physical, communication, cultural, COVID-safety, and other access considerations as possible. Please see the Access Guide for more information.
All spaces for the Symposium are wheelchair accessible. We are strongly-encouraging COVID-masking, have a fragrance-free policy, will be asynchronously recording events, and will be offering ample breaks and a relaxed appraoch to sessions (come and go as needed, move around, bring a comfort or swim item). We also have a quiet, sensory friendly space available for folks to access both in-person and online throughout the event.
The Symposium Agenda
This symposium centers work that unsettles settler colonialism, racism, and ableism in education. The event highlights the work and voices of Indigenous, Black, 2SLGBTQIA+, disabled, and neurodivergent individuals, and those individuals working at the intersections of these identities and critical modes of thinking.
The symposium features mini keynotes and artists including Vanessa Dion Fletcher, Nicole Ineese-Nash, Grant Bruno, Dorothy Taare-Smith, Claire Johnston, Dr. Vijaya Dharan, and Dr. Jacqui Getfield.
A photograph of a person sitting on a stone ledge reading a book by the Kingston harbour.